Sormin, LindaCox, DianeDonnellan, KarenCarney, Ava2017-07-112017-07-112017http://hdl.handle.net/10829/7943Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Alfred University Honors Program.This thesis consists of two investigations. The first explores how stylization and fragmentation of different parts of the figure influence emotional and psychological responses to the human form. I have especially focused on the human hand because of its ability to communicate emotion and its central role in the acquisition of physical and immaterial desires. The second investigation questions how domestic tools determine how humans alter and maintain their bodies and how desire interacts with these acts of alteration and maintenance. The work also embodies and elevates a 'feminine' aesthetic while commenting on the objects, images, and ideals alternately celebrated by, imposed on, and associated with women by society.en-USHonors thesisArtCeramicsSculptureThesis