Art and Design Commons^™

Dogs In Police Work, Jackson Morley

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

This research project discusses canines and their involvement in police work. Why do we not have more police dogs? K-9 units are very effective and helpful, but there are also several drawbacks. Police dogs are extremely expensive, they also can be used as an abuse of power, having too many canine units also can be unnecessary for every event of police work. Having police dogs as a specialty unit in a specific region would be effective though.

Object Of Sublimity, Light: Particle And Phenomenon., Rachel Hancey

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

This artwork visually explores how we experience light in the context of space and material through a series of screen prints created in part with funding from the Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities Grant. Preliminary research involved studying the works of the 1960's West Coast Light and Space Artists and the movement's subsequent evolution to the present-day, the interconnected phenomenology of light and space, as well as the existing and developing philosophies of aesthetics most specifically related to the Sublime in a contemporary context. The goal of this project is not to create work similar in appearance to that of …

Maladaptive, Megan Thomas

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This ceramics MFA thesis presents themes of environmental and emotional transition through metaphorical bird imagery. The artist juxtaposes humans and ravens, who are capable of adapting to changing environments, with songbirds, who are less capable of surviving change. The artist asks viewers to consider the loss of ways of existing in the world that goes hand in hand with loss of biodiversity. Works include sculpture, sculptural and functional vessels, and drawings.

Waiting Room, Adam Lefebvre

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Waiting can be exasperating, but sometimes that helplessness, knowing there is nothing to do but wait, is a comfort.

I have come to understand the value of the handmade through using and living with thoughtfully crafted objects. I am attracted to goods made by people who give voice to their material. When this is done well, I slow down and pay more attention to the object and the task they are performing.

Attraction and distraction. What are the differences between objects meant to attract our attention and those meant to distract? I would much rather lead a life full …

A Working Ideology For Graphic Design, Jeremy Nixon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This exhibition represents an experimental body of work completed for the Caine College of the Arts. It explores the interplay of explicit and implicit functions within semiotics, while simultaneously communicating the college’s messages and honestly representing my own aesthetic ideals. Through the treatment of these explorations I hope to create an aesthetic experience for the viewer. That stems from my own ideology – which consists of a myriad of conscious and subconscious beliefs – that make up who I am as a designer.

My conception of form arises from an essentialist approach to space and shape. This conception developed out …

Sink Hollow Volume 9

Sink Hollow

Our world experiences radical change every day. With this change, things that used to make us feel grounded in our lives may not translate. Our realities may not hold true anymore. Through artistic expression, whatever form that takes, we re-examine what it means to be human after change.

Issue 9 takes a journey of re-examination during times of radical- and sometimes harsh- change. The collage of pieces we have curated re-examine so much of what I thought I knew and give an entirely new meaning to my reality. I would challenge you as you read this issue to re-examine change …

Hyperreal Communication, Idil Tayhan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

”In societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles.” -Guy Debord

Particularly in the contemporary era, image duplication and manipulation techniques have been advancing rapidly. These advancements are forming a new discourse around communication that is drastically different from its predecessors. For this reason, in the contemporary era, communication has become questionable in its truthfulness and sincerity. As a designer, I am concerned with the extreme commercialization and commodification of communication. My work looks to the situationist movement of the 60's, which sought to disrupt every cultural front in order …

Second Chances, Michael Bingham

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

"Second Chances"

"Making the most out of whatever Life gives you".

For decades I have been making art out of things that other people have abandoned, discarded, sent to thrift stores or sold in garage sales. Since my youth I have possessed the ability to find value, usefulness and even see beauty in objects that most others would label as trash.

This is both a curse and a blessing. It requires patience and space to save, appreciate and tolerate the chaos accompanying objects that have not yet found their useful place in the world. Most of the art, including my …

Shared Roots: An Examination Of The Interconnectedness Of Cultures And Nations Manifest Through Art And Design, Hannah Baldwin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.— Robert L. Peters

The way that people influence their surroundings through art and design is a fascinating lens through which to view culture and history. Visual arts, including architecture, illustrate how cultures meld and shape one another’s histories and values as they come in contact. Pattern making, in particular, is found in every culture as a way of recording and making sense of the patterns of life. This project seeks to highlight the interconnectedness of cultures by examining the history and cultures of three European countries through the lens of …

The Impact Of University And Atelier Instruction On Classical Realism Art In America, Rebecca Chyenne Brock

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Students who aspire to become realism artists are faced with a difficult decision about where to learn classical drawing and painting skills. Where should they study and what type of education should they pursue? These students can attend a college or university and obtain a traditional contemporary art education. This choice will provide young artist with a basic education in painting and drawing. Students will also receive an education across different areas of art as well as a liberal arts education. However, students may select to attend an atelier, fashioned after the 19th century pattern for training classical artists. This …

Sink Hollow Volume 8

Sink Hollow

To make a magazine, we seek contrast and even the tension of contradiction.

