This project was designed to afford me the opportunity to work with the possibility of combining painting and music through the creation of narrative art. I endeavored to produce a body of work in which the individual paintings and songs would also stand on their own as autonomous works, and still function as components of a work that was larger in scope. The challenge was to develop the visual and verbal elements into a unified whole.

This project is an investigation into the sources of sustained, thematically related images through a series of drawings, prints, photographs and sculpture. Because I have always worked best when I have hit upon an image or set of images of considerable symbolic depth, and because I have generally found such images intuitively, a major portion of this project is to determine if such images can be discovered more consciously.

In selecting a thesis project, my interest and experience with fibre-tip pen drawings suggested that further investigations would be profitable. Fibre-tip pens provide a fast and convenient means to draw under outdoor conditions. The pens make dense black and consistent lines at whatever speed they are moved. The ink supply is automatic; not requiring a separate container for dipping and not requiring cleaning. Fibre-tip pens designed to make lines of different widths are commercially available at low cost.

The problem was to investigate illusionary space as affected by dark surfaces using the elliptical and spherical shapes from previous work. I explored the potential of visual tension, movement, pattern, and various degrees of space on surfaces of opposite tonalities from those previously used. An investigation of space on dark surfaces was undertaken and ten works completed.

The purpose of this study is to examine the development of a series of paintings and drawings confined to the subject of trains and the derailings of trains. This creative project includes a descriptive study which documents the development as it occurs in the series. The written material is utilized with regard to its relevance in uncovering pertinent conditions and events that contributed to the drawing and painting processes during the execution of the series.

In the monotypes I have done, a third figure has emerged in the spontaneity of the process as a simple face shape and element of composition. Virtually ignored by the others the third figure becomes a puzzle as to its complete role. As this third figure came about from a natural development in the monotypes, I have explored its meaning in my paintings for the creative project in lieu of thesis. I have investigated the role of the third figure in meaning and content as I introduced it to the interaction of the two figures in my paintings.

In my Problem in Lieu of Thesis I explored the use of analogy in my work. I searched for ways to heighten the difference or distance between the imagery within an analogous relationship and yet maintain meaningful similarities or relationships. An analogy, for the purpose of this paper is defined as the following: "a similarity or likeness between things in some circumstances or effects, when the things are otherwise entirely different."

The questions answered by this investigation are as follows: 1. Which silkscreens and stencils will work in screening flat and three-dimensional objects? 2. Which mediums and coloring agents will survive a glaze firing to produce an acceptable image? 3. How can the image be modified by screening during the different stages of a ceramic piece (wet, green, bisque, glazed)? 4. What glazes and glaze applications will be compatible? 5. Generally, what is the relationship between the image and the object?

The introduction to printmaking in most universities and college directs students to learn the basic techniques of intaglio using zinc. This continues throughout one's academic career, with little emphasis placed on experimentation with other metals. During my undergraduate and graduate studies I etched with zinc. I had wanted to use aluminium and magnesium in order to explore the similar and dissimilar qualities of the three.

I am interested, both from a personal standpoint and from a cultural perspective, in pursuing the meaning of thes eimages singly and as they combine with others. In turn, the results, I hope, will lead to the discovery of more images for my image encyclopedia. After this introduction subsequent chapters will explore my reasons for the combinations of images I choose and will place the finished drawings in their contemporary art context. My goal will be to note the changing meanings of the objects as they interact serially.

In pursuit of the project, I sought to address the following concerns: 1. Which intaglio processes, or their combination, proved to be the most useful in production of the book? 2. In establishing a concept for the book, what problems were encountered? 3. What is the visual relationship between the printed images, the book, and its container?

Feline images have been an element in much of my work since 1981. These cat images were usually included in self-portraits. As my work progressed, the feline images increased in importance until 1985, when I abandoned the self-portraits almost entirely and began working predominantly with the cats. Although the feline image has been an important aspect of my work for several years, I never attempted to discover what these images symbolized or meant. I rarely thought consciously about the content of my work, as i arrived at my images primarily in an intuitive manner.

