This exegesis tells the story of my Master of Design project, Embarrassment of Riches. During this project I have gleaned obsolete furniture pieces and operated on them to present new possibilities. This text discusses the body of work I have created in the context of three main ideas: the use of gleaning, intervention and the role played by memory in rekindling desire. I have focussed on making in a heuristic, research-through-design practice, testing ideas through making/reflecting and then developing my ideas further in new pieces. Combining this actionresearch method with bricolage has enabled me to critically self-reflect on my practice. Through this I have discovered that I can continue to design and create objects in an age of overproduction and consumption. With ecological considerations in mind I can make obsolete objects desirable (again) by encouraging people to feel intimate with them. I intervene in the objects’ interstices to suggest histories that kindle engagement and attachment. The interstice has been a rich source of inspiration, not only as site of intervention, but as site where experimentation occurs, a process by which objects are found and a space where new genres develop.

The focus of this thesis is an examination of domestic handicrafts and the significance of these to Australian women's lives. The topic focuses on how the making of simple and ordinary handicrafts provides women with an escape from the domestic demands of day to day life. This thesis incorporating a body of ceramic artefacts and written exegesis is the result of an exploration of comfort and safety found in handicrafts and clay. In addition, the concepts of repetition and extraordinary ordinariness have been investigated. Exploration of this topic has required an examination of handicraft techniques, prompting me to confront and consider my own domestic situation and consider my own approach to and relationship with clay. For the final series of artworks in response to the research I have drawn inspiration from historical women's handicrafts techniques and made reference to these within the ceramic artefacts presented. Research into the area of handicraft as escape has prompted exploration into works by artists not only in the field of ceramics but those working with other media and therefore enriching my response to the topic. My research has provoked me to translate and transform women's craft skills to create a framework for my own works in clay in addition to establishing a context for my work within the field of contemporary ceramics and more broadly within contemporary visual arts. Among the results of the project has been the development of a new approach to the medium of clay incorporating innovative techniques, as well as a greater conceptual framework within my own ceramics practice.

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Justin Schorr. Dissertation Committee: William C. Sayres. Bibliography: leaves 156-163.

Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Akron, School of Family and Consumer Science: Clothing, Textiles, and Interiors, 2006. / "December, 2006." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 08/20/2007) Advisor, Virginia Gunn; Faculty readers, Sandra Buckland, Teena Jennings-Rentenaar; Director, School of Family and Consumer Science, Richard Glotzer; Dean of the College, James M. Lynn; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

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