Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Department

Art

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Abstract

My work begins with an idea, but is driven by curiosity as it develops, often arriving somewhere different than initially planned. I maintain control over the direction while allowing decisions to shift in response to what emerges. Creating artwork becomes a space where ideas are not illustrated by worked through – physically and mentally at the same time. I approach making as problem-solving, where each sculpture functions as a puzzle resolved through construction. I push materials beyond their intended function, forcing them into new conditions where form emerges through resistance, constraint, and play. Material behavior informs the outcome but does not determine it, decisions are made through an ongoing negotiation between intention and response. Mental blocks are addressed materially, and building becomes a feedback loop in which assembly drives thought. The work reflects the physical engagement of making while foregrounding how forms, figures, and materials occupy space. Size, weight, and texture give the sculptures a presence that demands attention through proximity and movement. As the viewer moves around the work, relationships between surface, mass, and form shift. The sculptures hold traces of experimentation and decision-making, allowing process to remain visible within the finished object. Memory operates as a persistent but indirect influence. It does not appear as narrative, but shapes decisions through repetition, testing, and revision. At times, I recognize that I am responding to experiences or objects that have stayed with me, even when they are not directly represented. My practice is grounded in the belief that thinking happens through making. Working through material, especially through weight, balance, and structure, allows ideas to be tested and adjusted. Forms develop through this process, holding both intention and changed without fully resolving into a fixed outcome. Each sculpture becomes a record of these decisions, an accumulation of adjustments, constraints, and choices where thought is embedded in form.

Keywords

Sculpture, Iron, Process, Discovery, Form

Advisor

Tobias Flores

Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Rights

© The Author

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