This paper is an experiment using digital video to locate and identify the abstract in everyday life and nature. The abstract moment occurs when the image that is captured by video loses its connection with the original context, allowing the images to be viewed in an entirely new way. The abstract moment is initiated by a transformative instant, that instant in which perception is altered and the viewer sees the intended content of composition of light and sound. The project contains four digital videos that record the artist's progress and interests.

I look at the world as a sculptor, examining physical constructs and implied meanings. My current research developed from my earlier studies of “containment” or, more specifically, “encapsulation,” creating visual, often physical, boundaries around selected content. Encapsulation confers a more active role than “containment”, a process rather than a result. This idea speaks to the issues of form, and asks the viewer to question the outside “shape of the form” in relation to the inside shape and content. My work focuses on exposed interior spaces and forms, allowing the viewer to enter the space physically as well as mentally and psychologically. Built in a large enough scale, the viewer could actually become the content. The sculpture’s interpretation revolves around the seen as well as the unseen. I built this duality into my work by using transparent and opaque materials. I also implemented small diameter stainless steel rod along with the transparent and opaque vinyl to reduce forms to their respective shapes and volumes. This approach allowed me to clean the “slate” of an object’s collective meaning and context, adapting it to the intent of my work.

The figure within the paintings function not only representations, but as surrogates for the subjects depicted. The artist believes that allegory goes beyond Western civilization. By applying allegories to our moder world, we can add to them rich in subliminal messages and keep them going.

It was my intent to find objects that were both historically symbolic and symbolic of the times we live in, and that could be melded into a nineteenth century interior where their presence would be secondary to the overall atmosphere. I wanted to incorporate objects that would function as metaphors or personal symbols as well as historical icons.

I believe the frame or housing of a printed image plays an integral role in the context of the work. It functions as a vehicle for possible interpretation. It should respond to and complement the concept of the central image. The image presented in a vessel or reliquary format should instill a meditative or religious response.

This paper describes the artist's conception of their scientific knowledge and spiritual beliefs, and the juxtaposition of the two in a single awareness. Michael Muller discusses the use of printmaking, drawing, and photo mechanical processes to represent this awareness through visual imagery, and includes photographs of the works.

I chose to exhibit sculpture and classical style vessels together to encourage discussion about whether ceramics should be considered a fine art medium. I was interested in experimenting with different forms and textures in order to see which combination would captivate the viewing audience the longest. I found that massive textural sculptural forms held the attention of the viewer more so than did the classical smooth surfaced vessels.

For centuries, books have been a traditional way to display prints. Contemporary artists' books have become more than simply a method of displaying prints and have, in fact, become a relevant medium for artistic expression. It has been important to my work that each of my artist's books have functioned as a unified whole, all parts of complementing each other and strengthening the overall concept.

I planned to explore the concept of the dichotomy of barriers and connections further. The works I planned to produce would incorporate a variety of printing techniques, drawing, and conceptual development. Each technique and method allowed for my perception to speak in a slightly different voice. The use of these multiple techniques would allow me to explore fully the complexity of barriers and connections in a manner more comprehensive than the one technique alone.

When I was first introduced to photography, I was mainly drawn to landscape imagery. I enjoyed being a solitary spectator. Over time, inclusions of figurative elements became more and more apparent in my work. I purposefully began to incorporate a figure into my landscapes, ascribing to it a certain nostalgia and a sense of isolation I was experiencing on many levels at that time. Before long, I felt disconnected from these images because of their ambiguity and generalization. I found myself craving more content and personal commitment in my photography. At the end 2003, I started experimenting with a 4" x 5" format camera, which forced me, to some extent, to change my way of photographing and seeing. That is how the beginning of this new body of work was born. I was accustomed to shooting with a 35 mm camera, which allowed me to be spontaneous, quick and immediate. I permanently switched to a large format. I could see myself benefiting from this change. I lost some of the spontaneity that a 35 mm format offers but I gained the beauty of working with larger negatives and the endless possibilities of view camera movements. Thanks to this technical transformation, …

The focus of the problem was to challenge the more traditional. Western approaches to jewelry as adornment in respect to areas such as placement and scale. Approaching adornment as sculptural forms interacting with the human body could possibly challenge the individual's awareness of jewelry as wearable art. This approach brought up the issue of using the human body as a pedestal for adornment.

The purpose of this study was to use the bomaki/arashi shibori process to create three-dimensional fabric forms which could be incorporated by the design of a garment.

a. How does the use of different materials such as string, screen, fabric or wire personalize the work? b. How does the addition of subtly recognizable imagery change the reductive field? c. How do processes such as wrapping, printing, dripping, and other techniques infer meaning? d. How does the choice of color and scale affect the work?

