Preview
Creation Date
Spring 5-2016
Description
Materials: Ceramic
Dimensions: 1.5 X 1.5 Inches
Project Advisor: Meghan Sullivan
Year of Graduation: 2016
Medium
Ceramics
Rights
Copyright for this work is held by the artist.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Keywords
Contrast
Artist Statement
Boxes are mysterious vessels that compel viewers to uncover their contents. From an early age I have used boxes to store and organize trinkets, while also obsessing over their own aesthetic properties. Boxes not only serve the function of containment, but they also convey elements of stability, order, and geometry in their forms.
In my life, a desire for organized and systematic living is balanced by the release provided by wanderlust- walking, hiking, and on a few past occasions- caving. These activities fulfill a desire for the unknown and unseen. In this current series of boxes I am inspired by both of these sides of my being. Working in clay connects my work to the organic and chemical properties of the earth, and allows for control in the process.
The patterned, geologic surfaces of these boxes exhibit value and line through crosshatched paddling. This process transforms rigid boxes into more organic shapes, serving not to destroy the geometry, but to create a balance between the geometric and the organic. The interior of each box becomes a cavern that directly contrasts the exterior, all while rewarding the viewer for their curiosity with a dynamic spectacle. Collectively these boxes encompass a variety of sizes, creating potential for different functions and influencing their placement within environments.
These boxes serve as a mediator between two sides of my life that are never easily balanced, but remain necessary to attaining an inner sense of fulfillment. While one can appreciate these boxes for their functional properties, they can also get lost in the inherent contrasts of each box.