"Oh, To Be a Kid Again"

Date

2024

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Alfred University

Abstract

"My art practice occupies the space between my emotional experience and the desire to comfort myself. The work is often childlike and homey with themes of nostalgia and abundance. I intend to use positive emotions as a thin veil to address anxieties that manifest from the journey from childhood to adulthood. Avoidance of emotion is pertinent to my work, and because ‘worry’ transfigures over time, my method to work through my fears is to adorn them. The sections of this thesis are Childhood with Anxiety, Interaction with Trust, Gender with Labor, and finally Multiplicity with Death. Within these pairings are habits I developed surrounding difficult emotions. Integral to this experience is the perpetual longing to make my negative feelings disappear. The work discussed here are brightly colored and interactive. My installations are marked as whimsical, as they are often a saccharin combination of colorful glass and textiles. The undercurrent of duality is also present in my material choices: hard and soft; warm and cold; flexible and brittle. The guise of naïveté is ever present, but this innocence is intentionally false. I play with the idea of yearning for an uncomplicated perception. This pining for comfort, coupled with emotional escapism, is the foundation on which my practice is built."

Description

Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree in the School of Art and Design at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY.

Keywords

MFA thesis, Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies

Citation

DOI