Jane (Sigler) Burckard – Memory Jug

Author: Tracy Sigler | Posted: August 9th, 2009 | | Tags: Jane Silger Burckard, memory jar, memory jug | 16 Comments »

Today’s featured artist also happens to be my aunt Jane. And, it just happens to be her birthday! Together, let us celebrate aunt Jane and her foray into terracotta modication, or should I say “beautification.” This artifact is what paleontologists call a “memory jug” or “memory jar.” On the Mill Creek reservation the natives call this rather large and heavy, but delicate piece the “Juggernaut” or possibly “Jug-or-not.” As all history of this memory jar has been passed from one generation to the next through the oral tradition, and no documentation, save for these photographs, is known to exist, the exact spelling remains a mystery.

The enigmatic artist, who is a particularly social being and yet camera shy, declined to be filmed in our interview about her memory jug magnum opus. If you have any questions about the process involved in producing this jug please post them in the comments section. Jane is known to be a regular reader of this site. On behalf of my aunt who couldn’t appear on video I would like to thank all the little people who contributed to the making of this memory jug.

See detailed close ups of Jane’s memory jug.

Read more about the folk art tradition of memory jugs.

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