The little girls in Amanda Smith’s exceptional ceramics are the “mouthpieces” for her message, characters she feels comfortable speaking through. Under the candy-coated flowers and bright colors, her glazed and painted clay slabs communicate her concern about the great divide of class around the world.

Travel in India exposed her to the caste system, and to Indian miniatures, which influence her work:  “In those pieces, size often indicates status,” she explains (see video, end of post). “Smaller figures are less important, less wealthy or less powerful. They have a lower caste or status. I’ve kind of adopted that social hierarchy into my work.”

The girls who tell her stories are familiar — composites from her own childhood:  “I lived in this hyper-feminine household and so these little girls just became my mouthpieces for telling stories.”

Smith’s work also encompasses intricate scenes with lighter focus on the trademark girls.