Psyche Inspired: Leila Mirza

Core Value

Leila Mirza

November 29th, 2023

Major: Undeclared

Genre/Medium: Ceramics/Stoneware clay

About the work: Ceramic art is inherently experimental—you never know what will emerge from the kiln. Embracing the risk, I worked with clay types and glazes that were new to me. In doing so, I sought a connection to the explorative, uncertain nature of the Psyche mission. Studying celestial bodies like 16 Psyche, the building blocks of our solar system, is incredibly exciting because of what we might learn about the cosmos and our place in it. After researching the mission and the metal-rich 16 Psyche asteroid, I was incredibly drawn to the anticipated, but not yet confirmed, chemical makeup of its core. My asteroid vessel was thrown with a gritty, black stoneware clay. Metallic glaze bursts from the core in the hope that we will strike gold.

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Lady and the Asteroid

Leila Mirza

April 11th, 2024

Major: Undeclared

Genre/Medium: Stoneware clay, mid-fire glaze, acrylic paint 

About the work: In crafting Lady in the Asteroid, I wanted to dive deep into the realms of Greek mythology and astronomy, channeling the timeless narratives of Psyche and the celestial dance of the 16 Psyche asteroid. Using black stoneware clay as my canvas, I sculpted a delicate classic Greek amphora–a traditional urn shape with two handles. I incorporated a mid-fire speckled glaze, and then layered black and gold acrylic paints in geometric, mandala-like patterns. I depicted an abstract goddess Psyche raising her hands to the cosmos, and the asteroid itself.

To me, Psyche is a symbol of the soul’s journey through the vastness of space and the depths of the human psyche. As I grew up adoring Greek mythology, I was set on creating a piece that fused my love for the cosmos as well as mythology itself.

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