We hunt for the words that defy experience, and experiences that defy words alone but must be captured by clever poetic contraptions and literary devices that violate the architecture of language and definitions in order to teach us what we can't know by conventional means. We crave the ingenious art of using words to drag meaning outside the semantic containment of words. There's contradiction! This is the skill of infusing words with the power to evoke emotion and connection. The work of the poet, the artist, the …

Finding Balance, Quinn Maher

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Exhibition Statement

Finding Balance is my exploration into the relationship between form, firing, and utility.

In the studio I pay close attention the silhouette of each piece, looking for strong continuous lines in both the positive and negative space accentuating the volume created on the potter’s wheel. I spend time with each piece combing the surface to create texture and reveal the course particles below the surface. As I apply white slip to this textures surface, the high points allow the fluid slip to break and pool in recessed areas creating a layer of depth and variety. The white slip …

Living Stone, Jason P. Millward

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

My sculptural work has a direct relationship to the rich tradition which utilizes human form as its primary means of communication and visual exploration. This tradition employs body language and gesture to convey emotion and ideas. Even my abstract work begins as an idea from a figurative gesture. Rather than executing a naturalistic body, I simplify and stylize the figures, focusing on the concept and aesthetics of the piece.

To do so, I emphasize certain formal elements in the design: concave and convex planes juxtapose to intensify light and shadow.Shapes are made by a continuity of line to create a …

Wonder, Katriona Drijber

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

WONDER is an exploration of the point at which what we know and what we think we know begins to break down. I melt and erode the perfect patterns I worked hard to construct through the manipulation of kiln atmosphere, using excess carbon, wood, and soda ash. I then add ephemeral, delicate imagery of animals in china paint. These steps introduce elements of the unknown and unpredictable onto intimate objects at the core of domestic human life. By disrupting organized patterns and reintroducing the animals we share the world with, I explore the question: What is lost when we surround …

Sink Hollow Volume 7

Sink Hollow

This issue marks my last as both an undergraduate student and as Sink Hollow's Editor-in-Chief. I have been with this precious publication since I was a freshman, new and green in the creative writing world.

My time with Sink Hollow has been invaluable. It has given me a deep appreciation for the vulnerability of creators and writers alike who share their work with us. It is terrifying to not only bring your creativity into actuality, but to share it publicly for the world to see. I have sat back in awe through every submission period at the bravery of all …

Sink Hollow Volume 6

Sink Hollow

There is no way around it. This issue, our 6th in the last three years, is painful. The underbelly of the human experience is laid bare and there is no hiding from it here.

But that is also what makes it so incredibly beautiful. It is a raw commentary on those things that, despite their pain, make us so uniquely human. It is our ability to trudge on, to continue to seek happiness even when it feels like there may never be joy again that makes us such wonderful, hopeful creatures.

As always, it is my privlege to present the …

Participate!, Michael Kettinger

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Hands-on art projects that directly reference scientific information may be a good outreach tool to generate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Anticipation Of Subsequent Days, Christopher Watt

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis exhibition is a presentation of my research into historic and autoethnographic analyses of social, material, and technical practices that support the production of atmospheric-fired stoneware and porcelain vessels. My work examines contemporary ceramic processes of wood-firing, salt-glazing and wood ash glazes and how they continue craft practices of historic traditions.

By critically examining the ceramic studio as a ground for material and ethnographic research, I aim to better understand the social conditions that support and produce atmospheric-fired ceramic practices in the 21st century, as well as how and why we continue to create such pots. My practice-based research …

Luminous, Antra Sinha

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As an observer, I have enjoyed the momentary happenings of the world. In India, I have watched shimmering waves from the shores of the Bay of Bengal. In Utah, I have admired gleaming sunlight on freshly fallen snow on the mountains. Peering into the kiln at peak temperature I have been in awe of the bright white light. Close to my heart I hold the significant memory of my dog’s passing, who laid in my lap as the ball of light escaped her. I gather these fleeting moments, and carry them into my studio. I relive these happenings in my …

