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.

The focus of my study is the utilization of fiber to create interpretations of animal skins that reflect the cycle of nature through varying degrees of multiplication and repetition of the fibers. In exploring this problem, I have addressed the following questions: 1. Which fibers work best for achieving these interpretations? 2. What problems were encountered in creating structural supports? 3. What are the effects of repeating fiber elements?

Through this study I intended to analyze and determine the significance of the recurring imagery that emerged as an integral part of my compositions. Furthermore, I attempted to discern the importance and over all the effects of the small scale upon my work and determine how vital is the spontaneity that is used to obtain each composition.

To emphasize the preciousness of these tools, I envisioned object-specific carrying cases, like a violin case or my grandmother's china cabinet. The object-specific case or cabinet is, like the tool it houses, special and singular inits utility and serves to underscore the ceremonial nature of the tool. Of all the examples of object-specific environments I've looked at, most have been constructed of fine woods; many have also been either covered or lined with various skins, silk, or velvet to reflect the preciousness of their contents.

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.

The emotional and psychological reaction to a chalice is determined in part by the visual impact of the vessel. The goal of this problem has been to explore the visual impact of contemporary techniques and traditional materials, combined with multi-cultural imagery on the perception of the vessel as a chalice.

Although clay has been used throughout history as an embellishment of architectural structures, clay elements have usually remained subordinate to existing architectural forms. Three-dimensional ceramic modules which divided an existing space, altered or obscured architectural forms, and intersected with or penetrated established planes provided a greater interaction between clay and architecture. I explored the use of clay as an integral three-dimensional element which interacted with an architectural space, rather than merely surfacing it. Because the installation of these works was temporary, methods of connecting the clay elements to the architecture were also investigated.

The purpose of this research was to develop a body of work which exhibited unity between form and surface, but which relied upon a combination of deliberate intent (specific form, glaze, firing temperature, etc.) and the occurrence of random accident to achieve this unity. The project dealt with the integration of altered wheel-thrown and hand-built organic clay forms with a variety of surface treatments. The firing/glazing techniques chosen (which included cone 9 reduction firing, raku firing, and saggar firing) could be controlled to some degree. However, even minor differences in glaze and/or firing treatments evolved through a variety of chance incidents into marked differences in the finished piece.

This thesis examines the roles of the sublime and the beautiful in the works of eighteenth-century French landscape painter Claude-Joseph Vernet. An introduction to the study, a history of the sublime and beautiful, and an overview of the way these ideas are portrayed in Vernet's calm and storm pendants are provided. How commissions for these pendants relate to theoretical developments of the sublime and beautiful and how Vernet became aware of the these ideas are addressed. The thesis shows Vernet was not dependent on British patrons or on the century's most influential aesthetic treatise on the sublime and the beautiful by Edmund Burke, because Vernet started painting such themes well before Burke's treatise (1757) and did so in response to French patrons.

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.

This problem in lieu of thesis project looked at the style of a place setting as an exciting part of the meal. The study concluded that funware is achieved through a combination of color choice and a harmonious relationship of the dinnerware and the surface decorations.

It was those problems and possibilities I wished to explore in my problem in lieu of thesis. While the simple, geometric images were very satisfying to that part of myself that craves order and rationality, it was all too easy to make work that was dull and uninteresting. I wanted to find a way to produce rich, sensuous, engaging work using only simple geometric forms.

My work has developed to the point where it exists within the grey area between painting and sculpture. These hybrid works necessitate the transition from creating objects to that work singularly to installations of various works that operate as a whole. The purpose of this study is to identify successful methods of making this transition through the use of the computer. The computer should provide new strategies to integrate sculpture and painting into a hybrid form.

I wanted to see if I could affect the "unknown" by attempting to steer the subconscious. I kept a journal of events going on in my life, dreams, therapy sessions, or ideas for songs or short stories. In my studio, I kept a running list of ideas for titles of songs, stories, or paintings. In addition to this, I recorded narrative or metaphoric ideas that the paintings presented on the search for the final painting.

