Post 13 Fall 2024

Hey everyone its wood kiln week!! We unloaded the kiln this Wednesday and man was it a sight to see! It was a very juicy firing and everyone came out of it with something that they loved! This is one of my favorite times of the semester, even though the crystalline glaze that I use doesn't come out in a traditional wood firing a bunch of other crystals do! Since the firing was so juicy there is a lot of grinding and love to be given to these works before they are ready to be used and find a loving home. I am really excited about how the temmoku that I used fired like a tea dust and gave a beautiful gold shimmer to some of my pieces.

I also fired another one of my corsets this week and the crystals came out BEAUTIFULLY which only makes me more excited for my show in a couple weeks!

I started gluing the foam to the back of the fabric I am using to make my body forms and hope to have them completed next week! As my show grows closer I am more and more confident that all of the hard work I have put in over the years is coming to a graceful close that I can look back on fondly for years to come. I will post below a draft of my artist statement that I am working on for my show and the final draft will be posted under the BFA tab on this website!

Artist Statement Draft Below:

This work is an extension of myself that aims to spark conversation about the perceived and assumed. Outward appearance can affect the perceptions one has of another person or thing. Some of these perceptions are targeted in my work by juxtaposing the ideal to a societally unideal representation of myself. The corset provides a visual façade that is meant to replicate a body image or style that is in accordance with societal perfection, it has also been portrayed as a symbol of oppression throughout women’s history, something used to control women while at the same time heightening their status. Jean Paul Gauthier, Vivienne Westwood, and multiple fashion designers have overtime re branded the corset and today it is a piece of fashion that women wear to feel sexy or powerful. Though traditional corset practice is a thing of the past, as a society we have replaced the forced image of “perfection” granted by the corset into a realm of diet, liposuction, and “waist trainers”. Being a woman with light hair and a perceived access to “pretty privilege” while also having experience across variety of disciplines ranging from more domestic to trade skills brings into question my standing in either position. My grandparents both come from Cajun French heritage, Cajun French being my grandmothers first language. Following how she was treated growing up, she was adamant that we were to tell people we were simply American and not Cajun as for her it was a symbol of oppression and ill perception. Perceived beauty can act as a stepping ladder for societal positioning through outward appearances and material objects. In this vein I have presented myself as a sorority girl, fiancé, bride, fashion conscious woman, dainty, and desirable. Though I have also privately roofed houses, worked on cars, installed electrical systems in homes, and a variety of other experiences that differ from the expectation of my outward appearance. In this show I am presenting 6 facets of myself 3 expected, and 3 unexpected. I am to spark a question in viewers when they look at these forms if they are held in the same regard or if there is an immediate thought of one being more societally acceptable than the next. Crystalline glaze is a delicate and ornate surface treatment with blooming crystals and sporadic positioning across the surface of the work. Through the history of crystalline glaze, it has been something that artists have sought to control and refine, much like the control of societal fashion and perception over our individuality. When looking at these pieces’ I ask viewers to keep in mind the stereotypes that are held with them. I then hope create a thought of what the impact of those perceptions warrant, and provoke, as they are viewing aspects of my life as a whole. The pieces in this show will be approached with a societal prejudice whether or not the viewer intends to, and when they do my goal is to heighten and possibly change the concept underneath the original perception of them.

See y'all next week! :)