Ceramics & Sculpture
The work below highlights a range of pieces from Ceramics 1 through Ceramics 3.
Senior work can be found on the senior page.
Awarded the Clayscapes Pottery Award of Excellence at the Feats of Clay Exhibition
This piece represents someone who has been hurt. I am saying that others have hurt me with their actions. My concept is expressed by a heart literally getting stabbed by something that has turned negative. I used black sharp object to ‘harm’ the peace and destroy the heart that was created. Also the ‘blood’, red slip trail, represents the feelings that are caused by others.
I see myself as someone who is not perfect, but I am still human and I’m capable of achieving amazing things. I folded the piece and made things uneven. I did that to represent imperfection. My glaze did run and it's not a clean line but personally, I think it looks better and adds to the imperfection. I wanted to convey the idea that you don’t have to look a certain way to have a purpose. Like this imperfect flower vase, it has flaws, yes, and it does not look like a typical symmetrical vase, but it still holds the flowers. It still has purpose and beauty to offer.
I see myself as someone who is always changing. A very big change in mine and many others lives is being trans and that is why I chose blue, pink, and white for my colors. The butterflies represent change and are also a big symbol of change in other trans artist’s work, and I used them to represent the beauties of change. I purposefully used my own hand as a reference when making it because I wanted to represent my change. I also used slip trail to make a dripping/melting effect because I wanted to show how change can also be messy sometimes. The pink dripping from my own hand and away from the blue butterflies represents how gender is a mess, and even though I am trying to “melt” my femininity away and embrace my change in gender, it can be gender euphoric sometimes, but it can also bring gender dysphoria.
I see myself as someone who is outgoing, bright and constantly “blooming” and growing. I expressed my concept by first making bright colored flowers to show my positivity and then made them gradually go up the vase to show how I'm always growing as a person and expressing myself.
An embrace can warm someone up and help heal their inside. I’ve been through some rough things with my mom throughout my life and sometimes words can’t help and sometimes all you need is a hug. I used added clay to create a spiky and rough texture with dull colors to display a cold and depressing feeling while I used a smooth surface with warm colors to display a happy and fuzzy feeling. I warped the piece to show the effect an embrace leaves behind. An embrace can help anyone, even someone who doesn’t think they need it. When you are in a dark cold place, sometimes all you need is a hug and someone there for you to feel better.
I see myself as someone who feels trapped when something isn’t perfect or doesn’t run smoothly. I expressed my concept by building a cage. It represents the trapped feeling. I picked a dark glaze with a bumpy texture to show the bad side of feeling trapped. Then, I used the wire to show the cage part and at the top some of them are broken free. To show the stress of feeling anxiety or being trapped. The shapes represent the good things, not being perfect but feeling calmed, light, and free. I chose the colors to be bright and pastel to show happiness and the feeling of being free. It’s okay for things to not be perfect and run smoothly, there's always going to be bumps on the road and problems in the way no matter how big or small, but don’t bottle it in and trap yourself. Whatever happens just forget about it and let your life go on.
Awarded 2nd place at the Fulton High School Invitational Art and Photography Show.
My concept is that imperfections and insecurities are what makes you, you. Use them as a way to grow and to figure out who you are, not hide them. In my first piece I used cracks to show the imperfections. I also used the bandaid to show how people tend to hide their insecurities. In my second piece I used cracks, folds, and uneven footing to show off the insecurities and imperfections that I was hiding before. I also made this piece bigger to show how I have grown. For the colors I chose black because it's a dark color and to me is just un-lively. I chose pink for my other piece and the band aids because pink is bright and fun. It shows how I used to be dull with the potential to be better and I grew into a fun, bright, unique person.
I see myself as someone who is a positive person. All the different things I like, my personality traits, and my hobbies are what make me, me. I expressed my concept through the butterflies and the butterfly cutouts. The butterflies are more vibrant than the rest of the piece to represent my interests, my personality traits, and my hobbies.
I see myself as someone who's very affectionate and cares and loves deeply for people. My concept is to show that love through my project. I expressed my concept by glazing the outside of my project a more dull color (white) and glazing the inside a bright broad color (deep pink) to reveal my true love deep down that is shown once you open me up and get to know me. I especially made a heart for my project to represent my love and affection as well. My project is also a heart container showing that I treasure and hold lots of love.