The large scale format allows the images I created to have a more pronounced impact on the viewer. Self-reflective subject matter exhibited within the large attention-getting style allows an audience to better connect and identify with the figures in my work. The piece is a series of large scale paintings butted together both side by side at one hundred thirty-five-degree angles that provides a vehicle to surround the viewer. The paintings, when placed together, form a continuous image and present themselves as one extensive piece.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an art curriculum in Qatar, using the principles of the DBAE curriculum in conjunction with technology. Many of the challenges facing art educators and the art curriculum in Qatar can be approached through the multimedia applications of DBAE, which will provide instructors and students with an opportunity to more readily interact with visual art and to discover its educational relevance. Additionally, this study attempted to discover whether teachers are engaged in implementing technology in the art classroom and whether they are given the opportunity to engage in art to their satisfaction.

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.

This thesis analyzes the destruction of imagery dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket in order to investigate the nature of sixteenth-century iconoclasm in Reformation England. In doing so, it also considers the veneration of images during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Research involved examining medieval and sixteenth-century historical studies concerning Becket's life and cult, anti-Becket sentiment prior to the sixteenth century, and the political circumstances in England that led to the destruction of shrines and imagery. This study provides insight into the ways in which religious images could carry multifaceted, ideological significance that represented diversified ideas for varying social strata--royal, ecclesiastical and lay.

My objective was to create a body of work using various printing processes. I wanted to communicate my emotional responses to the fertility and childbearing of older women. I wanted to address the realities that become problems for women who wait to have children at an older age and related feelings. Some of these problems were infertility, early menopause, "sticky eggs," and birth defects. There are current medical practices that help these problems such as the freezing of eggs, artificial insemination, and multiple births. I wanted to incorporate ideas about the panic I began to feel about having a child at an older age and my frustration over the lack of open discussion about such feelings. I have combined the use of realism and abstraction in my work. I included dyed and torn paper to lend organic and tactile qualities to the humanistic subject matter. The end result has consisted of various forms of collage and an assembly of the dyed, torn and printed paper.

While I worked, I made a number of pieces that followed a common theme, each relating to the piece made before and after. This way of working revealed new possibilities for expression. During this particular body of work, I explored a specific series of forms that could be used in the preparation and presentation of food and drink.

The goal of this study was to construct a body of work encompassing a broad range of wheel thrown functional pots that are accented with hand built additions. I produced a total of forty pieces developed from four forms representing a respective increase in scale. I addressed technical and aesthetic issues during the process. These included glaze combinations, variations of established hand built additions, surface decoration, and form/shape manipulation.

This thesis is an investigation of the way in which the painter May Stevens (b. 1924) synthesizes her personal experiences and political philosophy to form complex and enduring works of art. Primary data was accumulated through an extended interview with May Stevens and by examining her works on exhibit in New York and Boston. An analysis of selected works from her "Big Daddy" and "Ordinary/Extraordinary" series revealed how her personal feelings about her own family became entwined with larger political issues. As an important member of the feminist art movement that evolved during the 1970s, she celebrated this new kinship among women in paintings that also explored the contradictions in their lives. In more recent work she has explored complex social issues such as teenage prostitution, sexism, and child abuse in a variety of artistic styles and media. This study investigates how May Stevens continues to portray issues of international significance in works that consistently engage the viewer on a personal, almost visceral level.

My problem was to develop a personal symbolism within my paintings that expresses my identity. Who am I? Who have I been? Who will I be? Since these paintings are a way of telling my story. One aspect of the problem was communicating my ideas, making the paintings readable. Representational and recognizable images are culturally traceable symbols. The intended reading of the symbols may be generally understood; however, some degree of ambiguity was anticipated since ambiguity is an inherent aspect of symbolism. IN so much as I value symbolism and communicating ideas I believe that ambiguity is equally important. I proposed to balance readability with mystique. Things of the inner self are not immediately evident but found through contemplation. They hold mystery.