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Permutations, Casey Beck

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

I make pottery not only out of a passion for my material, clay, and for the complex processes of wheel throwing and atmospheric firing, but also out of a passion for living with, using, and sharing handmade objects. For me, using pottery daily is an act of celebration. My philosophy of making pots comes in part from the particular history of utilitarian pottery that has developed over the last sixty years in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, where I went to school and began my career as a potter. More recently, the form language that I employ in my work has …

Or To Be Eaten Alive, Christopher Williams

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

“or to be eaten alive'' is a multimedia exhibition in which I merge my own coming of age story with a mythological ecology. In this work I reclaim my queer identity by communing with my past selves in a fantasy world created through the lens of Queer Ecology and Queer Eco-Futurism. The visuals in this exhibition obscure reality. They are abstractions of the landscapes I occupy—particularly the Tallgrass prairie and Ozark ecoregions. Through a speculative, fantasy world the exhibition introduces moments of adoration, death, fracturing, growth, joy, and failure. I form, draw, color and arrange the work embracing mistakes and …

Silhouette, Andy Bissonnette

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

As a potter, I am deeply interested in the union between form, surface, and function. I believe these elements are intrinsically connected and the most successful pots are able to balance all three in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical. From the proportional relationship between the foot and rim, to the way a glaze breaks or pools across an articulated surface, each detail is crafted with intention and care. Silhouette is a metaphor for how I conceptualize and conceive each of my pieces. It’s a way to explore form through both an aesthetic and practical approach. My …

Terra Dispositions: A Lithospheric Investigation Of Wet-Matter, Alec Rovensky

Architecture Senior Theses

Human intervention of the landscape by damming, filling wetlands and over-extracting is resulting in the rapid perversion of water bodies through the desertification or flooding of terrain and the ensuing contamination of reservoirs. In turn, these changes are disrupting ecosystems, reshaping geological borders, and causing irreversible damage that poses a threat to clean water supplies. As humans exert agency over local hydrology, there is scarce consideration of the ensuing ecological consequences. This thesis aims to expose the ecological transformations of territories laced with human agency by examining the residues left by water in order to deviate from the misplaced nostalgia …

Growth, Taylor Sijan

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

I craft functional pottery that is richly decorated with layers of abstracted botanical imagery. While working within the parameters of function, I explore the possibilities for expressing and evoking beauty through altered porcelain forms and lush surfaces. As a potter, I create forms that inspire curiosity and interaction through a balance of originality and suggested function. I connect myself to others through the intermediary of the vessel, conveying my reverence for plants, nourishment and beauty. People then interpret how to use my work, adding their own sentiments as it becomes part of their lives. Pots live in the home, bridging …

The Weight Of It All, Amythest Warrington

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

The impetus for this exhibition is to visualize the weight of loss and to focus attention on the need to recognize the inherent dichotomy between life’s beauty and loss. My mobile upbringing taught me that details may differ from group to group, but the core experiences of loss, empathy and belonging are a universal language that connects us. I utilize clay’s unique physical properties of malleability, recyclability and permanence once fired, to explore the dichotomy between strength and frailty associated with these universal connectors. The meticulously crafted beautiful objects draw one into serious and often taboo subjects. The work comforts …

Slowly But Surely, Katie Bosley

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

I craft porcelain vessels that combine dynamic forms and dimensional surfaces to create a captivating presence. Formal components such as line, space, and color are carefully considered to create objects that are striking at first glance and reward further inspection. Constructed with an emphasis on structure, these works challenge conventional interpretations of the vessel and promote a sense of awe.

My vessels are relational objects that both affect and are affected by their surroundings. Employing positive and negative space, and light and shadow, they collaborate with the space they inhabit. They are objects designed to promote and reward active viewing. …

Eat My Quartz, Neil Celani-Morrell

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

Pottery has a remarkable ability to tap into the human collective experience, so it is no surprise I express my own understanding of the world by working within the boundaries of “the pot”. With the capacity to communicate conceptual meaning and to serve as objects of utility, pottery not only dances in the notorious territory between art and craft, it embodies the human spirit.

