This piece is based on a myth told by the Coquille tribe. Four of the coastal tribes held a potlatch in honor of Siskiyou, the chief of a mountain tribe. He attended with his daughter, who had never seen the ocean before. When she asked to go to the shore, the coastal chiefs warned her of Seatco, an evil sea monster. After the potlatch, the attendees went to sleep, and Siskiyou’s daughter snuck down to the water with her pets. She left her pets on the shore and began to swim to the moon. All of a sudden a hand covered the moon and everything went black. Seatco grabbed her. She remembered the chiefs saying that if Seatco caught you, never look in its eyes. Her pets tried to save her but Seatco turned them all, including the girl, to stone. This piece is slab built with low fire clay and I used sgraffito to create the design. This piece also won a Scholastics Gold Key for my region.

Spirit of Seatco