Guest Blogger: Nichole Howard
TODAY I am tickled to introduce you to a fellow artist who I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know as a fellow member of Fayetteville Underground. When she told me about her current project I knew it was something I had to share with you; you’ll get it; you’ll dig it…because who doesn’t want to save the world and break things? Exactly. So with that I introduce to you artist Nichole Howard.
OIL SPILLS, toxic waste, overflowing landfills, melting glaciers, global warming are just a few signs that the Earth is going down hill. I am one individual in a sea of overwhelming destruction, without a hope that I can contribute even a tiny fraction of healing to what seems like a hopeless cause.
But really that’s nonsense.
I CAN certainly contribute in many ways and as an artist, I’m happy to devote my life’s work to utilizing material in smart and inventive ways that maintain traditions of contemporary life while minimizing environmental abuse.
I’m currently working on a project that considers the above narrative in an exhibition that highlights the glorious benefits of terra cotta.
BORROWING from traditions of the Indian kular, this exhibition serves coffee to visitors inside lightly fired terra cotta cups designed specifically to be biodegradable and disposable. These ceramic cups are not precious objects; they are roughly made, lightly fired and highly porous.
I’m not attempting to replace the disposable cup with a permanent ceramic one, but rather switch up the disposable tradition with a friendly material, terra cotta.
AT THE EXHIBITION, Kular Installation, visitors are served coffee and when finished with their drinks, are invited to toss, chuck, or smash their cups to smithereens onto the floor. It’s simple: replace the material, keep the disposable tradition, have some fun along the way.
After all, smashing things is fun and the absolute best material to destroy via human throwing is ceramics.
IT’S A VISCERAL EXPERIENCE: the audible pop of the object as it breaks up into a million tiny pieces, the force generated by your own body, the sight of a pile of shards that you’ve contributed to. In the exhibition, there is a growing pile of shard that each participant adds to with each glorious smashing.
But that pile of rubbish isn’t going into a land fill…
IT’S GOING TO WORK in a ceramics studio, refurbishing the material to contribute to future pots and it’s going into the garden to act as mulch, then it’s folded into the soil, back where it came from.
AS ONE INDIVIDUAL, I can’t do a whole a lot to reverse damage to the Earth, but as an artist, I can contribute to change via ideas. This idea has a real place in the world, at the 2014 NCECA Project Space, as an exhibition at a conference that draws thousands of people from around the world. In an effort to put this tiny idea out into the world, I need support along the way and I’ve designed a Kickstarter campaign to give the project the push it needs.
Here it goes:
~ Nichole Howard ~
ALLI HERE: There are only 6 days left to support Nichole’s Kickstarter campaign so please, donate a dollar, donate ten and please help spread the word. This is brilliant concept, not only artistically, but as a practical addition to our daily lives.
Help make art happen….while you save the world and break things.
Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick
Author: Nichole Howard
Nichole Howard holds an MFA from the University of Arkansas and a BFA from the University of North Texas. She has held numerous solo exhibitions and her works have been included in group exhibitions in venues across the United States and in Taiwan. Howard has received numerous honors, including NCECA’s 2014 Project Space artist award.
Where to find Nichole:
Website
NCECA
Blog: A Visa For Gardening
Kickstarter
images :: via antm :: in a plastic cup :: terra cotta tea cups – Arne Hückelheim :: all other images © Nichole Howard ::