My pots are totems of my existence and this work is an authentic representation of my creative journey. They are an homage to the key influences in my life which have informed and encouraged my creativity …

Cornucopia, Patrick Hargraves

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

I navigate the uncertain times we live in by creating positive, playful sculptures because focusing on joy is not only possible in times of hardship, I believe it is necessary in order to thrive. I go through life with a watchful reverence, finding beauty and hope in the abundance of life in the natural world. Using this inspiration, I reinvent and intentionally exaggerate landscapes and plant forms in clay with a freeing sense of whimsy. My fantasized pieces are an invitation to extend imagination to the joyous moments in the world around us, and to return to an innocent sense …

Developing A Local Clay Body: Augusta County, Virginia, Olivia Heeb

Honors Projects

Several samples of raw clay from Augusta County, Virginia were analyzed, and one was chosen to develop into a clay body that could successfully be thrown on the wheel, fired, and made into functional ware. The characteristics of plasticity, strength, absorption, and glaze effects were important when deciding what materials to add to the raw clay samples. Issues included low plasticity when throwing, cracking while drying, warping when firing, and pinholing in the glaze fire. A recipe was developed that worked well for the chosen clay, found in a roadside in Craigsville, Virginia.

Between And Beyond, Noah F. Heil

Art and Art History Honors Projects

Between and Beyond is a series of handbuilt and wheel-thrown ceramic objects which explore intimate queer relationships through the human figure. I assemble slabs of clay to create openings and negative spaces within the sculptures, implying the ways in which the human form also acts as a vessel. The sculptures as well as the figures themselves remain open and vulnerable, literally and metaphorically. The body is depicted through fragmented sections, alluding to the ways in which society and culture break up gender and sexuality into limiting binaries. These intimate, private moments are meant to conjure an imagined future free of …

This Is Just To Say, Iren Tete

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

My memories are marked by the desire to evade logic. At a young age I became a proficient player of the “What If” game.

What if I could hold light in my hands?

What if shadows had form that could be touched?

What if I could see through structures?

These mental exercises affected my relationship with reason and validity. Aware of the threat of the ordinary, I embraced the inherent magic in the notion of possibility. I understand possibility as the limitless potential of object, thought, or scenario. This potential extends beyond the apparent and prompts more questions than it …

Entangled, Katherine Cox

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

I create objects to incite wonder through their exuberance, inviting one to explore the beauty found in the strange and offering the viewer a way to interact with the discomfort of the unknown. Mysculptures are an assembly of engaging surfaces and forms revealing varying texturesandvibrant colors referencing natural and fabricated worlds. Each sculpture is entangled within its own environment or narrative and each is adorned for its own role, finding a balance between discord and harmony, captivation and repulsion.

Each is an individual exploration of the distinct qualities inherent within each object. They are precious in scale and stimulate …

Quantifying And Correcting For Clay Content Effects On Soil Water Measurement By Reflectometers, Jasreman Singh, Tsz Him Lo, Daran Rudnick, Suat Irmak, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The presence of clay particles increases the specific surface area of a soil and can affect the calibration of electromagnetic soil water sensors including reflectometers. To quantify and correct for this effect in two relatively new reflectometers, three TDR315 and three CS655 sensors were installed in each of five soils with clay content ranging from 5 to 49%. As the soils were dried in a temperature controlled room, sensor reported soil volumetric water content (θ_v) according to the factory calibration was compared against reference θ_v determined by weighing the soils. Sensor reported θ_v was similar to …

The Alchemical Vessel, River Soma

MFA Statements

My work comes from a place of deep feeling on a bodily level. Amidst the decorative play, there is a sense of the primitive and primordial, and also a certain humanity and clumsiness through struggle. Through the hermetic tradition I relate the alchemical vessel and its symbolic process of interior development to my artistic practice. Focusing in mixed media sculpture, I discovered a concentrated accumulation of symbolism specific to my practice, but also the full recognition of my practice as a ritualized psychological undertaking.

