The clay hat in this piece was cast from my father's fedora, one of the few remaining artifacts I have that belonged to him. He wears this style of hat in photographs and in my memory of him. The title refers to the words of Joel Fisher, "Through clay, the replica becomes more persistent than the original." (Quoted in The Ceramic Process, A Manual and Source of Inspiration for Ceramic Art and Design, European Ceramic Work Center, 2005) The hat sits atop the book Art and Today, a collection of essays on contemporary art by critic Eleanor Heartney. I am a contemporary artist and my father's daughter.

The clay replica in this piece was cast from an Irish walking hat that belonged to my mother. She purchased the hat in Ireland and wore it during the last years of her life. The book on which it rests is the catalog of the 2003 inaugural exhibition at Dia: Beacon. During this exhibition much of Dia’s renowned collection of art from the 1960's to the present was on display in the newly designed galleries in the renovated Nabisco box-printing facility in Beacon, New York. I am a contemporary artist and my mother's daughter.