Collection Title
Professional Practices (ART 399)
Files
Academic Level at Time of Creation
Senior
Date of Creation
Fall 12-5-2017
Artist Statement
I create clay forms that are distressed, altered, textured and colored. Most take a utilitarian form, but not exclusively. I am interested in connecting to the medium and getting lost in the creation of the piece. I am not interested in perfection, but rather find the most amazement in what it is we are capable of; changing a chunk of clay into something wonderful and surprising. My main focus is on the creation of something beautiful that hopefully enriches my audience in the same way it does me. With the goal of creating organic beauty in mind, I found clay to satisfy my need for usefulness and tangibility in my work. The material allows for exploration of variety in form, texture, and scale.
Someone that I reference a lot in my work and ideas is George Ohr. I like his work because his alterations to pots are visually similar to the things that I like to make and please me aesthetically. His technique of modifying forms and rims is different than other ceramicist. I find inspiration in his attitude about his own work. It was not seen as beautiful in his own time, but has grown to be considered sophisticated objects by today’s standards. I love techniques that result in non-commercial looking work. While I do still find comfort and beauty in a level smooth rounded bowl, there's something about misfigured and abstract forms that draw me in. This is most apparent in my most current ceramic pieces because I now have a vocabulary of skills to draw from.
While I am still attempting to master the skill that is ceramics, I still explore a lot with the medium. Usually starting from a chunk of clay, I transform the material into something I think is so beautiful and unique. I put my pieces out into the public eye to hopefully get the same reaction from my audience. I will continue to take risks and draw inspiration from Ohr and others like him for my future pieces.
Within my other pieces that aren't made of clay I like to explore the different techniques that each medium encompasses. When I graduate college I hope to become a high school art teacher, getting to know all the mediums and how you can manipulate and handle them is critical to me being the best teacher I can be for my future students.
Advisor/Mentor
Dr. Rebecca Williams
Description
Ceramic, plaster, wire, found objects, charcoal drawings, pencil drawings, oil painting, wood sculpture, photography, sharpie marker drawing.
Photo Credit
John Utgard
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Stewart, Shateanna, "Professional Practices (ART 399)" (2017). Professional Practices (ART 399). 23.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art399/23