Mel Griffin
Ceramics
griff451@umn.edu
As human beings, we carry our memories, thoughts, and emotions into every space we enter. In so doing we define and assign meaning to our surroundings. My work is a reaction to the manner in which I perceive and organize space in my own life as well as to the order and disorder of cultural place. I am investigating the manner in which physicality, understanding, memory, and mood combine to create meaning in both everyday and imagined environments.
Both biologically and cognitively, humans are intimately linked to the natural world and to our perception of its presence in our surroundings. We base our sense of beauty on the essence of natural form. We interpret nuance and fellowship through encounters with single animals, and find significance in our relationships with other species. Animals and plants add texture to our daily language as we process the world through narrative and metaphor.
In my work, animals serve as both playful and solemn metaphors for my own interactions with the environment, as well as those of the people around me.
I believe that the capacity to empathize can be developed through attentive engagement with daily landscape, and that the health of that landscape can affect the health of our minds. I use imagery and metaphor, line and clay, to capture the viewer's emotional interest and to rekindle her sense of wonder and discovery. Functional pottery is unique in the depth of its participation in its owner's life, becoming a part of her personal and intimate sense of place and home. My drawings seek to inspire this same familiarity and are approachable, nostalgic, playful, and open to emotional participation.
