Throughout history, humans have sought to add beauty and art to what we value, what is important to us, and what carries meaning, from decorating ceramic vessels in the Ming dynasty to contemporary pottery. Similarly, we have chosen to decorate our bodies throughout the ages with important events, people, items, and places. Both ceramic ware and the human body are vessels that have carried, and will continue to carry, what we find important to us. 

 

This collection of vessels provides a way for tattoos to outlive our lifetime and be more permanent than our mothers warned us they would be. combining the relational, iconic style of American traditional tattoo with ceramic ware. Tattoos often hold deep meaning and are used to form connections, making them easy conversational starters. They allow people to display what means the most to them in an artistic way.

 

This collection allows the viewer to engage with the recognizable American traditional style while taking in the unconventional canvas on which these iconic designs are displayed. The mixture of functional and dysfunctional ceramic ware, along with the changing tones of the ceramics, alludes to how our human bodies bear the scars of our lives while still allowing them to hold items and hold their or our worth.