Photography to me is a passion for recording fractions in time, which evoke a deep response in myself, and the viewer. The response can be one of wonder, love, hate, laughter, or camaraderie. While living and photographing in the gentle South, I am most concerned with and intrigued by portraying her people. My intent is to explore man, his familial characteristics, his sense of community, and his relationship with those around him.

"The Interjections of Immogene Sparkhound" is a collection of essays that examines the defining moments of a painting alter ego and then analyzes the rationalizations she creates for producing the works of art that follow.

This thesis is an investigation into the artwork of Paul Arthur Dufour. He has continuously redefined his identity through the form of his art, and his life. The work is passionate, powerful, complex and always of the moment. It is helpful to capture specific moments as opposed to developing a theory about brushstrokes or color or thematic focus because Dufour has worked in just about every imaginable media, color and genre. The possibilities for interpretation of his lifes work are thus limitless. After interviewing Paul Dufour and poring over countless drawings, paintings and other works, I have determined that to discuss the work of this artist effectively, a flexible approach is required. The paper is broken up into four main sections, each devoted to a specific facet of his fifty-year career as an artist and educator. Part One explains the philosophical foundations of his conceptual approach to creativity. Part Two illustrates his education and its impact on his artwork. Part Three features a description of three research trips he took and their influence on the continuing development of his expression. And finally, Part IV illustrates the earlier chapters in concrete fashion through a discussion of a particular piece that ideally represents Dufour's multidimensional approach. To experience the reality of Paul Dufours work, one must bathe in the color that shines through his windows or sense the electric air in his storm paintings. The conceptual discussion of cognition and reality help prepare the way to understanding the fragmented nature of Dufour's art because this is what he thinks about. In Paul Dufours art, the more you look, the more you see. Multiplicity is the key for understanding the career of Paul Dufour because it illuminates perhaps one of the only conceptual links that is present in all of his pieces.

The rules of drawing I have described are an outline to my method of working. It is to be used like the rules of a game. The thesis paper provides the viewer the basic parameters for looking at my work. The body of work is produced like two people playing a game of chess. I establish the rules and then I develop the work in an investigative manner.

My body of work, Spiritual Union, is an exploration of artistic ideas contrasted with approaches to scientific technology. I investigate diverse physical phenomena and media and examine symbolic structures to express concepts of transcendence and spirituality in Buddhism. On deep levels, I have observed the natural beauty, richness, and complexity of organic forms. This has led to exploration and experimentation in the area where the boundaries between the artistic and the scientific fields converge. Employing an interdisciplinary approach that includes art and science, I have expressed the spiritual meaning of Buddhist lotus motifs and created a record of my own journey of understanding.

The visual portion of this thesis is made up of paintings that juxtapose built and natural forms. Particular emphasis is placed upon the element of line and the plein-air painting experience. Journal entries chronicle the evolution of painting practice during thesis research, placing the work within the context of the artists life.

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia has generated a lengthy bibliography over the centuries but, in spite of repeated investigations, the north and south arm barrel vaults have received almost no attention. Commentary on these areas of the mosaic program is usually brief and limited to a comparison between the appearance of the barrel vaults and patterns found in various textiles, such as carpets. This thesis seeks to fill the void in the body of scholarly research pertaining to the north and south arm barrel vaults by viewing their decorative motifs through the eyes of a fifth-century Christian. When seen from this perspective two distinct motifs rich in iconographical meaning emerge from the composition: concentric circles and flora. In the Early Christian period, concentric circles and mirrors were synonymous with one another and both were believed to possess apotropaic powers capable of warding off evil spirits. Flowers in art could be used to designate a space as a garden and, when shown in perpetual full bloom in a funerary context, mark the space as the Earthly Paradise. Questions about the intended function, the patron, and the exact date of this building have long been subjects of lively debate. The issue of the intended function of the space is at the heart of this inquiry; this monograph accepts without argument the widely held view that Galla Placidia erected the edifice in the first half of the fifth century, most likely around 425 CE. I believe that the meaning behind the pattern of the north and south arm barrel vaults can be extrapolated to the mosaic program of the space as a whole in support of the theory that the building was constructed with an expressly funerary function in mind.

The installation uses purely steel to describe the organic and chaotic nature of thought processes. It looks for a way to confront grief and anxiety. The procedure's purpose is to understand abstract, emotional thinking in immediate, familiar physical terms. By examining each fine strand, either steel rod or line of thought, I attempt to revel in the overwhelming complexity and irrefutable beauty of the mind. It is not a strategy to control mental imbalance. It is rather a humble acceptance of the organic chaos of thought.

"Obscenity is a human manifestation. The toilet has no central nervous system. No level of consciousness. It is not aware; it is a dumb toilet; it cannot be obscene; it's impossible." Lenny Bruce How to Talk Dirty and Influence People Things that make people uncomfortable intrigue me and I find that these same things are very ones that make us laugh the hardest. The fact that sex and bodily functions both make people laugh in addition to making them feel uncomfortable is no accident.

I believe in the process in which the artist never works alone but always in collaboration with the elements of chance. As an artist I live and work everyday collaborating with chance, from reading my cards to creating ethereal birds. As I sew pieces together, the thread becomes another element of the image by chance, stitches to lines, lines to pattern. Chance leads the birds to portraying their own personality as they are each created, ones head tilts to the right while another sits tall with dignity. This work is about the connection to the subconscious, my connection to it through what I see, people I know, games I play, what I dream. Through objects based on historical divination practices, I offer a chance for the viewer to journey inward to examine her own subconscious. This is not a declaration of the validity of these practices. Can one explain the magic of life to someone who cannot perceive it in the smallest everyday things? -Rosa Luxemborg. It is up to the viewer how these games of chance are interpreted in their own life. I search for truth. But truth to me is not constant. It moves like the phases of the moon, circling, waxing, and waning. Tomorrow may hold answers that are different than todays. I believe that we know much more than our conscious brains reveal. By connecting to the subconscious we gain access to the depths within ourselves. May the birds guide us to the next level of awareness.