30 Days Project Part II: Day 1: bubble tea

30 Days Project Part II: Day 1 Bubble Tea

Last year, I did a "30 Days Project" where I took time each day to explore the human body through movement, balance, energy, and more. Coming into graduate school I knew with 100% certainty that I was interested in the human body but I was trying to make a connection between the body and the ceramic vessel that I so enjoyed making. I was feeling at a loss and I decided to take some time to develop my work conceptually and explore the movement aspect of the body. I believe the "30 Days Project" stemmed from my frustration with the expectations of graduate school and the lack of studio time it allowed for. By taking my work outside of the studio and into my daily life I was able to create even on days that did not allow me to access the studio. And during my first year that was many days. I was happy with the project but in the end I did not find any resolution in my work, I was even more confused on what I wanted to make... what my committee wanted me to make... what I wanted to make... what my committee wanted me to make... you get the idea. Going into spring semester I got sick in my joints again, it was a flare up from the arthritis that began back in 2009. It made for a slow semesters but it gave me time to think and think I did. At the end of the term, I knew I needed to make vessels. In February, my roommates cat jumped on the table and my 'only' plate that also happen to be my favorite fell off the table, you can read about it here. I was devastated and decided I was not going to eat off any plates and for a time I used paper towels that is until my mom talked some sense into me! Silly I know, but it really got me, I love that plate for a few reasons: Forrest gave it to me as a gift, I really like Andy the maker of the plate, and I didn't realize until after the plate was gone that it had started to be more then a plate to me. I had a connection with this plate. I used it for every single meal I ate at home. This plate got me thinking about the importance of the handmade vessels.

So here we are November 1, 2013 and I am starting 30 Days Project Part II. (Oddly I started part I on November 5th, 2012.) For part II, I made a set of dishes and this set of dishes is going to travel with me and is going to be used for every meal and everything I eat and drink unless it does not require a vessel in eating an apple for example. I have also decided that as I progress through this project I will make extra pieces for the set as need be. Today, I realized that I needed a wine glass (who doesn't!) and so with the help of my friend Zac in glass I should have one out of the kiln in a few days.

I unloaded the dish set from the kiln yesterday and officially started the 30 days today. To back track a little on how this idea evolved over the summer I started and herb garden and began thinking about my interest in the human body in a different way. My interest in movement steamed from the experience with arthritis and my bodies lack of movement that created an interest and appreciation that had not been there before. Recently my interested shifted in that I became focused on what we put inside our bodies that allows for good health and in my case MOVEMENT! So the exploring began and and I have been focusing my most recent research on medicinal herbs. This project came from the broken plate and the summer garden. The plate triggered back my interest in the vessel, my garden help me see my deep connection with plants that had not been clear before, and I also found my self overly frustrated by the influx of waste on campus especially on game day and the lack of concern for trash vs. recycling or lack there of.

So today it started, included are a few pictures that follow my through my day.