This thesis, in support of the Master of Fine Arts exhibition entitled Burnished Souls at East Tennessee State University, Carroll Reece Museum, Johnson City, Tennessee, November 25- December 18, 2004, describes in detail three aesthetic themes that have informed my work; The Refined Sense of Beauty, A Newly Defined Function, and The Artistic Element of Smoke and Fire. These aesthetic themes are discovered and explained through both historic and contemporary influences and are described in relation to their influence on my current work.