There has been a growing trend in the film industry in the use of three dimensional computer generated images (3D CGI) for special effects. With the popularity of this relatively new medium comes the need for new terminology. This exploration developed a general system of classification for 3D CGI effects for use in film. This system was based on a study of various writings about the significant films, which employ 3D CGI effects. A three-group system of classification system was developed. The three-group system was composed of the Elements Group, Level of Reality Group, and the Kind Group. These terms were developed to aid in the day-to-day production of 3D CGI special effects in the future.

Investigating the behavior, function and appearance of ceramic materials has proven an enduring point of interest throughout my education. In learning about the vast range of the earth-yielded materials and their physical manifestations in states ranging from wet to dry to fired, I have found myself excited and challenged to seek out ways to expand their presentation. My attention has been repeatedly drawn to the class of ceramic materials that frequently get classified as “glaze ingredients.” Understanding the structural and visual qualities of these minerals and compounds was an interest whether I was making tableware, tiles, or sculpture. For the purposes of this paper, I propose to deal expressly with the physical art-making considerations of material and process as they relate to my work in ceramics. By directing my focus as such, I hope to center my work on a concern that became evident to the art world upon the display of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain: material equals content.

Chapter I describes how my works are grounded in a Chinese point of view, based on sociological and anthropological approaches as defined in my work. The questions in my Statement of Problem deal with how I use "imbalance" in my works, yet still find a way to make acceptable compositions to better tell my stories. I relate how my work constitutes a positive act or event in an evolving world culture. Chapter II discusses the work I focused around the questions posed in Chapter I. Chapter III expresses my conclusion about my work and my goals for the future.

I Investigated the use of unpremeditated and reactionary methods of composing to arrange the landscape and figurative elements in my paintings. Though it may not necessarily be the case, these paintings may appear to have a narrative structure. The media, graphic imagery, and figure/ground relationships have given me a feedback loop, a guide by which I pictorially arranged the remainder of the developing composition. The painting revealed its identity and direction in this way to me. The application of a comic book style was the other consistent form with which I composed.

The triumphs over daily conflicts correspond to monuments that commemorate specific events of my life as a woman. The monuments commemorating these events necessitated an intimate format because the events depicted deserve close personal attention. The intimate scale offers the option of being presented as a sculpture with a base that has a detachable, wearable part.

The duality of repulsion and attraction is present in all aspects of life, neither existing exclusive of the other. This awareness has manifested itself in the need for creating work addressing the complexity of this duality and finding a balance that relates to human experience. The purpose of his problem in lieu of thesis was to combine my concept of the attractive, present in my early graduate work, with explorations on the concept of repulsion, to heighten the visual and psychological dynamic of the whole.

The interaction of the construction and the images was the focus of my proposed exploration. Previously, I viewed the images as the vehicle for content with little thought to the construction. I thought of the construction as a painter might think of his or her canvas, a place for the images to reside. The relationship between constructions as part of my content is essential. Exploration of form and image will push the limits of how the images and constructions may interact. Now that I was conscious of the construction being included in the content, I wanted to discover how the ideation process would change. I was also hoping to determine how the imagery would be affected by the redirection of my decision making process concerning the construction as part of the content.

I have always believed the design of clothes should not try to conceal the naked body but should act as a catalyst that reveals the existence and strength of the individual. Spring Message includes three phases, Spring Message, Mystification, and My Paradise to reflect my three life experiences. Spring Message is an attempt to express my thoughts and ideas though designs in fashion, which were derived from the ancient beliefs, traditions, and western influence I have experienced. Through my individual pieces and creations I hope the viewer will be able to see who I am, where I came from, and understand the happiness and changes in my life.

Ever since I became interested in the world of ceramics, crystalline glazes have been the most fascinating and challenging to me. Even though crystalline glazes are the most difficult and elusive to potters, their spectacular results (when done right) keep me coming back. Over the last year I have developed a crystalline glaze that yields consistent and excellent results. During this period, I have worked with these glazes in the traditional manor, being that they are only applied to smooth porcelain vessels. My proposal will be to attempt crystalline glazes on different surface textures.

In this body of work I have attempted to unify those aspects of utilitarian pottery and sculptural ceramics which I value most. I intended to join the inherent interactive nature of pottery with the capacity of sculptural ceramics to convey content through a personal aesthetic. Through this exploration I have developed a stronger personal expression in clay.

With this project I explored pottery forms of Bernard Leach and his apprentices. By exploring this work, it was my intention to expand my forms and address the following questions: 1. What Leach pottery forms were most compatible with my work methods and decoration? 2. What significant changes could I make to these Leach forms to adapt them to my own style of working character? 3. Would producing these adapted forms in two different clay bodies and using different methods to reflect landscape imagery lead to a style that I could call my own?