“It's no use going back to
yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
Lewis Carroll (Alice's
Adventures In Wonderland)
My work is inspired by the
ephemeral nature of the human body and the instability of memory. Memory is vast and incalculable, prone to doing whatever
it wants. Even mundane associations can become important moments when recalled
through the lens of memory. Recollection of events and things in our lives can
become fragile with time, slowly changing until they no longer resemble their
original context.
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| Harbinger of Hope Series, dimensions from left – 24” tall to 10” tall, wheel-thrown stoneware, iron saturate glazes |
The influence
of the Arts have allowed me to forge new memories and shape my identity. I
began as a painter in 2005, taking classes in my late teens at San Joaquin
Delta College in my hometown of Stockton, California. I also took classes in
drawing, printmaking, and sculpture. Sculpture became my main focus, as it
allowed me to physically wrestle with the materials of clay, metal, and stone
to record the imprint of my emotions directly. Realizing that I had found a
means of expressing myself and discovering my identity through art, I decided
to earn my Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of the Pacific in 3D Media.
In 3D Studio Art classes, I discovered functional pottery. I was amazed to
learn that there was a platform where I could combine my love of painting,
sculpting, and my growing appreciation for making functional vessels! After
earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts in 3D Media in 2011, I was excited to expand
my knowledge of ceramics and gain a deeper understanding of the medium.
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| Continuum, ea approx 14” x 5” x 13”, wheel-thrown stoneware, black & white slip |
Although I had
never lived outside of California, the generosity that I had witnessed in the
ceramics community stirred my passion for clay, resulting in my urge to travel
and gain more knowledge. I began searching for residencies and assistantships
nationally and found a six-month Production Pottery Studio Assistantship at Terra Cottage Ceramics in Paducah,
Kentucky in 2013. The artist community in Lowerown Paducah was vibrant and
diverse. During my time there, I learned techniques in printmaking, painting,
sculpture, and ceramics. More importantly, through the rigor of being a studio
assistant, I developed a strong work ethic and a new appreciation for the
technical possibilities that clay had to offer. My mentor, Michael Terra, a
masterful sculptor and potter, spent months helping me to hone the new skills
that I was learning.
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| A cart full of tumblers made over the course of 2 days during my 6 month assistantship |
I was able to
accompany Michael to National Art Festivals and NCECA (National Council on
Education for the Ceramic Arts) to gain a deeper appreciation of Business
Administration in the Arts, including how to discuss art with customers and
fellow artists alike. I learned how to run a successful gallery while making
thousands of pieces, including how to ship them nationwide. I taught classes on
glazing ceramics, and was even able to assist in the communal production of
over 1,500 bowls for the Paducah Empty Bowls Project Fundraiser for a local
soup kitchen. Michael gave me the tools to grow independently as an artist, and
I learned skills that will serve me throughout my life. I left Paducah with
valuable and cherished friendships and an increased appreciation for the power
of the arts.
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| ½ of the bowls the Paducah community made for the Empty Bowls Project |
After my
adventures in Paducah, Kentucky, I sought a return to academia to gain more
knowledge in the Arts. This goal led me to the Oregon
College of Art and Craft in Portland, OR, where I earned my
Post-baccalaureate in 2014 and my MFA In Craft in 2016. During this time, I
took advantage of the opportunity to attend residencies at Watershed Center for
the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine and Anderson
Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Travel provided me with
the time to contemplate on the valuable relationships I was building with the
wonderful people I met at these residencies. I treasure those memories.
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| Rock & Crag Ware Yunomi, ea approx 4” x 3” x 3.75”, hand-built, rock-formed bare porcelain exterior, satin-matte glaze interior |
Working with so
many talented artists engrained in me a love of collecting a diverse array of
artwork. I often traded my wares for various art objects and mementos that my
national art family made, which helped me to better appreciate their impact on
my artistic development. It was at this time that I became enamored by the manner
in which objects find their way into our lives and accumulate meaning over
time. Even simple and seemingly mundane objects develop a rich patina of
experience, becoming wellsprings of memory, and symbols of relationships.
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| Contemporary Fine Mingei, 10” x 14” x 5”, slab-built, hand-pinched porcelain, satin-matte glaze |
Upon returning
from my residency in Colorado, I focused my thesis body of work on locating the
emotional value of seemingly mundane objects from my past that carried strong
positive and negative associations to me personally. More specifically, I began
recording an object's form by covering it in a blank canvas of porcelain to
remove the visual associations of the object's previous history. I then fired
the original object in the kiln to preserve it in porcelain. The loss of the
original object illustrates how the function of memory vacillates between
clarity and ambiguity, freedom and preservation.
By burning out
objects in the kiln and then preserving their form in shells of porcelain, I
learned that I was transferring and releasing my negative associations into the
work itself. Simultaneously, I was also preserving the positive associations
that I had with the objects. I discovered that through the act of releasing
objects through fire, I was releasing my own negative associations with those objects
and replacing them with fresh associations. Burning out objects served as a way
to acknowledge that I had learned from an experience so that I could move
forward and build new ones.
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| If You Don't Know Where You're Going...Any Road Will Get You There, 8” x 10', slab-built porcelain |
Upon concluding
Graduate School, I was reminded of my favorite childhood book Alice's
Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Young Alice finds herself in a
place where all aspects of proper decorum are turned upside down, causing her
to respond emotionally or intuitively. It is only when Alice rejects approved
social behaviors that she can move beyond her own pre-conceived barriers. I saw
Alice's adventures as a journey of learning to respond more presently to
situations. I was inspired by the manner in which she learned to look inward
for her answers, reacting to situations intuitively and with an assured sense
of self, even after returning to the waking world.
Alice learned to
respond without allowing herself to be held back by her own negative
associations with those around her. The burned-out porcelain remnants
carry the ability to serve as a means of remembrance to learn from the past.
Inspired by this revelation, I am reminded to cherish lived experience, learn
from my own mistakes, and in the end, move forward with renewed affirmation of
self.
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| Degradation: Symbolic Gestures, 12” x 24” x 10”, hand-built, hand-pinched porcelain, satin-matte clear glaze |
This is Week 24
of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks. Thank you for reading and sharing Shiloh’s story
today. To connect with him and see more of his work, please use the following
links:
