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Allegory and the Figure: A Contemporary Approach: The figure within the paintings function not only representations, but as surrogates for the subjects depicted. The artist believes that allegory goes beyond Western civilization. By applying allegories to our moder world, we can add to them rich in subliminal messages and keep them going.
Funware: A Lively Approach to Decoration on Dinnerware: This problem in lieu of thesis project looked at the style of a place setting as an exciting part of the meal. The study concluded that funware is achieved through a combination of color choice and a harmonious relationship of the dinnerware and the surface decorations.
Representing the Observable Textural Patterns of Moving Water in Stone: I plan to create a representation of the textures of four distinct states of moving water in three stone sculptures. These structured textural elements are intended to provide compelling visual stimuli that will enhance the viewers' understanding of the sculptures. The dynamic quality of rhythm inherent in the four observable patterns will be conceptually and physically captured on a stone surface.
Like Random Piles of Debris in My Mind: In this project, I further examined my work as a fictional layering of vernacular culture within the discourse of historical art. This investigation addressed the sources of my art, both in the outside world and in the context of an inherited art tradition. I focused on the issues of the formation and function of my work as an estheticized representation of this culture.
Protrapment: It was my intention to create pieces that seem to be both entrapping and protective at the same time. I hope that, as the viewer attempts to interpret each piece, there will be a shift back and forth from one to the other until both sides are accepted and a balance is found.
Space and the Unexpected: I intend to explore various canvas sizes and many formal issues, focusing on space and the application of paint are paramount in my work. I used closely cropped photographs to aid in this study and my exploration addressed the following questions: 1) How does the speed of execution affect the spontaneity and authority of the piece? 2) How important is the unexpected for the success of my painting in regards to formal issues?
Bomaki/Arashi Shibori as a Pleated Texture in Silk Used in a Garment: The purpose of this study was to use the bomaki/arashi shibori process to create three-dimensional fabric forms which could be incorporated by the design of a garment.
Recurring Images Rising Out of a State of Obscurity: Through this study I intended to analyze and determine the significance of the recurring imagery that emerged as an integral part of my compositions. Furthermore, I attempted to discern the importance and over all the effects of the small scale upon my work and determine how vital is the spontaneity that is used to obtain each composition.
A Sculptural Expression, Based on Dream-Derived Imagery, of the Preciousness of Certain Tools in a Meditative Journey: To emphasize the preciousness of these tools, I envisioned object-specific carrying cases, like a violin case or my grandmother's china cabinet. The object-specific case or cabinet is, like the tool it houses, special and singular inits utility and serves to underscore the ceremonial nature of the tool. Of all the examples of object-specific environments I've looked at, most have been constructed of fine woods; many have also been either covered or lined with various skins, silk, or velvet to reflect the preciousness of their contents.
Installation: Sculpture and Painting as a Hybrid Within Virtual Reality: My work has developed to the point where it exists within the grey area between painting and sculpture. These hybrid works necessitate the transition from creating objects to that work singularly to installations of various works that operate as a whole. The purpose of this study is to identify successful methods of making this transition through the use of the computer. The computer should provide new strategies to integrate sculpture and painting into a hybrid form.
Pattern: Literal and Metaphorical: My work contains physical and illusionary layers of images which reflect or relate cultural and personal experiences. These experiences address collective cultural patterns or personal and collective experience simultaneously. Visual metaphorical and literal patterns represent behavior and experiences. Inherent in the presentation of these types of patterns and experiences is the implication of time and the relationships between old, new, and changed experience. One vehicle for effectively portraying these linear layers of literal/metaphorical images in fibers could be visual images representing a metaphorical pattern combined with literal patterns. The literal pattern would either reflect or have a relationship with the metaphorical pattern. Another vehicle for expressing the linear layers of images could be varying representations of depth of field exist.
Injuring Eternity: I endeavored to investigate how temporal forms could be used as an avenue for addressing my sculptural concerns. These concerns included the relationship of form to material, the temporary manifestation of enduring principles, and responsibility to materials and their meanings. My pursuit of this investigation arose from both a search for alternatives in a field with a tradition of permanent object orientation and an effort to expand my own perceptions of what constitutes sculpture and the activity of sculpting.
Living Walls: The Integration of Clay and Architecture: Although clay has been used throughout history as an embellishment of architectural structures, clay elements have usually remained subordinate to existing architectural forms. Three-dimensional ceramic modules which divided an existing space, altered or obscured architectural forms, and intersected with or penetrated established planes provided a greater interaction between clay and architecture. I explored the use of clay as an integral three-dimensional element which interacted with an architectural space, rather than merely surfacing it. Because the installation of these works was temporary, methods of connecting the clay elements to the architecture were also investigated.
Breathing Life into the Reductive Format: a. How does the use of different materials such as string, screen, fabric or wire personalize the work? b. How does the addition of subtly recognizable imagery change the reductive field? c. How do processes such as wrapping, printing, dripping, and other techniques infer meaning? d. How does the choice of color and scale affect the work?
In Search of Depth: In this proposed study, I hoped to discover compositional elements that once added to the work would convey my conceptual ideas. I was interested in exploring the addition of deep pictorial space and increasing the size disparity between the figures as possible solutions for injecting a level of irony and/or eluding to the subverted agenda of the content. I wanted to see if these two secondary compositional adjustments subtly conveyed not only a strategic contradiction of the art historical concept of expressionism but the numerous accepted truths in society.
Ordering Chaos: The Integration of Form and Surface Through a Combination of Chance and Design: The purpose of this research was to develop a body of work which exhibited unity between form and surface, but which relied upon a combination of deliberate intent (specific form, glaze, firing temperature, etc.) and the occurrence of random accident to achieve this unity. The project dealt with the integration of altered wheel-thrown and hand-built organic clay forms with a variety of surface treatments. The firing/glazing techniques chosen (which included cone 9 reduction firing, raku firing, and saggar firing) could be controlled to some degree. However, even minor differences in glaze and/or firing treatments evolved through a variety of chance incidents into marked differences in the finished piece.
Reconciliation: The content of my work focused on examining the relationship between certain elements of nature and of human beings and was also based on the question of what true life is. The woodcut process - combined with the other printing techniques such as intaglio, collagraph, and monotype - was adopted as a potentially successful medium for conveying the content of the work. Overlay printing techniques and repeated textures were utilized as well.
An Analysis of Two Dimensional Printed Elements Within Three Dimensional Structures: I believe the frame or housing of a printed image plays an integral role in the context of the work. It functions as a vehicle for possible interpretation. It should respond to and complement the concept of the central image. The image presented in a vessel or reliquary format should instill a meditative or religious response.
Body Conscious: Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional Western Adornment: The focus of the problem was to challenge the more traditional. Western approaches to jewelry as adornment in respect to areas such as placement and scale. Approaching adornment as sculptural forms interacting with the human body could possibly challenge the individual's awareness of jewelry as wearable art. This approach brought up the issue of using the human body as a pedestal for adornment.
The Photo Generated Painting: The gum bichromate print offers the potential of allowing me to combine different media in my work, while reducing the cumbersome scale and retaining the visual impact of larger scale pieces. However, there are numerous problems to be solved in executing gum bichromate prints in a scale large enough to have the powerful visual impact that I feel is essential for the content of my work. I propose to refine the gum bichromate process to accommodate the scale of my work and to combine a variety of media.
Patterns and Evolution: My interest in the patterns of nature and culture has led me on a long journey through studies of math, sciences, and religions culminating in my current studies in art. Continuing my inquiry into processes of human perception and conception of time. My intention was to incorporate the "process" aspect of the printmaking medium into the final work by creating hybrid works that would take the "print" out of its traditional two-dimensional form. Finally, I planned to utilize the "multiple" aspect of printmaking to address ideas of patterns and evolution.
The Sculptural Creation of a New Form of Visual Awareness Concerning Predators: The Cheetah and the Wolf: The problem I have addressed this year revolves around my search for a means to visually challenge mankind's present concepts and ideology concerning the wolf and the cheetah. At the same time, it was essential that I find a way to visually challenge previous artistic interpretations of these animals. This involved the discovery of a new form of animal representation relevant to modern societies' problems concerning the future of wildlife and the significance of the predator.
Geometric Imagery: It was those problems and possibilities I wished to explore in my problem in lieu of thesis. While the simple, geometric images were very satisfying to that part of myself that craves order and rationality, it was all too easy to make work that was dull and uninteresting. I wanted to find a way to produce rich, sensuous, engaging work using only simple geometric forms.
The Visual Perception of Body Language in Sculpture: My work attempted to examine the emotional and psychological relationships between humans and the relationship of a human being with their inner self. I adopted the human figure as a potentially successful means of expressing these relationships. The language or symbolism I used in my work was derived directly from body language. This universal language is direct and immediate. Body language, posture, attitude, and tension of the figure are primary perceptions observed by the viewer. The immediacy of communication and directness of emotions through the use of body language were my main concerns. The major issue I dealt with was trying to invest those same emotions into my sculpture. My intention was to endow the sculpture, which consisted of a static unchanging pose and was created from an inert material, with a recognizable emotion and expressiveness that the human figure inherently carries.
Plast-I-Kits: Thesis Pieces: I proposed to base my thesis work upon an exploration of the ideas of the strength, power, and tenuous quality of metals, using a variety of metals in combination with appropriated and deconstructed forms to create cultural narratives. In this exploration, I addressed the materials of metalsmithing and their traditional use.
The Commemoration of Womanhood Through Small Sculpture/Jewelry: The triumphs over daily conflicts correspond to monuments that commemorate specific events of my life as a woman. The monuments commemorating these events necessitated an intimate format because the events depicted deserve close personal attention. The intimate scale offers the option of being presented as a sculpture with a base that has a detachable, wearable part.
Effects of Angulation and Proximity of Components in A Series: I proposed that two factors could be adjusted in a series of rings in order to achieve total control of implied movement: Proximity and angulation of components. Through careful adjustment of these two factors, I theorized that the implied motion in a ring series could be accelerated, slowed, or omitted altogether.
Messages from an Imagination: The large scale format allows the images I created to have a more pronounced impact on the viewer. Self-reflective subject matter exhibited within the large attention-getting style allows an audience to better connect and identify with the figures in my work. The piece is a series of large scale paintings butted together both side by side at one hundred thirty-five-degree angles that provides a vehicle to surround the viewer. The paintings, when placed together, form a continuous image and present themselves as one extensive piece.
Artists' Books: An Investigation Into Another Genre of Artistic Expression: For centuries, books have been a traditional way to display prints. Contemporary artists' books have become more than simply a method of displaying prints and have, in fact, become a relevant medium for artistic expression. It has been important to my work that each of my artist's books have functioned as a unified whole, all parts of complementing each other and strengthening the overall concept.
Presentation and Preparation: A Survey of Functional Forms: While I worked, I made a number of pieces that followed a common theme, each relating to the piece made before and after. This way of working revealed new possibilities for expression. During this particular body of work, I explored a specific series of forms that could be used in the preparation and presentation of food and drink.
The Sculptural Book: An Exploration of Form in Conjunction With the Elements of Design: My premise was the marriage of two forms, book and sculpture. My goal was to determine if these two unique types of work could be joined as one. In each oth the proposed works, I focused on an element of design as well as the challenges present when works are produced for a particular space (the Cora Stafford Gallery).
Loss Versus Hope: A Printmaker's Investigation: Using this conflict between death and dying versus hope and new life, I searched for an undogmatic way to convey a Christian antidote to the despair and ugliness of post modern art. The struggle was to find the imagery, format, and media combinations to express a vision, with realism and hope, for the late twentieth century, in a unique and interesting context.
