Gill, JohnGreen, JasonKelleher, MattMcConnel, WalterSikora, LindaSormin, LindaWestrick, Brian2019-10-302019-10-302018-05http://hdl.handle.net/10829/23459Thesis 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.Like the flat fields that I spent my childhood exploring, I too wish to sprawl, to expand, to consider my existence between both Ground and Sky2, and to claim my own place on this Earth. In the studio, clay is the material that enables these investigations. How can this clay, which has itself been mined from its natural state, then become a vehicle for investigating its original source? Through the exploration of one’s relationship to Ground, one can recognize how the cycles that occur in a landscape are analogous to those who wish to lay claim to that space.22 pagesen-USThe author has granted Alfred University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other rights.MFA thesissoda firedwheel-throwncone 6Thesis