For the problem in lieu of thesis, a series of ten works were created in which a male image replaced the female image; I continued to utilize the same materials, format, and centralized frontal figure. A record of the work was accomplished by maintaining a written and visual journal on progress and outcome. Some research was made into topics related to the work, and the findings from the literature comprise chapter two of the paper. In executing this body of work and researching related topics, I hoped to better understand my conscious and unconscious processes and motivations in creating both the self-portrait series and the new series.

I examined and evaluated three sets of gallery installations and related handmade books. The following questions were considered foremost: 1) Visually, how different from and how similar to the gallery installations are the books? 2) What verbal elements are adapted from the installations to the books? 3) How does the difference in format (that is, the books) alter or affect the content and meaning of the installations?

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how imagery evolved in my work, in dealing with the relationship between body and landscape and the relationship between image and abstraction. Five paintings were created for the investigation of the evolution in my imagery. A journal of notes was kept concerning each piece while in progress and immediately following its completion. The analyzing method was a visual analysis of the structure and content, as well as the process through which the imagery evolved.

My problem was to investigate some of the possibilities which have arisen through my previous work by producing twelve fabric pieces and eight paper pieces. Specifically, the following questions were to be examined: 1. Are there traditional designs or techniques in quilts of the past that can be utilized in my own work? 2. Are the primary colors (red, yellow, blue) in manufactured unaltered fabric more effective than painted or altered fabric? 3. Is there a correlation between the color and imagery in the paper pieces and those of the fabric pieces? 4. Of the project pieces, is there a size that generally appears to be more successful than others?

The act of putting anything on a base isolates it and makes it seem more precious. The base separates the viewer from the sculpture and affects the relationship between the sculpture and viewer. The problem for me was to remove the base and experiment with the possibilities now opened to my work. The purpose of this study was to explore the presentation potentials of sculpture freed from the constraints of the plinth.

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference between language and the use of visual imagery to represent experiences and ideas. It focused on the following questions: 1. Can the meaning of a painting be ascertained by analyzing the referents of the images and their relationships to one another? 2. How does the purely formal part of the painting function in the creation of meaning? 3. What is the difference in the meaning created by language and visual imagery when they were used to represent the same idea or experience? 4. Where do my ideas come from?

The purpose of this problem was to investigate the advantages and limitations in the use of blacksmithing techniques combined with the construction techniques of arc welding and the use of power tools to construct large outdoor sculpture. Specific questions will be asked to determine the suitability of this method of working. The questions are: 1. Can blacksmithing techniques be used in the construction of large outdoor sculpture? a. what specific techniques are appropriate? b. Will some techniques be used more than others? 2. Will these techniques be used more than others? 2. Will these techniques take an inordinate amount of time and make them impractical for the artist to use?

I resolved to consciously examine the role of precise and spontaneous aspects of my drawings as my creative project. I felt that an investigation into the use of precise and spontaneous elements and their relationship to each other would strengthen my understanding of my own work.

My interest in pictorial representationalism began when I started painting and drawing as a child, and my concern for working realistically continued and developed through my undergraduate years in college. In this investigation i explored the working processes used in a representational approach to contemporary woven tapestries. A brief discussion of the origins of representational woven tapestries with concentration upon Twentieth Century textiles was followed by an analysis of the influences upon my work by artists and stylistic trends.

Our problem was to produce art in a collaborative manner. Due to the nature of our problem, we proposed to explore specific aspects of collaborative art and answer these questions: 1. in what ways is the co-artist's input beneficial? 2. How are the artist's skills broadened by working with a fellow artist? 3. What is involved in developing a professional working relationship between male and female artist? 4. What understanding of differences in working styles is acquired? 5. What are the differences reflected in each artist's earlier works as compared to the collaborative pieces?

The abstract expressionist movement aided in the development of this new personality for the clay world. An entire new dimension was added with extreme manipulation of ceramic pieces. My work reflects feelings and ideas concerning today's society and the status-quo. Common, everyday images recur in my art objects, with a major interest in cars, food, slogans, and puns. These are all a part of the hysteria of the American scene today.

The investigation concerned itself with the following questions: 1. What was the relationship of the structural grid system to the layered materials? 2. How much of the final results of the works were dependent on the process of constructing the pieces? 3. What processes were used to change surface quality? 4. What were the various methods of installation in a gallery?