The Chronicles
At this point, I was coming off two semesters of learning ceramics at Harper college. Like any obsessed person, I was looking up all the different types of ceramic techniques. Some techniques that held the most intrigue were mold-making, mocha diffusion, and magnetic clay.
I was taught to view a vessel/pot in terms of the body. The practicality of making a vessel through mold-making is what made it intriguing. I was able to make blank canvases that I then treated with other techniques. I was ultimately able to use these as building blocks and construct myself vessels that allowed me to cope with the different problems my body was going through.
The most encouraging experience I had during this point was going to The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). I was able to go on a scholarship. It was the turning point in my thinking of ceramics not as a hobby but as a feasible career path. The countless different talks and live demonstrations were fantastic. The overall nurturing environment that the conference seemed to possess allowed me to dive into the rabbit hole that is ceramics.
Throughout the year, I had a clear idea of how I wanted my life to go. I was able to help teach classes for the ceramics department as well as be their student studio tech. Having these experiences, I sequestered my mentor Sam Rosby to the newly renovated library at the college. During our conversation, I expressed the joy that learning and teaching ceramics have brought me. We talked about career paths and how to survive in the ceramics field. In the end, I decided to pursue teaching. I wanted to go to grad school and obtain an MFA, so I could be eligible to teach at universities. The first step, though, was to get a Bachelor’s in Fine Art. So as the year rounded out, I made it my mission to pay my way back to NCECA so I could go and shop around for universities.
2018
Coming off of the fall semester, the start of the new year yielded new fascinations. My first experimentation with electroplating was finishing up, and it had terrific results. The introduction to electroplating was another artistic language I used alongside the slip-casted work. The addition of this technique provided the perfect finish to the work I was producing.
Having an ideal trajectory of what I wanted to do for this ceramic career made it easy to map out the next steps. The first big event of the year is NCECA. This time around was just as good, but now, I could drink legally. This year I was focused on finding a new school to transfer to. The schools that made it onto my list needed to have excellent facilities. During my stay at Harper, I was spoiled with the facilities and equipment. I wanted to make sure that standard was met.
After figuring out the list of schools, I started to reach out and ask questions. The most prevalent question was, would my transcripts be evaluated for placement, or would I automatically be placed at the sophomore level? I wanted to make sure I only had two years left in college. The result of this outreach was that I was invited to apply to Alfred University. Timeline-wise, I would need to stay an extra semester because of how the credits transferred, but the situation was too good to pass up. Starting classes at Alfred was an interesting experience. It was nice to have dedicated courses for different ceramic techniques and skills. Ending the year was great overall, and I was looking forward to the next semester.
2019
There was only one piece that was finished this year. The nice thing was being able to display the piece in a show at Rainbo Club in Chicago. My studies were fully underway at university, but then the world shut down. Not many good things came from the pandemic, but there was one silver lining. I was able to dual enroll in Harper College and Alfred University for the summer term. I still had specific class requirements, and I needed to dual enroll if I wanted to graduate within two years.
Thankfully for the fall semester, Alfred was reconvening. I was able to resume my studies, and it all focused on the senior show. This time was devoted to testing. The piece of advice taken to heart was what you want your people to walk out with when they walk into your show. With this in mind, I started to realize I wanted my show to be centered around survival.
2020
This year was dedicated to the BFA senior show. I had 16 weeks to make all the pieces I needed for the show. The show ended up being about survival. Listening to music allowed me to piece the ideas together cohesively. There were three distinct ideas that I wanted for the show.
The first idea that solidified was the centerpiece. From bottom to top, clay slabs are layered on one another to give the look of striated sediment. This base was three and a half feet long, two and a half feet wide, and three and a half feet tall. A welded metal square frame that enclosed a copper-plated ceramic bone was resting on top of it.
The finishing touch was a carved-out plaque on the front of the piece saying, “whatever happens, whatever happened, we are deathless.” This was a lyric from the artist Ibeyi. I wanted to display it in the piece to signify strife. How it will come and go, but we will continue to survive and push forward. Continuing this thought pattern, I wanted to display shield-like objects to play on the ideas of protection.
There were 11 pieces made, but only 9 were displayed in the show. The last piece that I displayed was an abstracted dandelion seed. Just like the centerpiece, I had the base look like striated sediment. From this, I had a ceramic seed propped upright with its tuft of metal and wood branching up and out. The piece was around seven and a half feet tall. This piece was placed away from the other pieces. Dandelion seeds carry the wishes and hopes we bestow when we blow them in the wind. I wanted the show’s message to be hopeful even in the melancholy field it was set in.
It was nice to graduate and move on finally. I went back home and started to consider my next options. I knew I needed a studio if I was going to continue, so I decided to take the class at Harper college. Next was searching for a job. I was lucky enough to start teaching as a full-time teacher for Thrown Elements Pottery towards the end of the year. To keep the progress going, I decided to jump on new portfolio pieces so I could keep applying to shows and hopefully land a residency. After this, the next end goal is to get into grad school.
2021
The start of the year was great. I was teaching five classes and still producing pieces. It had been a slow start but ultimately fulfilling. The beginning of the year was dedicated to finding the next project. For this new body of work, one conversation had the most influence. Conversing with one of my closest friends made me realize how things connect and how to cope with life’s mistreatments.
We have imperceptible strands that guide us through life. People and situations that ultimately shape and hold us together. Being able to see these strands can alleviate some of the stresses life puts us through. The pieces are squared off in torrid forms. The forms themselves have all different exteriors that reflect a person’s inner existence. Within these forms are wired strands to form an inner circle. These are the strands that bind us as a person, the people and situations that keep us whole. These pieces cause me to think about everyone that has assisted me through life and reminds me to be a supportive strand to others.
The rest of the year is yet to be seen, but I plan on gearing up to have online sales by the end of the year. I am also finishing portfolio pieces to eventually apply to residencies as they come live this year and into the next.
2022
These yearly excerpts are meant to chronicle my progression into the ceramics field as well as talking through artistic ideas. Navigating the field of art is a tricky thing and I hope that these writings will help someone's future artistic endeavors.