Date of Graduation

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MFA

College

College of Creative Arts

Department

Intermedia & Photography

Committee Chair

Shoji Satake

Committee Co-Chair

Jennifer Allen

Committee Member

Dylan Collins

Committee Member

Alison Helm

Committee Member

Robert Moore

Abstract

This written thesis is the supporting documentation for High Touch, my Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibition. The exhibition seeks to define my personal expression of beauty through domestic pottery that seeks to both elevate and celebrate mundane life experiences.;The research underpinning my thesis explores the connections between object and user. The use of pottery, particularly in the home, has the ability to breed familiarity, consolation, comfort and security. It is only when pots are put into service within the household that an affinity for the object is achieved and its unique character is revealed. These moments cannot be codified or appropriated because they are fleeting, immediate and sustained only through the everydayness of daily routine.;Documented through contemporary and historical influences, material/processes, and narratives of utility, my pottery's intrinsic value and meaning in the 21st century is identified.;Handmade pots have their own story. They contain a kind of individuality that imbibes them with a sense of joy or humor, grit or sadness. They are more than mere objects because they represent a part of the individuals who made them and as such their inherent individuality has the ability to stimulate new interactions with the people who use them. Through daily activities, pottery and craft objects brighten the mundane.

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