Caution: this post is pure and strait from my brain…take it for what it is.
Last night was my Senior BFA Exhibition. That’s right folks, I am unofficially finished with ceramics at the University of North Texas. It has been a unbeilivable four years of my life. I have summer school to go, but I don’t really count that. I get my diploma in August. For me, last night was my graduation.
After spring break, I turned on the turbo jets. Usually, this is the time of the semester when my spirits and motivation begin to wane, but this time I had an extremely motivating force behind me. I learned the importance of having a plan that, theoretically undisturbed, will get you to the end point; the desired destination. This concept is not one that I have understood very well in the past. Even now as I see the results of such planning, it is hard for me to implement. However, my BFA show will go down in Amanda Nicole Ratheal history as such a time when planning and focus paid off. I realized that when I completely focused on that one thing until it was complete, I enjoyed the whole process so much more! Long nights in the studio were hard, but because I knew what they would result in, they became second nature. In the past, I have set out on projects and ideas of which I did not know the end result, and therefore did not know the means with which to get there.
It was wonderful to see all of my work assembled and together. To see my whole body of work from four years revealed a lot to me about myself. I enjoyed seeing the pure reaction of people in response to my art. It is hard to describe what I do, so I believe that my show was a way to introduce a side of me that most do not get to experience fully. When I tell people who I make rain and trees and seeds and windmills, I get crazy looks and sarcastic comments. People do not know how to react. At that point in the conversation, I have usually lost their attention and am not able to elaborate. Well finally, my show was an elaboration of all that I create. My desire is that the essence of my work was displayed and not merely the symbolic representation of its prototype in nature. I think my artist statement can take over now, especially for those of you who have not seen my work:
My work is organic and inspired by the simple things made by my Creator. I believe that all things, including the trees and leaves and stars in the sky were fashioned for a greater purpose than to just merely exist. The ability to create through the use of clay, or any other material, is an honor to me and a way to express my passion for life and love for my Creator. I see my work as not merely “mimicking” nature, but interpreting it and then making a tribute out of that interpretation.
I make art to explore the process, from start to finish, involved in creating an object that serves no other purpose but to evoke a response by it’s viewer and mirror the characteristics of its creator. My current work focuses on the cycle of life and creation with a few added “points of interest” along the way. My work signifies the essence of the creation cycle and the choices and consequences of life, faith and all things in between.
I work mainly through the method of hand building and coiling; using wheel thrown objects occasionally. I finish my work with layers of stain, over-fired underglazes, and occasionally acrylic paint. I choose my method of finishing based upon individual pieces and their characteristics. I tend to break the rules when it comes to practical methods, but all for the sake of the experience and process. I embrace the unexpected and involve the mistakes in my final products. If I cannot learn to do this in my art, how will I ever learn to do so in life?
I am thankful for the ability to create. I am thankful for the opportunity to have a show. I am thankful for my supportive family that helped to make it happen. I am thankful for joy and fullness of life that can only be found in the one Creator. He is the Artist of all artists. My one desire is that my work points to Him and exists only to bring Him glory.
P.S. All images in this post were taken by Jillian Zamora, an incredible photographer. You should check out her website: http://jillianzamora.com
P.P.S. It’s raining right now. 
