In my artistic practice, I have defined the term “disorder” to mean a disturbance in established patterns, structures, or balances. I have defined the term “structure” to be an arrangement of constituents that results in a unified whole. I have defined “energy” to mean forces which either activate or are active upon entities. I seek to generate imagery that investigates relationships between disorder, structure, and energy.

With my research in Concrescence planters I was able to design set of planters using specific methods that I generally use in designing. The methods that I utilized the most are the Golden Rectangle and the Fibonacci sequence as Golden Rectangle talks about the symmetry and design in nature and how I apply the same systems to my own design to make it as natural for human interaction. The research also utilized some of the same design techniques and element that then to translate from one design to another which make the design process simpler and fluid.

Painting is an exploration without a destination, it is a language I am using to search and define myself. I will never be defined. I will know myself by painting. And then I will change.

A thesis report submitted by Michael T. Story in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture.

This thesis project consists of twenty-four paintings, drawings and lithographs dealing with three sub-themes of the larger subject of mystery: the mystery of existence; the mystery of religion; the mystery of the unknown. These themes are explored through manipulations of light, color, compositional arrangement and painting and drawing techniques.

The interests in the similarities and differences between Chinese characters and English words lead me to study how various shapes between two languages will affect designs significantly. The curiosity inspired the development of making these two different language forms appear more aesthetically compatible. Moreover, from questioning the characteristics of Chinese and English, I developed interest in recreating a new multi-purpose visual language system which can be read in both Chinese and English without losing any character's original form. Through out my study, I rediscover the meaning and origin behind Chinese and English character, rethink the history and explore the formation of the characters. The interactions between oriental and occidental letters create a new series of forms that serves as a bridge between the visual and the verbal, and brought a fresh visual language to the surrounding world.

Exploring nature and art through sculpture and materials.

My most recent series of paintings places specific focus on the societal struggles young women face with an emphasis on the need to constantly be viewed as attractive. I am interested in cultural taboos of women's sexuality, and body image anxiety. Layered imagery of anonymous groups of young women paired with grotesque representations of food mimic the internet bombardment so inescapable for young women today. Painted stereotypes of beauty further show the imbalance of male / female gender roles and holographic glitter as well as day glow color push the drama further. In spending time with my drawings and paintings the viewer will, ideally, begin to question the cultural expectations for women, and contemplate possibilities for change.

When I design an object or a piece of furniture I do it with geometry in my mind. I use simple shapes like squares, rectangles and lines to create forms that then become an object. I organize the shapes in space thinking about the negative and positive space that they create. I also think of how each shape interacts with each other. The overall shape of an object contains other shapes inside, and these shapes create a relationship between each other in space. I also consider how geometry relates to the function of the object. In my designs, geometry and function shape the object. In this essay I describe the design and production process for a cheese tray, a night lamp and a candle holder. I talk about how I used geometry to design each one of these objects and the production process involved.

Every day, I write letters to prisoners. I have done this for years now, and have written literally thousands of letters. Somewhere along the way the correspondence gave birth to an art vision—an aggregation of objects and content that has provided the source material for work that I have been creating since 2013.