Craft & Material Studies Senior Thesis Exhibition

My work addresses the complexity of emotions that relates to viewing human forms. Originating from insecurities with my own body image, diagnosed dyslexia, and a strict Christian background; my early work abstracts the human form symmetrically and with mathematical precision in attempt to hide the body and make the viewer more comfortable. I began with two-dimensional media, mainly photography. Using my dyslexia as an advantage, I hid the sensual-ness of the figure by manipulating the photo until one could not tell what existed at first glance. 

I have since transferred my imagery into three dimensional materials; primarily wood, glass and metal.

This evolution offered new topics for consideration and initiated new ways of making.
 
With the expanded parameters of acceptance and increased use of confrontational imagery within the art world, I find comfort in being able to blatantly show erotic body parts to address such topics as rape, a human need to use and to be used, and the perplexity of human relationships.  
 
Thus, now I reference the body as a form and use that to create usable objects.

The known and unknown is at the center of my studio practice. Making use of what is familiar and subverting expectations of form, function, and imagery provides new information and experiences. Embracing and celebrating the baggage that porcelain brings, the historic and elitist qualities are what make it alluring. Technical challenges are inherent to working with porcelain, the makers mark is remembered by the clay even when removed, process is evident always evident. Vessels are intimate with the body: soft porcelain thrown with fingertips, delicate curves transform into rigid objects— suggesting all of our orifices.

The audience is provoked with provocative imagery, form created with intimate parts in an oscillating context of comfort and discomfort. Living within and trapped by our own bodies the irrational and contradictory festers.

Facilitating a dissonance in thought, revulsion, however strangely familiar and curiously fascinating evokes a child-like wonder. Multifarious reaction, that goes beyond the initial shock is curiosity, that pushes past the dialectical opposition between shame and liberation. The work deceives the viewer in terms of functionality, providing a normative facade of assumptions challenging and distorting them.

I am a Fibers and Textile artist who combines the dichotomy of old and new. Creating comfort in a
new experience through old experiences. Forming and reforming furniture, I use upholstery,
sewing, wrapping and the manipulation of hair and fur to create an item or interactive space. In
my practice I use the repetitive process to connect to compulsive behaviors such as OCD and
anxiety to express race, gender, sexuality and identity. Using the dye process to mark make, I
convey messages through prints and the final form as a wearable on the body.

My work oscillates between personal nostalgia and shared experiences. Constructed mainly of wood, the work has a considered sense of playfulness and whimsicality incorporated with the functionality of an object. Through a studio practice rich with different methods of texture, patterns, and work through multiples, the work is developed through repetitive and meditative tasks. This allows an intuitive exploration of techniques within carving, mark making, and application of color. The intent is for the work to illicit a conversation with the viewer. To provide a sense of wonder and inquiry about why the objects are placed where they are, ultimately sparking memories in the viewer.

I am a Fibers and Textile artist who combines the dichotomy of old and new. Creating comfort in a
new experience through old experiences. Forming and reforming furniture, I use upholstery,
sewing, wrapping and the manipulation of hair and fur to create an item or interactive space. In
my practice I use the repetitive process to connect to compulsive behaviors such as OCD and
anxiety to express race, gender, sexuality and identity. Using the dye process to mark make, I
convey messages through prints and the final form as a wearable on the body.

Weaving is the focus of my artistic practice and derives from my need for organization
and planning. The weaving process relies on careful planning so that the structure of
the woven cloth can be built. Each weaving is manifested through a system of
organization. I start planning the piece by designing the woven structure; selecting the
correct yarns, colors and patterns; and then beginning the process of dressing the loom
one thread at a time. The planning and physical labor are immediately visible within
each step of the process. Weaving cloth deeply satisfies my need to precisely execute
the vision in my mind. I use natural textile materials and dyes to give my work a quiet
and serene feeling, evoking self-reflection and human connection in the viewer.
Through the meditative and therapeutic processes of weaving, I create works that are
both comforting and approachable, composing an intimacy between the art and the
viewer. I use embellishments, patterns and a limited color pallet to provoke a subtle
emotional response, encouraging moments of reflection leading to a better
understanding of ourselves, one another, and the ways in which we are connected.

My work is about 4-years of my American life. Things that I did, people that I met, places that I’ve been, and about my emotions towards that each and every moment I’ve experienced. Focusing on color and texture of the materials I use; I am capturing the moments from my memories in the cubes. Limiting the shape and the form to a cube, I am trying to restrain the expression so that it will not overwhelm. Each cube is a different memory, and its deepness and size differs from memory by memory, but I don’t want the viewers to know the difference. Especially not by the different shapes nor by the different sizes of the cubes. It is a personal piece about my memory, so I wanted to keep it in my mind. But at the same time, I wanted to show people how much I have experienced throughout 4-years. It can be sad, lonely but also amazing at the same time. Not many people can have this opportunity to study abroad and meet new people. I wanted to keep my memories like if it was in Pandora's box which only I can open.