Artist Biography
Dealing with stress is a part of life that everyone, including myself, has grown to expect. Unique to each individual is how they choose to respond to their pressures. I combat anxiousness and unpredictability by seeking out predictability in naturally developing patterns. Observing the existence of organization, especially in something as sporadic as the wild, provides a sense of serenity. In the hanging installation Descent, I allow a search for peace to guide the creative process. This work is constructed out of ten ceramic falcons of various sizes hanging from above. With the largest bird farthest from the center, birds gradually decrease in size as they simultaneously spiral both inward and downward. In between the falcons, feather and egg shaped beads are suspended to complete the connection of the spiral. Acknowledging this obscure yet actual sequencing, the birds are sculpted in a realistic manner and hung to suggest the path of flight. This subtle demonstration of pattern gives you permission to admire the beauty of the creature along with its anticipated behavior until the moment where the pattern is broken by the final falling bird.
While this installation brings peace into my life as I live through a pandemic, it is also able to bring comfort to others. Acknowledging that there is order in the disorderly, “uncontrollable” world of nature is a source of comfort. People can find tranquility in the calming properties of patterns in nature, and by knowing they are not alone in feeling overwhelmed.
Thesis Abstract
This thesis investigates the emotional response humans have when witnessing both the construction and deconstruction of naturally developing patterns. As arts based research, an installation was constructed to observe how these emotions can be reproduced through mimicking the same organization that one would observe in the wild. The research organized into the categories of artists that utilize pattern, education and natural patterns, how patterns are visually presented, and patterns as proof of a higher being. All four of these categories come together to explain the different people who use natural patterns as tools, as well as the benefits they gain from doing so. Considering these various answers and advantages found in the organic patterns, a multipart installation composed of ten suspended animal figures was created to reflect this positivity and the unease that is felt when the pattern is broken. The animals and beads that hang together were all made out of an organic material, clay, in order to emphasize the prevalence of organic patterns. Organized in a descending spiral, the largest bird is located furthest away from the center and the highest up, with the rest of the flock getting progressively smaller and closer to the center. Finally, the center bird breaks the anticipated pattern as it was turned on its back as though it were falling. Spending time with this installation, viewers reflect inwardly on the impact the structure and the predictability hold over them, along with less pleasant emotions that are evoked by the broken promise of the falling bird that disrupts the path. Pattern related reactions are recognized in both the creative process and the interaction with the final work.