EAT THIS BREAD, DRINK THIS CUP

perle cotton on tulle, stoneware​. 2020.

This project is process-driven, focused on ritualized art objects. The chalice, paten (bread dish), and liturgical banner serve as sites for exploration of my own meditative art practices. Engaging in the repetitive processes of hand-rolling coils of clay and stitching French knots gave me a tactile way to reflect on the dialectical tensions at work in my faith as an ELCA Lutheran. Sacralized/desecrated, immanence/transcendence, presence/absence, looking at/looking through…these are only some of tensions that concern this work. Set against the backdrop of pandemic-related barriers to celebrating communal rituals in the physical presence of others, this work raises more questions than it answers. EAT THIS BREAD, DRINK THIS CUP. What happens when we cannot fulfill this imperative together?