I have been unfortunately lax in posting work up dates this semester.  Hopefully I will get more timely in the coming weeks.  The following pieces are all handformed earthenware with stains, underglazes, and glazes.

The goal for the set of work was based in the parameters set this semester, starting with Origins: PLACE.  These are all stories and images from growing up in Tennessee on the side of a mountain, with my mom and dad and sister.  We are a tight-knit crew, with animals and the woods as our uniting enthusiasms.  I chose these stories because they all happened at home or began there, and have continually shaped who I am today, which seemed a good way to also lead into our next segment, Origins: IDENTITY.

Each tile is approximately 12 x 12 x 2 inches, and the inside tiles are each approximately 6 x 6 x .5 inches.

Austen:

Brave Walker:

Existential (please ignore the typo- I will be keeping this one in my permanent collection):

Feral Agent:

Orange Beanie:

Potato Mine:

Woods Running:

All of them in my trusty car:

The removable nature of the inside tiles makes these pieces highly successful for me.  That the placement of the story is behind the image and requires viewer investment makes me feel much more comfortable sharing vulnerable stories, and I look forward to pursuing this idea further. Following is the project outline I wrote for this project at the start of the semester:

Continuing in the vein of Graphic Novel aesthetics, but joining the brick idea from Spring 2014, I will construct a series of press molded Earthenware shadow boxes, finished with white underglaze and stains. Within these shadow boxes will be placed small “treasure” tiles, with additional pieces of the memoir-esque storyline carved and drawn. Text, if there is any, will be stamped into the inner sides of the shadow boxes. This is to explore ways to maintain a high level of vulnerability, which is essential for my feeling of success about this work, but also express the tenderness of childhood memories and encourage investment from the viewer in exploring these observations and narratives.

To connect this idea to the assignment- Origins: PLACE, will focus on stories and observations from growing up with my family in Tennessee. Since I spent a large portion of my undergrad and a year post-college, as well as substantial portions of my teaching career, doing pinch/coil and pitfiring, I am instead going to focus on pushing my comfort level with Earthenware and low temperature glazes.

Given my propensity for odd numbers, and my unreasonable enamoration with the number 7, I will make 7 of these. This also continues the connection to Spring 2014, since those tile series were also sets of 7.