An Exploration of Organic and Geometric Form Combined in Stone Sculpture: Dualities of all kinds exist in the world today. Being a visual artist and sculptor I recognize these dualities every day of my life in the natural and man-made forms I see. These forms can be broken down into two categories: the geometric and the organic. The purpose of this problem in lieu of thesis was to explore how organic and geometric form could be combined to create a unified sculpture in stone and how the finished sculpture affected me as a viewer. The figure was the main organic form represented and addressed in this problem.
A Successful Union Between Functional and Decorative Pottery: The goal of this study was to construct a body of work encompassing a broad range of wheel thrown functional pots that are accented with hand built additions. I produced a total of forty pieces developed from four forms representing a respective increase in scale. I addressed technical and aesthetic issues during the process. These included glaze combinations, variations of established hand built additions, surface decoration, and form/shape manipulation.
The Execution of Woodcut Prints Utilizing Photographs as Source Material: The purpose of this study was to investigate the personal success of using photographs as source material for woodcuts or other relief prints, and to determine how my selectivity, editing, and execution would enhance the content of these works. I proposed to create a body of woodcuts whose subject matter would be based on photographs dealing with the scenes and legends of Texas.
Female: My objective was to create a body of work using various printing processes. I wanted to communicate my emotional responses to the fertility and childbearing of older women. I wanted to address the realities that become problems for women who wait to have children at an older age and related feelings. Some of these problems were infertility, early menopause, "sticky eggs," and birth defects. There are current medical practices that help these problems such as the freezing of eggs, artificial insemination, and multiple births. I wanted to incorporate ideas about the panic I began to feel about having a child at an older age and my frustration over the lack of open discussion about such feelings. I have combined the use of realism and abstraction in my work. I included dyed and torn paper to lend organic and tactile qualities to the humanistic subject matter. The end result has consisted of various forms of collage and an assembly of the dyed, torn and printed paper.
Manipulations in Utilitarian Ceramics: The objective of this study was to obtain an aesthetically pleasing surface, by altering the surface to enhance a particular form. I incorporated plant and landscape imagery from my past experiences.
Nature's Cycle: A Relationship in Fiber: The focus of my study is the utilization of fiber to create interpretations of animal skins that reflect the cycle of nature through varying degrees of multiplication and repetition of the fibers. In exploring this problem, I have addressed the following questions: 1. Which fibers work best for achieving these interpretations? 2. What problems were encountered in creating structural supports? 3. What are the effects of repeating fiber elements?
An Exploration of the Visual Impact of Symmetry, Texture, and Multicultural Imagery on the Chalice: The emotional and psychological reaction to a chalice is determined in part by the visual impact of the vessel. The goal of this problem has been to explore the visual impact of contemporary techniques and traditional materials, combined with multi-cultural imagery on the perception of the vessel as a chalice.
The Comic Book Style as Stylistic Meaning in Painting: I Investigated the use of unpremeditated and reactionary methods of composing to arrange the landscape and figurative elements in my paintings. Though it may not necessarily be the case, these paintings may appear to have a narrative structure. The media, graphic imagery, and figure/ground relationships have given me a feedback loop, a guide by which I pictorially arranged the remainder of the developing composition. The painting revealed its identity and direction in this way to me. The application of a comic book style was the other consistent form with which I composed.
The Development of a Personal Aesthetic Through the Melding of Functional and Sculptural Philosophies: In this body of work I have attempted to unify those aspects of utilitarian pottery and sculptural ceramics which I value most. I intended to join the inherent interactive nature of pottery with the capacity of sculptural ceramics to convey content through a personal aesthetic. Through this exploration I have developed a stronger personal expression in clay.
Concepts on Attraction and Repulsion for a Greater Visual and Psychological Dynamic: The duality of repulsion and attraction is present in all aspects of life, neither existing exclusive of the other. This awareness has manifested itself in the need for creating work addressing the complexity of this duality and finding a balance that relates to human experience. The purpose of his problem in lieu of thesis was to combine my concept of the attractive, present in my early graduate work, with explorations on the concept of repulsion, to heighten the visual and psychological dynamic of the whole.
