The Bison Trail … $500

How can one look at a bison and not be impressed and sad at the same time. We probably all know the story of the bison or as many call it the “American Buffalo”. There are actually two types of American bison, the plains bison and the wood bison.

The plains bison, the great monarch of the Plains, was hunted to near extinction to facilitate the nation’s expansion west. By 1889, only a few hundred wild plains bison remained. Fortunately, beginning in the early 20th century, conservation herds were established to rebuild populations. Currently, there are approximately 20,500 plains bison in conservation herds and an additional 420,000 in commercial herds. You can learn more about the American bison at https://www.fws.gov/species/plains-bison-bison-bison-bison. 

This entire work is approximately 17” by 22” and the mandala is 15” by 11”. It is constructed by hand from an off-white earthenware clay body. It was bisque fired to cone 04 (1945 degrees F), then glazed with three coats of mid-temperature glazes and traditionally glaze fired to cone 6 (2201 degrees).

Here are some “in progress” photos as I was working on its design through completion.