Ceramic Arts Commons^™

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 …

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.

A Timeless Ritual, Luke Thomas Doyle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This written thesis is the supporting documentation for A Timeless Ritual, my Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition. The exhibition seeks to define my expression of aesthetics through utilitarian vessels to create a sense of nostalgia with the user my mimicking industrial objects.

The research pertaining to my thesis explores the interactions between object and user. A patina layered over time evokes a sense of age, weathered memories of a time once lived. I look for these subtle nuances in form. Borrowing an aesthetic from manufactured products and reviving it in a domestic space is where my pots takes life. …

A Sacred Gift: Rebalancing Our Relationship With Water, Noora Naser Melhim

Theses and Dissertations

In the Middle East, and specifically Qatar, water has significant cultural history and preciousness as a commodity. Today, the rapid economic development has resulted in a disconnection from the past leading to subconscious overconsumption of water.

This thesis investigates water from the context of cultural relevance, by examining systems of distribution before and after the discovery of oil. It reinterprets the materiality of the traditional ceramic vessels used to contain and preserve water with the intention of using the natural properties of clay, such as cooling and filtering, to produce new artifacts. The intent of this research is to critically …

Polyanthroponemia: A Pursuit Of Mystery, Magdolene Dykstra

Theses and Dissertations

I wish I could believe in something. Having grown up in a religious household, I have continually teetered between faith and doubt. Landscapes seen and unseen are my last source of awe; here my doubt is suspended – for a moment. Using unfired clay, I create alternate landscapes inspired by sublime philosophy. The sublime experience is born in a sense of amazement linked to fear of something beyond our understanding or control. The amazing intricacy of microbiology, a whole universe existing alongside and inside us, fascinates me. The abundance of unfamiliar life in my work triggers a cautious curiosity. My …

Point Of Inflection, Jonathan D. Stein

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

Images of Soda Fired Clay

Archetypes In Clay, Kaylea N. Williams

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The artist discusses the background, ideas, and work entitled Archetypes in Clay, for the completion of her Bachelor of Arts Degree and undergraduate research for the Fine and Performing Arts Scholar program at East Tennessee State University. The artist used this development of work to explore personality types, and how they can be portrayed through clay vessels. In particular, the artist shows her work, how she created the vessels, the testing involved, and the struggles she faced. Archetypes is the focus behind the concept of this project. Her work includes four ceramic vessels, created with clay and finished with glaze. …

The Development Of A Clay Body With Compatible Glaze Formulae, Nancy Travers

Dissertations and Theses

There are two aims in this thesis: the first is to ascertain something of the physical and chemical properties of clay and glazes and how to handle and control them. A project such as the development of a clay body and glaze formulae serves to isolate the various functions of the materials and give a clear understanding as to their use and potentials. This enables one to visualize and manipulate materials creatively with a reliable prediction as to their behavior. Spencer Moseley in Art Education supports this, saying: "The quality of a man’s production depends upon (1) the idea, the …