Aleisa Miksad’s contemporary sculpture Thyrsus 4 depicts Dionysius’ thyrsus, crafted from stoneware using hand coiling techniques. The sculpted embellishments of artichoke petals and thorns add texture and detail to the piece, giving it a sense of organic richness.  

Evoking early coil pots (a traditional method of building ceramic vessels, made by building up sides of pots with successive ropes of clay in a circular pattern) Aleisa coil-builds her vessels from stoneware and porcelain clay bodies. The form emerges slowly over the course of a few days as she works. Adornments such as spiked collars, lips and ruffled bottoms are added once the vessel is completed. The forms are then bisque fired and sometimes under glazed before the final firing.