This problem is involved with attempting to answer two basic questions: (a) Can I, a commercial artist, expand and develop as an artist through screen printing and make valid aesthetic statements unrelated to client and/or product? and (b) Can knowledge of reproduction methods and photo-mechanical techniques be successfully utilized in screen printing for non-commercial purposes? Extensive notes in the form of a journal were maintained as work on the project progressed. These notes, combined with the completed prints, were the sources of data for this paper.

Experimentations with overlays of color within my imagery have developed an interest in surface embellishment resulting from the juxtaposition of overlapping hues, integration of collage, and extended use of mixed-media as a printed visual statement. Past printmaking experiences include exploration of a variety of procedures including lithography, intaglio, and serigraphy. Prints have been executed in edition and monoprints, singular techniques and in combination. Individual techniques were expanded through the use of collage and linear application of graphite.

The problem of this study will be to provide information on the degree of influence exerted by the choice of ground in the selection of collage elements and the final development of each collage.

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 purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to compare the viewer's perceptual response to the small-scale constructions with that of the large-scale ones. Specific questions of concern were: 1. What is my response as a viewer to these constructions when built as maquettes, with regard to the following specific concerns? a. Formal visual elements (i.e., line, shape, value, etc.). b. The presence of a sense of threat. c. Visual reference to a theatrical set. d. A make-believe, or childlike quality. e. Any physical or technical problems encountered. 2. What is my response as a viewer to the constructions when built on a large, or approximately life-sized scale, with regard to the same specific concerns listed above?

The purpose of this project is to provide a record, much like the ones left to us by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, of the personal influences which motivated the present artist to function productively as a sculptor for a period of one semester: from September 1, 1975 through December 12, 1975. The methods involved in charting such artistic transpirations consisted of two types: a written diary, daily recorded, which indicated the progress, regression, frustration, inspiration, and perceptions which were experienced by the artist during the three-month period; and a series of personal, emotional self-enquiries.

The intention of my mask-making was to present a body of work that visually captured my many encounters with spiritual presences in nature. From my perspective, these spiritual presences can be described most effectively as Platonic ideals, or the blueprints from which all physical forms are derived. These spirits are, therefore, the life breath and animating force behind the material world. I wanted to transcend the mere physical manifestations of nature and create in the masks a primary vehicle or conduit for the spiritual presences that I sensed in nature.

The problem of this investigation is to determine if the shrinkage resulting from water loss, which causes cracking in polymer-acrylic emulsion artists' paints, can be controlled to produce a predictable variety of surface textures useful in painting. Preliminary information on the behavior of polymer-emulsion paints was taken from published material such as Mayer's Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, Woody's Polymer Painting, and various manufacturers' technical publications. Experimental investigations were conducted to observe the media under varied methods of application and conditions of drying. The information gathered in the experiments was used to develop techniques producing a variety of predictable textural alterations, which were used in a series of experimental paintings.

This document is an attempt to objectify the subjective. The purpose of the investigation was to determine how a previous mode of expression, namely, two dimensional mixed media, could evolve toward an expressive mode which incorporated the making of three dimensional works. The main concern was to determine how the two dimensional statement gave way to one which was three dimensional, or what constituted the three dimensionality of the work.

The project involved producing a group (16) of audio-visual installations that successfully displayed and exposed various Muzak situations. The following questions, relating to individual pieces, were of concern: 1. What is the basic intent of each installation or piece? 2. Does the piece communicate the intent of the artist? 3. Which installations or pieces will adapt to any space? 4. What visual documentation is necessary to preserve the idea?

The purpose of this study was to examine the standard line of functional pottery produced in my studio. It involved two areas, and the questions I presented to myself were the following: 1. How is each form developed? 2. What consideration is given to the specific function of that form? 3. How can the development of a standard line of production strengthen the personal style of my pots?

Throughout history man has decorated paintings and art objects with materials as diverse as shells, seeds, beans, horns, seedpods, hair, feathers, ostrich eggs, coral and nuts. I proposed to explore the potential of using such materials to embellish framing devices for small paintings. Any material could be included in this exploration. The embellished frames have become a part of the total painting and are not removable. The solution included not only the practical, physical aspects of presentation, but also dealt with the purely visual aesthetic ones as well.

In order to become more aware of valuable characteristics that may be unique to the paintings and/or the books, I proposed to execute a body of work consisting of four sets, each set containing one painting and one book. I continued using religious icons as subject matter and the motif of the layered pentimento of the fresco as a metaphor for self-investigation.

The intention of this study is to examine the relationship between fired clay and certain found objects. Working from the assumption that clay, being a natural substance, shares a common ground with certain other natural substances, such as wood, hemp, rock, etc., a primary aspect of the investigation consists of discovering successful combinations of these materials. In each design two subordinate problems were encountered. These were (1) determining the best means of combining and preserving objects in a semi-permanent state and (2) ascertaining whether the thrown form is by itself visually satisfying or if it would be improved by distortion.

Each of the pieces in this study was a single room structure which incorporated a window. The scale varied depending on whether the piece as a whole or in part was to be worn.

The purpose of this study was to give information on watercolor painting in combination with printmaking and secondary media. The objectives of the creative problem were stated in two parts. The first dealt with the exploration into kinds of secondary media which affect the printed surfaces and the watercolors, and the second dealt with the investigation into the kinds of secondary media that can be effectively integrated with the collograph and the monoprint.

The problem I proposed to explore involved the evaluative process of finished dinnerware. For the problem I made three sets of dinnerware in three different patterns. Based on this work I asked the following three questions. 1. How do the different forms within each series visually relate to one another? 2. What qualities make this work visually successful? 3. What qualities enable these pieces to function well?

As I proceeded with my work within this format, I encountered some concerns that dealt with value judgement involving the presentation of an effective installation of this type. The challenge for me was to form a union between the images in my mind and the combination of materials that I chose to use. I wanted the viewer to be conscious of the entire space, as one experience made up of numerous elements.

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.

In this creative project, I investigated the problems of producing, selecting, presenting, and installing a one-person exhibition. I executed a series of 31 drawings, paintings and prints from which 21 pieces for the exhibit were selected. From the body of work executed prior to and during my graduate study, 21 pieces were included based upon the relative quality of the imagery. There were no restrictions with regard to media or size. My goal in this project was to assemble and present a coherent and harmonious exhibit in the North Texas State University art gallery.

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?

The intent of this project was to utilize hakeme in a personal and cross-cultural manner. This was a reinterpretation of a traditional Oriental technique. Reflecting my own background and interest in earthenware pottery, hakeme was adapted for use on low fire red clay. This reorientation of the hakeme technique to low fire ceramics indicated the strong western influence that i wished to integrate into this body of work. Hakeme was utilized in a self-conscious manner and became a less restrained translation of the technique.

This creative problem project aimed to develop a series of vase forms expressive of clay and its plasticity as developed through the throwing process.

The problem consisted of creating a series of jewelry pieces in metal which embody the concept of a self-portrait. Each piece in the series has a physical outside and an inside area in its structure which together form a conceptual self-portrait. Each piece was partly preplanned in detail and partly spontaneously executed. The spontaneously executed parts of the individual pieces serve to include the presence of the subconscious self-image. The series when viewed as a whole or as individual parts will give an insight to my self-image.