Allison Davis

  After a few seconds in my hand the bits I had touched were bruised—after being pressed in my Spanish pocket dictionary for more than a year the whole flower is now almost diaphanous. “It’s like the wedding gown of a prostitute,” a Spaniard once said, and I don’t disagree. Finlay, Victoria. Color (pp. 247-248). Random House Publishing Group.

  Ancient Egyptians used it to dye mummy wrappings and to turn their ceremonial ointments an oily orange. They valued it so much that they put garlands of safflowers entwined with willow leaves in their relatives’ tombs, to comfort them after death. Finlay, Victoria. Color (pp. 193-194). finding that if he fed pigeons on madder their bones would become red in a spread that was consistent with the theory that it was the calcium which was holding the color. Finlay, Victoria. Color (p. 204). If a mouse enters the hive then the bees will kill it. But because its body is too large for little insects to shift, and because they don’t want it to stink up their home, they mummify it in propolis. Finlay, Victoria. Color (pp. 208-209). Throughout the chapter, the themes of death and preservation kept catching my attention. The death of cochineal beetles discussed in the red chapter directly resulted in the presence of red pigment. Unlike cochineal, the materials to produce orange aren't the d...

But one of Turner’s favorite reds may well have been cinnabar— which he used in its manufactured form, vermilion, and which Pliny described as the result of an epic struggle by an elephant and a dragon. These two troublemakers were always fighting, Pliny recounted, and the battle eventually ended with the dragon—evidently a rather snaky one—wrapping its coils around its heavy enemy. But as the elephant fell it crushed the dragon with its weight and they both died. The merging of their blood made cinnabar. Finlay, Victoria. Color (p. 178). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.   

  Olivia Rampaige Natalie Hall Amanda Louise Spayd The Map Is Not The Territory Charmed Kate Clark Eldritch and its origins. The word eldritch is associated with things that are non human or otherworldly. Sometimes charming, sometimes horrifying, but always surreal. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows  is a website and  YouTube  channel, created by John Koenig, that coins and defines  neologisms  for emotions that do not have a descriptive term. Anemoia - n. nostalgia for a time you’ve never known Rigor Samsa  -  n. a kind of psychological exoskeleton that can protect you from pain and contain your anxieties, but always ends up cracking under pressure or hollowed out by time—and will keep growing back again and again Ambedo -  n. a kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details Onism -  n. the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place...

  Claire Brooks Czech Marionettes Yumi Okita Beth Hart Samantha Hensley Ancient Dunes Nature Trail Sue Schoeller Janet Echelman The parking lot behind the Saint Augustine Belk's

COVID threw a loop in everyones plans, often for the worst, but working around COVID guidelines for this exhibition actually provided an incredible opportunity for me. Normally with a BA portfolio I'd have access to a small corner of space to display my work along side my fellow classmates, but since we were not going to have a group exhibition as normal, I had the opportunity to take up as much space as I wanted. And boy did I take advantage of that. Primarily making these pieces during the second half of the Fall 2020 semester I was able to produce enough work at a large enough scale that my portfolio filled up the largest room in the CEAM. It's something I'm incredibly proud of and I truly enjoyed every moment of making and displaying this work. This post includes my artist statement along with photos of each piece as well as a link to a video displaying details of some pieces with my commentary about the process and content of the exhibition. Video Link Artist Statement...

With portraits of George Floyd, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Breonna Taylor, this currently untitled quilt is a personal meditation on the deep-rooted injustice and racism in America, as well as a memorial to those victimized by America’s refusal to right the wrongs of those who came before us. Primarily focused on corrupt leadership and systems of policing, this quilt addresses only a fraction of the consequences resulting from maintaining flawed systems. For political and historical context it is important to note a few things. First, the system of policing in America was started in order to capture runaway slaves and later to enforce Jim Crow laws. While no longer explicitly targeting black and brown communities, the police force has retained the violence and white supremacy it was founded on. The second thing to note is the Geneva Convention bans the use of tear gas in warfare, but it is still permitted for use to disperse riots in America. On June 2nd, 2020 President Trump allowed...