just fer "fun"

This is the statement I had prepared for my Graduate Review. This is stil the rough draft-I think the final draft is in my office at the college. However, it does a decent job of explaining what I have been doing. I thought it might be interesting to post here because of this and .. it is so differently written than my blog :) "tis academic, ya know...

Watch as I deftly avoid the use of "I"... Remember class, if you wrote it, the assumption is that it is your opinion....


"This semester's work is a continuation of last semester's experimental efforts. The work explores ideas about consumption, recycling and the cycles of nature as well as the limitations of biodegradable materials. These materials were paper, clay, plant materials and paper mache.

When working with clay, hand building and molds were favored over thrown methods. Many of these shapes better resembled an amalgam of the organic and handmade and mass-produced, machine made objects. This was particularly true of a series of forms made by using a elliptical 1950's Modern style, Melamine bowl. Echoing this shape, the forms become both a reference to design and the era that,arguably, spawned the notions of consumption, convenience and disposability.

These forms have been transformed into organic and ephemeral objects that, unlike their parental form,are not impeded their return to the Earth. Many of them attempt to regenerate by containing seeds that, hopefully, will live on after the object is gone. Many of the seeds are useful herbs that thrive in poor, heavy, clay soils or create a micro habitat for insects and birds.

Other forms are a more direct reference to technological inventions and conveniences such as books and flower pots. Each contain visual references to their origins. Trees grow through the pages of a book and tiny, fired clay pots shaped like empty seed pods are set in the ground. Repeated, these tiny pods resemble hungry, open mouths and serve as visual reminders of the consumption machine we, as a society, have become.

Many of these objects are precursors to larger, outdoor installations and serve as maquettes for a proposal of said works. Using information obtained from USDA Forrest Service personnel about environmental problems native to the San Luis Valley, some of these works may be built and installed in an effort to bring awareness to and solve these problems.

Finally, some mention of documentation must be made. Digital photography was used to record the installation and breaking down of some works and this artist would welcome feedback about how this could be done most effectively in the future.

Over the Summer, experiments with same media will be held to develop a predictable sculpting medium that will sustain plant growth. These experiments will be documented a special projects paper in the Fall semester of 2005.