Semester of Graduation

Summer 2022

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Art

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

From the ground up, my work emerges slowly. As each coil is added, I am conscious of how my body is interacting with the rich red clay body. Each time I press clay between my hands, the material reacts and changes. It gives me comfort to feel a tangible response as I push my body into the clay. The cyclical process of art making becomes my daily ritual. Each step is repeated over and over again until it becomes ingrained in my body’s existence.

As I add coils to my work, particularly the large sculptures, I continuously circle around each clay vessel. Each revolution allows me to get to know my work from a new perspective and grow closer to the forms. These repeated motions are an essential part of how I process and understand my surroundings, they become the cornerstone of my daily routine. As I coil the red clay body upward, my hands leave impressions, mapping where they’ve been. No area of the clay goes untouched. Each imprint of my fingers records a moment of movement, suspending each pinch forever in time.

My sculptures yearn for company. They exist in a shared space, as if standing next to one another in a loose huddle. Within this huddled group, forms similar to one another pair off. Each twosome has commonalities, but the individual pieces are never exactly the same. Because of the overlaps, the pairings have shared qualities that are open to comparison. Duality is a system that these coupled works emerge out of. This system engages with two similar ideas that are defined by their differences. In order for two opposing viewpoints to exist in a polar relationship, they must be akin to each other at their very core.

Committee Chair

Andy Shaw

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.5585

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