"We use animals as ideas to amplify and enlarge aspects of ourselves, turning them into simple safe harbors for things we feel and often cannot express."
~ Helen MacDonald
'What Animals Taught Me About Being Human'
~ Helen MacDonald
'What Animals Taught Me About Being Human'
The unconditional love and loyalty that we find within our canine companions plays a significant role in our personal lives and provides a model for relationships around us. My ceramic work uses the narrative of the dog and human relationship to communicate the internal sense of belonging and comfort formed through companionship. Vessels depicting imagery of the dog and human interacting in quiet, intimate moments evoke a feeling of warmth to encourage the viewer to question where the sentiment of belonging truly stems from.
The bond between human and canine was the first documented and strongest inter-species relationship to exist, and it is a dog’s ability to provide unconditional acceptance and loyalty that is the foundation to one of the oldest and most influential relationships of our time. Throughout Western art, dogs have also played a canonic role extending back thousands of years as a form of symbolism or essential to the meaning of a human cast of characters and narrative.
Ceramics has a long history and a profound connection to painting and storytelling: filling the entire surface of plates, challenging depth, and expanding range of color. I reference these positions of the dog in art and the history of painterly ceramics to talk about intimacy and a sense of belonging, in the hopes that this work transcends plate and creates a sense of place.
The bond between human and canine was the first documented and strongest inter-species relationship to exist, and it is a dog’s ability to provide unconditional acceptance and loyalty that is the foundation to one of the oldest and most influential relationships of our time. Throughout Western art, dogs have also played a canonic role extending back thousands of years as a form of symbolism or essential to the meaning of a human cast of characters and narrative.
Ceramics has a long history and a profound connection to painting and storytelling: filling the entire surface of plates, challenging depth, and expanding range of color. I reference these positions of the dog in art and the history of painterly ceramics to talk about intimacy and a sense of belonging, in the hopes that this work transcends plate and creates a sense of place.