Mother Pins

In the Mother Pin series, I use the shape of an antique wooden clothes pin to represent my mother, Ernestine Carpenter. The object is mundane but also elegantly feminine. As a Mother Pin, my mother becomes a mythical figure in varying locations and forms. The sculptures often include her house, a symbol of family, stability, and home place. Each new use of the mother pin form leads me into new approaches to surface and presentation. I have incorporated not only clay, which has been the primary medium, but unfired surfaces including water-based paint, steel, aluminum, wood, graphite, lithography and textiles.

Release 28 x 64 inches, 2021 Steel, digital print, clay, paper mache — **Release**
28 x 64 inches, 2021
Steel, digital print, clay, paper mache

Release (detail) 28 x 64 inches, 2021 Steel, digital print, clay, paper mache — **Release (detail)**
28 x 64 inches, 2021
Steel, digital print, clay, paper mache

Mother Pin Ascends 6ft x6ft, 2025 Powlauwnia wood, steel, stoneware clay, stain — **Mother Pin Ascends**
6ft x6ft, 2025
Powlauwnia wood, steel, stoneware clay, stain

Mother Pin Ascends (detail) 6ft x6ft, 2025 Powlauwnia wood, steel, stoneware clay, stain — **Mother Pin Ascends (detail)**
6ft x6ft, 2025
Powlauwnia wood, steel, stoneware clay, stain

Mother Pin with Shirt 19x9x7 inches Clay, graphite, acrylic paint — **Mother Pin with Shirt**
19x9x7 inches
Clay, graphite, acrylic paint

Three Mother Pins on a Vine 18 x 37 x 26 inches, 2021 Clay and mixed media — **Three Mother Pins on a Vine**
18 x 37 x 26 inches, 2021
Clay and mixed media

Mother Pin with House 22 x 12 x 16 inches, 2016 Clay, graphite, watercolor — **Mother Pin with House**
22 x 12 x 16 inches, 2016
Clay, graphite, watercolor

Mother Pin with House 2 22 x 12 x 16 inches, 2021 Clay, graphite, watercolor — **Mother Pin with House 2**
22 x 12 x 16 inches, 2021
Clay, graphite, watercolor

Mother Pin Arise 28 x 19 x 19 inches, 2018 Clay, graphite, watercolor — **Mother Pin Arise**
28 x 19 x 19 inches, 2018
Clay, graphite, watercolor

Mother Pin with Floating Beans 16 x 28 x 20 inches, 2021 Earthenware, lentil beans, acrylic wash — **Mother Pin with Floating Beans**
16 x 28 x 20 inches, 2021
Earthenware, lentil beans, acrylic wash

Red Mother Pin with Red Beans 18 x 7 x 6 inches, 2017 — **Red Mother Pin with Red Beans**
18 x 7 x 6 inches, 2017

Mother Pin Afire 27 x 16 x 12 inches, 2017 Clay, graphite, watercolor — **Mother Pin Afire**
27 x 16 x 12 inches, 2017
Clay, graphite, watercolor

Mother Pin Awash 21 x 28 x 23 inches, 2016 Clay and watercolor — **Mother Pin Awash**
21 x 28 x 23 inches, 2016
Clay and watercolor

Mother Pin Awash (view 2) 21 x 28 x 23 inches, 2016 Clay and watercolor — **Mother Pin Awash (view 2)**
21 x 28 x 23 inches, 2016
Clay and watercolor

Mother Pin Awash (detail) 21 x 28 x 23 inches, 2016 Clay and watercolor — **Mother Pin Awash (detail)**
21 x 28 x 23 inches, 2016
Clay and watercolor

Red Mother Pin with Basket 24 x 9 x 7 inches, 2015 Clay, graphite, watercolor — **Red Mother Pin with Basket**
24 x 9 x 7 inches, 2015
Clay, graphite, watercolor

Mother Pin in a Basket with Beans 24 x 9 x 7 inches, 2017 Clay and graphite — **Mother Pin in a Basket with Beans**
24 x 9 x 7 inches, 2017
Clay and graphite

Mother in a Basket 19 x 8 x 5 inches, 2015 Clay, graphite, watercolor — **Mother in a Basket**
19 x 8 x 5 inches, 2015
Clay, graphite, watercolor

Mother Pin with Basket 24 x 9 x 7 inches, 2015 Clay, watercolor, graphite — **Mother Pin with Basket**
24 x 9 x 7 inches, 2015
Clay, watercolor, graphite

Mother Pin's Dress 26 x 18 x 8 inches, 2016 — **Mother Pin's Dress**
26 x 18 x 8 inches, 2016

Mother Pin and Seeds 31 x 22 x 12 inches, 2017 Clay and graphite — **Mother Pin and Seeds**
31 x 22 x 12 inches, 2017
Clay and graphite

Mother Pin with Bean Bowl 24 x 16 x 16 inches, 2015 Earthenware, graphite, acrylic wash — **Mother Pin with Bean Bowl**
24 x 16 x 16 inches, 2015
Earthenware, graphite, acrylic wash

Storage Jar 1 55 x 40 x 31 inches, 2017 Clay, glass, lentil beans, wood — **Storage Jar 1**
55 x 40 x 31 inches, 2017
Clay, glass, lentil beans, wood

Storage Jar 2 54 x 39 x 28 inches, 2017 Clay lentil beans, steel, watercolor, glass — **Storage Jar 2**
54 x 39 x 28 inches, 2017
Clay lentil beans, steel, watercolor, glass

Storage Jar 1 (detail) 55 x 40 x 31 inches, 2017 Clay, glass, lentil beans, wood — **Storage Jar 1 (detail)**
55 x 40 x 31 inches, 2017
Clay, glass, lentil beans, wood

Storage Jar (detail) 55 x 40 x 31 inches, 2017 Clay, glass, lentil beans, wood — **Storage Jar (detail)**
55 x 40 x 31 inches, 2017
Clay, glass, lentil beans, wood

Gingko Mother Pin 2 60 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025 Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste — **Gingko Mother Pin 2**
60 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025
Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste

Gingko Mother Pin 1 (detail) 61 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025 Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste — **Gingko Mother Pin 1 (detail)**
61 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025
Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste

Gingko Mother Pin 3 60 x 51 x 8 inches, 2025 Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste — **Gingko Mother Pin 3**
60 x 51 x 8 inches, 2025
Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste

Gingko Mother Pin 3(detail) 60 x 51 x 8 inches, 2025 Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste — **Gingko Mother Pin 3(detail)**
60 x 51 x 8 inches, 2025
Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste

Gingko Mother Pin 4 65 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025 Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste — **Gingko Mother Pin 4**
65 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025
Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste

Gingko Mother Pin 4 (detail) 65 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025 Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste — **Gingko Mother Pin 4 (detail)**
65 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025
Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste

Gingko Mother Pin 1 61 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025 Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste — **Gingko Mother Pin 1**
61 x 51 x 5 inches, 2025
Aluminum, clay, lithograph, molding paste

Mother Pin Transitions 14 x 48 x 22 inches, 2021 Clay, graphite, watercolor, rototiller blades — **Mother Pin Transitions**
14 x 48 x 22 inches, 2021
Clay, graphite, watercolor, rototiller blades

Mother Pins

Animated Leaf Series

Farm Bowl Series

Syd Carpenter