Parts of the Sum is an installation of ceramic, wood, and drawn components which examines the symbiosis of individual and cultural identity: a recursive relationship which engenders unceasing diversity. The installation uses patterns and rule-based compositions as vehicles to address the development of complexity from compounded simplicity as it relates to personality. An immersive meta-network that emulates the complexity underlying identity, Parts of the Sum ultimately relies on the active participation and inclusion of the viewer for completion.

Zugl.: Erfurt, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2007

There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Art

The creative project was the end result of a year of focused exploration and development in the areas of painting and drawing. The artist created a group of five oil paintings and four mixed media drawings which culminated her year of work. The pieces were exhibited on Ball State University campus as well as being documented and evaluated in a thesis paper.A strong belief in the importance of the ability to pursue an idea or concept to its furthest point led the artist to set the goals of the project. While working on the project, the artist honed her technical skills, and strengthened her personal aesthetic by her discovery and research of painters who based their work in similar beliefs.The accomplishment of the goals she had set forth was the first step on the artist's journey to becoming a professional, exhibiting artist. / Department of Art

The Ruins of Detroit (2013) is a twenty-four minute orchestral work for string orchestra, string octet, celesta, harp, two vibraphones, four horns, two trumpets, two trombones, two bassoons, two clarinets, two oboes, two flutes, and pre-recorded audio soundtracks. The focal point of the work is the conceptual exploration of urban decay found throughout the city of Detroit, Michigan, in 2012. Urban ruins are visible symbols, and landmarks of our society and its changes. Perhaps no other city has been affected more by post-industrialization than Detroit, whose plight has become symbolic of the shift away from manufacturing. This concept not only manifests itself though the utilization of archival recordings and electroacoustic elements in the work, but also throughout the acoustic material as well. Structurally, the work shifts through a series of seven “atmospheres,” which are comprised of pitch collections based on all white notes that descend from A through G. The syntax is anchored in the organization of musical material into foreground (solo violin,) middle-ground (harp, celeste, string octet, piano, percussion, woodwinds, brass) and background (string orchestra, soundtracks). The central theme to this work is intended to be the wholeness of music, and challenges the listener to step inside of it, and experience it not as a representation of place, but as a place in itself: The Ruins of Detroit.

The Ruins of Detroit (2013) is a twenty-four minute orchestral work for string orchestra, string octet, celesta, harp, two vibraphones, four horns, two trumpets, two trombones, two bassoons, two clarinets, two oboes, two flutes, and pre-recorded audio soundtracks. The focal point of the work is the conceptual exploration of urban decay found throughout the city of Detroit, Michigan, in 2012. Urban ruins are visible symbols, and landmarks of our society and its changes. Perhaps no other city has been affected more by post-industrialization than Detroit, whose plight has become symbolic of the shift away from manufacturing. This concept not only manifests itself though the utilization of archival recordings and electroacoustic elements in the work, but also throughout the acoustic material as well. Structurally, the work shifts through a series of seven “atmospheres,” which are comprised of pitch collections based on all white notes that descend from A through G. The syntax is anchored in the organization of musical material into foreground (solo violin,) middle-ground (harp, celeste, string octet, piano, percussion, woodwinds, brass) and background (string orchestra, soundtracks). The central theme to this work is intended to be the wholeness of music, and challenges the listener to step inside of it, and experience it not as a representation of place, but as a place in itself: The Ruins of Detroit.

This thesis paper explores the mixed-media MFA installation show, Family Secrets: The Secrets That Lie Within. The show is a culmination of the author’s work during her time in the MFA in Media Arts Program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The show uses a variety of mediums including sound, video and illustration to tell this tale of family secrets and betrayal. As a young child, the author thought her family was perfect. They gathered every week at her grandparents’ house and were very close, or so she thought. As she started to move into adulthood, the idyllic childhood seemed like a distant memory. A series of events happened that changed her family dynamic forever. In the show, Family Secrets, viewers are led through a series of scenes taken from the author’s life. Each room reveals a little more until you are faced with the family’s biggest secret.

On June 3rd, 2010, I certainly was not aware of what was about to take place. I was in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and at this point in time my unit and I had been in country for five out of the twelve months of our deployment. An ear-splitting boom woke me up, and the smell of iron and blood was so strong it seemed to override my ability to focus on what was really happening. The sounds I heard were lowered and muffled and mostly pain-filled and anguished. Mine was often a voice that joined them. Those cries could also change the course of a life. They are cries that, once heard, can never be erased from memory. I knew my comrades were down in the depths with me. I will never take anything for granted again. Honor and Chaos works across media to transform space and transport viewers. The exhibition incorporates sculptural forms of wire and scrap metal, dark ink drawings interrupted by spray paint, and salvaged plastics to immerse viewers in another place and time. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The artist discusses Float In Float Out, his Master of Fine Arts exhibition held at The Slocumb Gallery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee from March 19, 2012, to March 23, 2012. The work consists of paintings on canvas, panel, and paper and employs a variety of media ranging from traditional materials to spray paint. The painting sizes vary from 20x24 inches up to 48x96 inches and all hang directly on the wall, framed and unframed. Topics discussed in this thesis paper include the influences of the artist's military experience and travelling abroad as well as the influences of alchemy, Freemasonry, and Surrealism. The work is inspired by the concept of a parallel dimension populated by unseen creatures that float in and out of our world. Included are images of the artist's earlier work as well as a completed catalogue of the Float In Float Out exhibition.

I am exhibiting several drawings, paintings, and sculptures representing a visual record of my creative research into, and my handling of, snails. Although I depict snails and their environment in a loose representational style, I have begun to incorporate digital drawing to enhance my art in a mixed media approach. I have created illustrative images of a forest floor as I imagine it would look to a snail in a giant, menacing world. Close-up images of grass become unusual jungle scenes, and my once tiny snails achieve a measure of control in this fanciful world. The inspiration for my art is my recollection of the insecurity and struggles I encountered while growing up as a military brat.