Influence Of Soil Clogging On The Performance Of Jute Fibre Drains Installed In Ballina Clay, Thanh Trung Nguyen, Buddhima Indraratna, John Philip Carter

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Biodegradable prefabricated vertical drains (BPVD) made from naturally occurring materials such as jute and coconut (coir) fibre not only have favourable engineering characteristics but also not detri-mental to the natural environment thanks to their biodegradability. Although the use of these natural fibre drains has been proposed for several decades, their application is still very limited. One of major reasons for this is because they are usually composed of individual fibres with large openings which can trap fine soils while discharging pore pressure, consequently reducing the hydraulic conductivity of the drain. This study therefore aims to clarify how soil can clog …

Microwave-Induced Bismuth Nitrate-Impregnated Claymediated Novel Dinitration Of 9,10- Dihydrophenanthrene: A Precursor For New Heterocycles, Ram Naresh Yadav, Leonardo Salazar, Amrendra Kumar Singh, Bimal K. Banik

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

A facile method for the dinitration of 9, 10-dihydrophenanthrene using domestic microwave-induced bismuth nitrate-impregnated clay is developed.

Influence Of Particle Gradation And Shape On The Performance Of Stone Columns In Soft Clay, Firman Siahaan, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn, Ana Heitor

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

A stone column typically consists of particles whose influence has largely been overlooked in design practice in terms of stress transfer, pattern of deformation, and intrusion of fines (clogging). This article presents an experimental study on the load-deformation behavior of a model stone column installed in soft clay with a particular emphasis on the influence of particle gradation and shape under undrained loading. The results show that particle gradation and shape have a significant influence on the load-deformation behavior and the extent of fines intrusion into the stone columns. Relatively well-graded particle sizes favor the development of higher peak shear …

Marred Clay, Shirley Folkerts

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"If you have been wronged by another person’s sin, or if you have wronged another person, God has taken that awful thing and used it to shape you."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­God's purposes in our lives from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

http://inallthings.org/marred-clay/

Catalyzed Synthesis Of Zinc Clays By Prebiotic Central Metabolites, Marcelo I. Guzman, Ruixin Zhou, Kaustuv Basu, Hyman Hartman, Christopher J. Matocha, S. Kelly Sears, Hajatollah Vali

Chemistry Faculty Publications

How primordial metabolic networks such as the reverse tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle and clay mineral catalysts coevolved remains a mystery in the puzzle to understand the origin of life. While prebiotic reactions from the rTCA cycle were accomplished via photochemistry on semiconductor minerals, the synthesis of clays was demonstrated at low temperature and ambient pressure catalyzed by oxalate. Herein, the crystallization of clay minerals is catalyzed by succinate, an example of a photoproduced intermediate from central metabolism. The experiments connect the synthesis of sauconite, a model for clay minerals, to prebiotic photochemistry. We report the temperature, pH, and concentration dependence …

Gardening In Clay Soils, Katie Wagner, Michael R. Kuhns, Grant Cardon

All Current Publications

This fact sheet covers the basics of clay, silt and sand soils with an emphasis on gardening in soils with a high clay content. It includes information on the composition of clay soils, gardening tips for managing clay soils, and the types of plants that grow best in clay soils.

The Effects Of Clay On Glycerol/Carboxylic Acid Polymerization: Implications Of Mineral Controls In Prebiotic Chemistry, Joseph T. Romero

Geology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Proto-enzymatic catalysis on early Earth is an important consideration in prebiotic chemistry research as it leads to the understanding of the emergence of the metabolic reaction networks. Contemporary enzymes are comprised of either organic or inorganic factors scaffolded by globular protein structure whereas we consider hyperbranched polyesters as a possible extant scaffold that is easier assembled than the peptide one. The goals of this project are to consider prebiotically plausible starting materials for such structure formation utilizing a subset of conditions for polymer synthesis involving the presence of mineral surfaces as well as temperature and hydration differential. As likely candidates …

Behaviour Of Clay-Fouled Ballast Under Cyclic Loading, Nayoma Tennakoon, Buddhima Indraratna

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Expansion of the rail network in congested coastal Australia compels track construction on soft clayey subgrade, including fine-grained estuarine soils. In such low-lying areas, where the water table is close to the ground surface, the saturated soft subgrade is often subjected to pumping (mud slurry) under the application of cyclic wheel loads, thereby causing fouling of the overlying ballast. This technical note presents the results of a series of large-scale, drained, cyclic, triaxial tests conducted on clay-fouled ballast. The impact of fouling on the stress-strain behaviour, resilient modulus and degradation of ballast is discussed.

The Catalytic Behaviour Of Nanoag@Montmorillonite Composite Materials, Martina Karlíková, Libor Kvítek, Robert Prucek, Aleš Panáček, Jan Filip, Jirí Pechoušek, Nathaniel F. Adegboyega

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

The preparation of nanoAg@montmorillonite composite materials and their catalytic activity is reported in this article. The nanoAg@montmorillonite composite materials were prepared by the adsorption of silver NPs, with an average size about 30 nm, from their aqueous dispersion onto two types of montmorillonite with different chemical composition. Silver NPs were prepared via modified Tollens process, which involves the reduction of [Ag(NH 3)2]+complex cation by maltose. The amount of silver NPs anchored onto the MMT surfaces was determined by UV-VIS spectroscopy; the decrease in absorbance of the dispersion after the adsorption was monitored. Prepared nanocomposite materials were subsequently characterized by means …

Convocation 2013 Address By Denise Pelletier, Denise Pelletier

Convocation Addresses

No abstract provided.

Threshold, Alexandria Knipe

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

My decisions in the studio are tied to my experiences outside of the studio, intertwining the complex relationship of memory and sentience. Each work precariously balances between softness and rigidity, vessel and sculpture, monumentality and intimacy. These tensions transform the familiar into the enigmatic and are an integral part of my philosophical approach to making.

Soft curves and billowing planes are punctuated by the structure of defined edges, hard angles, and areas of dark shadows. This duality suggests two worlds, one of feeling, intuition, sensuality, and dreams, the other of intellect, reason, structure, form, rhythm, and geometry.

By contradicting the …

Clay-Potter Imagery In The Bible: Theological And Practical Implications For Daily Christian Life, Karl Stelzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

God, the Master Potter, uses clay-potter imagery to explain spiritual truth. These passages are ignored, explained superficially, or misinterpreted and have not had the divinely intended impact. Theologically, doctrines of Theology Proper, Bibliology, and Anthropology have been compromised. Practically, the Holy Spirit has been hindered. To demonstrate the need for clay-potter instruction, research will include a comparative analysis of information gathered through questionnaires to churches that have held a clay-potter conference and those that have not, and an examination of written material and popular presentations. This author combines professional pottery expertise and biblical training to present accurate exposition. This thesis …

Constructions, Sean Ryan Larson

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

I have always been drawn to investigating the nature of ambiguous objects; objects whose role is unclear; objects that fall between distinct categories, and that exist in what appears to be transitional stages. The pieces I make provoke the imagination by building in experimental self-defined systems that refer to contemporary architecture, as well as comment on the ceramic and non-ceramic process. My pieces vary in form and intention just as the skyline carries changes in form and order. I want to make experimental objects that develop in front of me from the ground up, without a pre-planned result. Using fundamental …

Terracotta Figurines And Social Identities In Hellenistic Babylonia, Stephanie Langin-Hooper

Art History Research

Terracotta figurines are proposed as a particularly useful object corpus through which to access social identities in Hellenistic Babylonia. Cross-cultural interaction between Greeks and Babylonians has traditionally been the primary interest of scholars researching this society, and figurines were often recruited as evidence for the opposition of ethnic identities. In this work, a new approach to the figurines is proposed, which deemphasizes the categorical rigidity of typology and substitutes a flexible methodology of accessing multiple inter-object entanglements. A particular case study of “nude heroic” figurines (which are often considered evidence for display of cultural difference) is explored in detail, utilizing …

Problematizing Typology And Discarding The Colonialist Legacy: Approaches To Hybridity In The Terracotta Figurines Of Hellenistic Babylonia, Stephanie Langin-Hooper

Art History Research

No abstract provided.