Between / spaces: MFA Thesis - Metal

Abstract

Using metal as a drawing tool, my work expands the traditional vocabulary of mark-making. I strive to create aesthetic compositions with metal serving as both paintbrush and canvas, exploring and capturing the conversation I have with the material. With an ongoing dialogue with material and process, I create imagery in metal, then go on to use that metal as a tool for printmaking. Through my work, I respond to the properties of metal through repetitive acts such as melting, drilling, and hammering. I explore the balance between the contained systematic nature of form and its transition into more unprincipled outcomes. Working through this process allows for maximum discovery and also encourages unexpected outcomes. These inquiries result in a body of work made up of jewelry, object, and print. My research blurs the boundaries traditionally set between two- and three-dimension. Metal serves as my canvas. I see my metalwork as a surface to create abstract imagery and printmaking as a way to create sculpture in two-dimensions. By inking and printing experimental metal surfaces, I use objects as tools to transform and create new abstract imagery. These tactile works on paper further inform the context of the body of work. I know the print is final when it reveals a new understanding of the metal surface and the print feels palpable. Within this work, I create boundaries and restrictions throughout my process which allows me to develop new work with directional control while leaving room for the unexpected. Encouraging chance within a set of parameters, these restrictions paradoxically create infinite possibilities.