"Breaking Open" Angela Browning

Angela Browning, Tulsa, OK

Breaking Open, 2025

Ceramic, glaze, acrylic paint, and flock

8 x 9 x 9”

Breaking Open is a seed-like object with a glazed central portion that is surrounded by an outer shell that has been painted and flocked to give it a highly textured surface. This is one of a series of pods that represent the possibilities and qualities that we as individuals can cultivate within ourselves. These pods become visual metaphors of the human condition. People, like plants, will be influenced by the quality of the ground where they take root and grow. Our surroundings influence our behavior. We can choose to keep our rigid shell in place to protect us, or we can risk breaking open our hard exterior to grow. We can't reach out to embrace and interact with the world around us if we are trapped inside our shell.