Thesis Work, University of Nebraska-Lincoln


After I returned from Turkey I created a body of work inspired from the landscape in Cappadocia and the colors of the buildings in "old town". In the process of building ceramic sculptures, I enjoy working with clay on the edge of flexibility and collapse.  Forms are not per-conceptualized, but rather are built as an evolving conversation between my intention, clay's intrinsic materiality, and gravity.


Alix-Knipe



These large ceramic sculptures, usually measuring over 30 inches, are made with earthenware clay and fired in an electric kiln to cone 04.




I imagine my pieces as being living in, relating to architectural spaces, intimacies of passageways opening to sacred spaces, eroded canyons, and the human body conceptualized as a landscape.  I am interested in how light and shadow dictate our movements, how they affect the physical sensation in our body as we maneuver through interior spaces and natural landscapes. 
 
Alix-Knipe 

My intent is to create objects that elicit, as the viewer's eye explores the form, a similar corporeal (or psychological) sensation to powerful physical spaces.  It is important to me that each work encourages the viewer eye to move around the work, therefore there is not a "back" or a "front".  By limiting visual entry to enclosed volumes, evoke mystery and intrigue, and most importantly, the imagination.

Here is an example of 5 images from the same ceramic sculpture.

Alix-KnipeAlix-KnipeAlix-KnpeAlix-KnipeAlix-Knipe