Notes

Masters Thesis Exhibition
2021
Tatem Art Gallery, Hood College, Frederick Maryland

What is it about the paper? Lined paper has been in my life for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I drew all over it. I scrawled lists and scribbled in the margins. I took notes, and learned on these papers. I have carefully folded it to conceal love letters, wrinkled the paper with use, and tore bits for silly notes and quick gum wrappers. I use piles and notebooks of paper to organize my life, and store my memories. It’s familiar, nostalgic and comfortable. It makes me smile.

The physical form of the paper transports me back to beautiful, simple moments. I am drawn to the familiarity of paper. I enjoy the magic of trompe l'oeil as I manipulate porcelain to mimic the normalcy of college ruled notebook paper. I love the comfort of the blue and red lines, the placement of the binder holes, and relish the frustration of the inevitable frayed edge when it is removed from the spiral. There is beauty in the folds, wrinkles and waviness that gives away the secret that that page has been used. I love replicating a familiar object that is often barely noticed in our day to day lives, making it permanent and important in porcelain.

I started creating porcelain notebook papers out of a need to communicate outside of myself. I needed to log my day in a physical way in order to take control of my mental health while isolated in our covid-filled world. They started as journal notes of what I felt was the most important fleeting moment of my day. The notes vary on the emotional spectrum of life, but all are significant moments in the day I never want to forget. They are my brain and my heart in physical form.