This report documents the changes in my work as a ceramic artist over a two-year period, imposed upon, and inspired by, the use of a propane torch on the surface of the clay vessel. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to provide information about this particular tool for methods of survace decoration; (2) to provide information about a subjective thought process directed by properties in this particular tool.

The synthesis of mechanical/organic abstracted forms with suggestive power and specific purpose are elements i decided to continue to explore. I wished to make a more careful and systematic analysis of how something man-made could be transformed into a quasi-mechanical abstraction, perhaps a process similar to that in the Mayan art. The purpose of this project was: (1) to analyze how the shapes and forms arise in my abstract images and (2) to devise specific functions for them within the context of the final form.

To determine the effectiveness of the combinations of images as metaphors for desire I asked the following questions during the course of my exploration: 1. On what basis were the objects chosen? 2. What are the relationships between and among the images in the paintings? 3. How do these relationships constitute a metaphor for desire? 4. What visual devices influence the relationships between the images?