PROJECT 5

FINAL PROJECT

Rebecca Nimmo; Domestic Tranquility, or A Woman’s Work is Never Done; materials: fabric, embroidery thread, embroidery hoops

For centuries, embroidery has been used for adornment on clothing, home décor, and other textile goods. It has been used in the past as a way to teach values of patience and persistence. It has even been used as a way to communicate the values, thoughts, and beliefs of women who grew up in an era when the fairer sex was meant to be seen and not heard. I first learned to embroider when I was five years old, from my grandmother who had also learned at around five years old from her grandmother.

In many ways, this piece is a dedication to my grandmother—nearly every memory I have of her included a needle in her fingertips. Yet in many ways this is also a dedication to those centuries of needleworkers who stitched their values, dreams, and desires into countless pieces. Some of the pieces have words to live by, some have images or phrases that are important to me, and some are just silly things that make me happy. But the incomplete pieces on the couch sit as a testament to the tried and true aphorism: “a woman’s work is never done.” 

   PROJECT 5

FINAL PROJECT 

J.R. Nimmo; "Parabolic Curves;" materials: continuous length of yarn, tacks

During this semester in my drawing class, I’ve been focusing on creating forms out of straight lines. Most recently, I’ve been focusing on drawing parabolic curves from several straight lines. These lines have seemingly taken over my life, so I thought it was only natural that they also take over my space. By installing in this location I have lowered the ceiling six inches. The darker, thicker string has grown from the thin, nearly invisible monofilament of my drawings, bearing more weight and pushing itself visibly into my physical space. In many ways this is symbolic of the struggles I’ve been dealing with in the drawing class I’ve taken my inspiration from. These issues are encroaching not only in my school and intellectual spaces; they have now moved into my personal space, weighing down on me.

   PROJECT 3

INHABIT
For Project 3, students each have use of a small gallery space on the second floor of the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center for a week. Every week we end their time with a critique, and the space is passed to the next student. The space measures 16' long by 8' tall and just under 3' deep. It is fronted by a 3-paned sliding glass door.

Finals Week: Holly Thompson

   PROJECT 5

FINAL PROJECT

Jenna Hall; Installation, Collaborative Performance

   PROJECT 5

FINAL PROJECT

Elaina Smith; Untitled Performance

   PROJECT 5

FINAL PROJECT

Andrea Stith; "Textile Test Tiles;" materials: mixed

This piece was inspired by my interest in textiles, color, and experimentation. I opened my box of random textiles and art supplies up and let my mind take things wherever it wanted to. This project was basically to test different colors and textures to see what they can be used for. My roommate and  I have had this empty wall in our apartment since we moved in. We have been talking about what could go there for a while so I asked her if she would be interested in this project as a sample of the different things we could put in the space. It has helped us get to know each other’s' taste and hopefully now that we have worked on a bunch of small projects together we could work together to make something for this space. I really enjoyed playing with the different textiles and learning new ways to use them. This project has been an ongoing experiment and will most likely be something that I continue working with.

   PROJECT 5

FINAL PROJECT

Holly Thompson; "99 Bottles of Queer;" installation, performance, happening @ Rocky's Bar, Bowling Green, KY 

99 Bottles of queer, right now, is about my process in clay. It is an experiment. It is about my skepticism concerning functional work and concerning mass production. This has become a way for me to explore functional work and feel content. The bottles themselves reference body and identity, so they are vastly different but are presented with a sense of connectivity. Some of them are not very good as a result of this learning experience, and I want to break them.

The performance part of this installation is a result of a kind of perfectionism. Breaking work that has been unsuccessful has become a cathartic habit for me, and I enjoy sharing the grin-inducing experience with others.