Sink Hollow Volume 5

Sink Hollow

During my time with Sink Hollow Literary Magazine, I’ve watched five issues go through the creation process. From the initial submission picks to final design edits, I’ve had the immense pleasure of seeing every volume bloom from nothing into powerful pieces of thought- provoking art. This volume, our fifth one as a team, is no different. The authors and artists we’ve chosen to give a home to, have come together to create a publication that fosters a unique personal awareness. The goal of any good art or writing should be geared toward cultivating a change in the reader or observer. …

Bloom, Madeline Walker

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Bloom is an installation that exists as a theory and expression of systems, inspired by harmful algal blooms found in various aquatic environments.The way in which a unit becomes exponential is explored, as well as the influence of pattern on perception and development. The balance between beauty and repulsion, as well as mindfulness and excess, is a paradox that is questioned and explored from concept to completion.

Working in an intuitive, yet methodical way, the experience of living with OCD is expressed as a parallel to the overwhelming growth patterns algal blooms exhibit. The observations and experiences that influence the …

Point Of Inflection, Jonathan D. Stein

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Images of Soda Fired Clay

Iteration, Nick Lammay

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Ceramic Iterations

Fold: A Modern Lighting Line That Explores Ways To Meld Energy Efficiency And Health Benefits Into Essential Elements Of Interior Lighting., Megan Jane Cook Turner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Thesis Statement

Lighting plays an essential role in the modern world. Electrical lighting from fluorescent bulbs to LED fixtures greet humans from the moment they wake up until the moment they sleep at night. Light is essential to human life. As such, lighting has been and continues to be a prominent element of design from the grandiose chandeliers of the Rococo period to the minimal, modern lighting of the 21^st century.

Lighting continues to be researched, developed, and innovated and plays such an essential role in homes, offices, and the interior or exterior of any building. Lighting design has …

Sink Hollow Volume 4

Sink Hollow

Sink Hollow is growing up.

Our fledgling magazine is not so fledgling anymore. Bounding into a maturity that even the most passionate founding members could not have envisioned, Sink Hollow is here to stay. It is my pleasure, as this magazine’s third Managing Editor, to present to you my inaugural publication: Sink Hollow Volume IV.

This issue presents a raw, magnifying view into the ever-changing human experience. It reminds us that, no matter where we come from or what has shaped us, we are all uniquely, gloriously human. In these tumultuous times, it is essential that we allow ourselves to …

Sink Hollow 2017 Creative Writing Contest Edition

Sink Hollow

This special edition of Sink Hollow presents the winning entries of the Utah State University Creative Writing Contest, which is open to all USU undergraduate and graduate students from all departments and disciplines. We want to thank all our contestants this year for yet again raising the bar with their excellent work, and for helping to create such a vibrant and inclusive writing community here at USU and in Cache Valley.

Many thanks for the generosity and discriminating taste of our contest judges: Alex Baldwin, Matt DiOrio, Mary Ellen Greenwood, Brian McCuskey, Bonnie Moore, Paige Smitten, and Isaac Timm. Thanks …

Strangely Dark, Unbearably Bright: From The Volto Santo To The Veronica And Beyond In The Divine Comedy, Alexa Sand

Art and Design Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sink Hollow Volume 3

Sink Hollow

It's difficult to believe that my time with this journal has come to a close. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my undergraduate career to be an integral part of its publication.

At the time of this writing, our previous issues have been read over 5,500 times, with this volume set to increase that number substantially. We have worked with undergraduates across the United States and from many other countries as well. A great thanks goes out to all our submitters. Without you there is no journal.

Though I'm moving on to other things, I trust the …

The Manhattan Collection: A Study On Furniture Design, Gabriel Anderson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I have designed a series of pieces of furniture that all share some key similarities, not in form or even style (though my personal aesthetic will be seen in all of them), but rather in materials. All of my pieces use a combination of metal, wood, and stone. Obviously, this is not remarkable as these materials have been used to build furniture for as long as furniture has been built. However, I have endeavored to explore how these materials can interact with one another within a piece of furniture. My goal was to create furniture where the materials do not …

Pyrosynthesis, Matthew Allen Fiske

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Daily life plays an important role in what I make and why. The needs of the kitchen and home are for me, like many potters, a useful starting point for conceiving specific utilitarian forms. I make a lot of cups, bottles, and drinking vessels. Lately I’ve been interested in the idea of designing and making these vessels in sets. For me, there’s nothing better than gathering with a group of friends, eating, drinking, and using handmade ceramics. I’m motivated to make objects that enhance these experiences and enliven domestic spaces.