Nature Constrained: A Sculptural Study in Contrasts: The focus of my work was a study of contrasts which entailed taking a found natural object out of its original context and combining it with certain constructed man-made elements and allowing an interplay between the components to occur. The contrasts and interplay between these organic materials and their physical incorporation into objects of art/jewelry have been enhanced by further exploring the differing natures of the various materials used and the tension created by the placement of these materials. Through the juxtaposition of organic mateirals, refined materials, and man-made materials and by constructing them in an architecturally sensitive manner the contrasts were heightened.
The Fusion of Predominantly Linear Marks and Solidly Rendered Forms as an Expressive Agent in Painting: I plan to investigate the fusion of predominantly linear marks with solidly rendered forms to create a sense of space, depth, and texture within a series of paintings. The investigation will seek to answer a four part problem related to the creation of a series of paintings. The four part problem will explore whether or not the combined use of line, textural surface information, and buried images will have the potential to operate as an expressive agent in painting. This investigation will also address the series as a whole by evaluating the evolutionary process which may occur when color and solidly rendered forms are re-introduced to the canvas and combined with the primarily linear marks.
Sources and Vestiges: I have suggested that the ornamental element employed in my painting functions as historical, cultural and social text, and also as a carrier of ideas and ideals about beauty and art which have been invalidated by the Modernist view. I will explore how the elements of painting: material, paint application, palette, figure/ground relationship, scale and other formal and technical factors, combine and interact to transform, contradict, subvert or negate the ornamental element in the painting; and how in turn these combinations effect the way the paintings function both formally and in terms of content.
Visions and Revisions: My problem was to develop a personal symbolism within my paintings that expresses my identity. Who am I? Who have I been? Who will I be? Since these paintings are a way of telling my story. One aspect of the problem was communicating my ideas, making the paintings readable. Representational and recognizable images are culturally traceable symbols. The intended reading of the symbols may be generally understood; however, some degree of ambiguity was anticipated since ambiguity is an inherent aspect of symbolism. IN so much as I value symbolism and communicating ideas I believe that ambiguity is equally important. I proposed to balance readability with mystique. Things of the inner self are not immediately evident but found through contemplation. They hold mystery.
The Investigation of Content Inherent in Small Format Mixed Media Paintings: Prior to 1990 I worked exclusively with large scale formats, using traditional oil painting media on canvas. During that year I became interested in the effect produced by more intimate passages within larger works. Discovery of a scroll of Chinese ink drawings in 1992 increased my interest in small scale composition.
Altered Interiors and Reality: The Subtle Changes of Perception: It was my intent to find objects that were both historically symbolic and symbolic of the times we live in, and that could be melded into a nineteenth century interior where their presence would be secondary to the overall atmosphere. I wanted to incorporate objects that would function as metaphors or personal symbols as well as historical icons.
Metamorphosis of Forms: The esthetic issue of the metamorphosis of forms is the basis for my work. In parallel configurations natural form, abstract form, and the extrasensory world of light energy forms move together to form a field of force. The unfolding of the destiny of forms against such an energy field makes a resolution of forms bounded by rhythm and organic shape. The energy field that is the product of forms captures the relationship among natural form, abstract form and light forms of the spirit. The radiation of meaning is the focus of the combination of these forms in a field of force. The problem becomes then the definition of meaning in the multiple declaration of three forms of representation with the treatment of the extrasensory world of light energy as the articulation of an element of perception.
Development of a Personal Style: With this project I explored pottery forms of Bernard Leach and his apprentices. By exploring this work, it was my intention to expand my forms and address the following questions: 1. What Leach pottery forms were most compatible with my work methods and decoration? 2. What significant changes could I make to these Leach forms to adapt them to my own style of working character? 3. Would producing these adapted forms in two different clay bodies and using different methods to reflect landscape imagery lead to a style that I could call my own?

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