Rachel Burke Jasso- Quail Vase

This vase is slab built and painted with engobes, terra sigillata, and oxides on speckled clay, and features a pair of Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) and subtle etchings of one of their preferred food plants, wood sorrell (Oxalis latifolia). 7.5" high by 4" wide on the main body, 7" wide including the handles.

Montezuma quail occur in oak savannahs and pine-oak woodlands of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, and are reliant on grass cover for protection. However, grassland degradation driven by drought, climate change, invasive species, and historic overgrazing has shrunk the habitat for this iconic bird. Ephemeral drainages that still contain lush grass and sedge cover provide some of the most important remnant habitat for these birds.

To me, this bird is a symbol of the remaining lush pockets of the Madrean Ecoregion, an area that is the main inspiration for my ceramic work. Thus, I saw it fitting for the proceeds from this piece to go to my friends at Borderlands Restoration Network, a non-profit in southern Arizona implementing place-based conservation to promote habitat connectivity, healthy plant communities, and regenerative economies across borders in the sky islands of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. The photos here are taken in front of deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) that I purchased from Borderlands Restoration Network's native plant nursery 5 years ago. In its natural habitat, deergrass covers the edges of ephemeral drainages, providing cover for Montezuma quail and an array of wildlife. To learn more about their work please visit https://www.borderlandsrestoration.org/

To see more of Rachel's work be sure to follow on Instagram @madreandesigns