Thesis Art Exhibit
from my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at the University of Kentucky in Spring 2023.
“My work applies crochet techniques to ceramic coil building to create unravelable sculptures and other pieces, combining ceramics and fiber to express the necessity of connection. Each piece connects varied passions: textile, ceramics, and sculpture, with a touch of printmaking and video, to explore rhythm, repetitive processes, and systems of reliance.
……The uncertain stability and suspense of the structure recall the importance of connection, how the many rely on the individual; how the fabric will deteriorate once a single thread is broken.”
Ripples of Craft: A Symphony in Woven Threads and Ceramic Chimes, 2023, 8.5ft (tall) x 5ft (wide) x 4.5ft. Black wool and acrylic yarn, ceramic crochet hooks, and metal crochet hooks gifted from grandma and great grandma. Ripple of Craft is a detailed combination of ceramics and fiber that invites reflection on the precariousness yet necessity of connection. This installation is anchored at the ground by three ceramic sculptures inspired by tree roots and the movement of strings. The steely finish of the ceramic emphasizes the smooth surface and curves and twists of the clay. Attached to the ceramic forms are thin strands of crochet stitches that develop into larger, looser stitches that drape up to the ceiling of the gallery. The soft web of black fibers stretches up into an overlapping canopy of loose crochet. Crochet hooks used throughout my lifetime, used, and given to me by my grandma and great grandma throughout their lives, hang like windchimes throughout the fabric. The installation also includes ceramic crochet hooks, hand sculpted to scale and each glazed in a unique color, hanging throughout the crochet fabric. The soft sounds of the crochet hooks brushing together in the installation recall memories of learning to crochet with them, and the rippling impact of my family's shared love of the craft. The tenuous arrangement of the space is a meditation on creative tradition and a representation of the delicacy and complexity of connections. This piece was created to be site-specific to this gallery but interestingly could be installed in countless different ways. Down from the ceiling, drape overlapping webs of crocheted black yarn adorned with dozens of ceramics and metal crochet hooks. The sporadic abandonment of the crochet hooks throughout the fabric reflects the opportunity to continue to expand the crochet. The crochet hooks that belonged to my grandma being included symbolize the familial techniques and traditions that are interwoven with my work in the present. Influenced by installations by Pattie Beeren, the loose crochet fabric was created and hung intuitively, as if building a web. The installation is anchored at the ground by three ceramic sculptures inspired by the shapes of tree roots and the movement of strings. The steely finish of the ceramic emphasizes the smooth surface and curves and twists of the clay.
Abrasive Entanglement, 2023, 10in. x 14in. x 6in, Ceramic and unraveled nylon rope. This piece was created by creating opposing movements in two hollow clay forms. The steely finish of the ceramic highlights the creases and indentations. This is contrasted by the color and texture of the abrasive bright yellow strands of crocheted, synthetic fibers woven around the ceramic bodies. The composition focuses on the bends of the ceramic caused by the constraints of the tight crochet that connects them. The fraying crochet stresses the ceramic gestures to escape the abrasive embrace of the fiber. Emphasis is on their movement apart despite their connection.
Abrasive Entanglement, 2023, 10in. x 14in. x 6in, Ceramic and unraveled nylon rope. This piece was created by creating opposing movement in two hollow clay forms. The steely finish of the ceramic highlights the creases and indentations. This is contrasted by the color and texture of the abrasive bright yellow strands of crocheted, synthetic fibers woven around the ceramic bodies. The composition focuses on the bends of the ceramic caused by the constraints of the tight crochet that connects them. The fraying crochet stresses the ceramic gestures to escape the abrasive embrace of the fiber. Emphasis is on their movement apart despite their connection.
