Date of Award
8-2021
Degree Type
Creative Project
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Art and Design
Committee Chair(s)
Daniel Murphy (Committee Chair)
Committee
Daniel Murphy
Committee
Kathy Puzey
Committee
John Neely
Committee
Todd Hayes
Abstract
I am interested in ritual – the rituals we inherit, and those we choose for ourselves.
By situating the everyday mugs, cups, plates, and bowls next to objects more closely associated with ritual and ceremony, I am suggesting that all of these are significant objects. On one hand, the tableware essential to the rituals of daily living we share at home, on the other, communion vessels and reliquaries are used to deepen a spiritual ritual shared by a community. Both rituals are important experiences worthy of introspection, and consideration.
This is why I make pottery. I believe that handmade objects have the ability to slow us down, and compel us to notice the kind of objects we’ve become oblivious to.
The pots in this show were made during the Covid-19 pandemic. I found the upheaval of daily life held together by my studio practice. I looked towards mindfulness, meditation, and flow in that practice, making discoveries as I made incremental steps.
My pots are strongest when I am making them as part of a routine, not by rote, but rather through the daily ritual of my studio practice.
I believe these rituals exist for all of us in some fashion, choosing to acknowledge and examine them will add significance and meaning to daily life.
Recommended Citation
Sloan, Matthew, "Reliquary" (2021). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023. 1558.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1558
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