Why
- Ceramic
- 3.75 x 5.75 x 2.5 in
- $75
- Sarah Howard
My art is something I want people to relate to and have more open discussions about. As someone who actively struggles with mental illness, I use my art as a way to get my feelings sorted, channeling the complicated things that hurt into something that can help others feel less alone. I bring about broader ideas in a manner to start the conversation and bring awareness to subjects that many times get forgotten about in so many people's every day life. Being able to channel my feelings that come from my mental illness and trauma help enormously, giving me a channel to relate these oftentimes complicated feelings into and sort through them in a manner that I understand. With my piece, "Overstimulated", I wanted to approach representing how I personally feel whenever I get overstimulated. I have social anxiety, and going out to do simple things such as going to a grocery store becomes incredibly difficult due to the vast amount of different voices. The best way I can come to describe the feeling is if a server was running to many programs at once, causing it to suddenly crash. The stitching in the piece is representative of the overload from things going on around you, showing a cluttered bundle of things represented through abstract art. I opted to show this emotion in fiber arts because I wanted to represent how my brain feels like it is being squished whenever I am overstimulated."Why" and "Yes it Still Hurts" are two pieces that go incongruent with each other, being inspired by lasting effects from trauma that takes a toll on your mental health. When you've gone through something traumatic, the two questions that hurt the most are "why?" and "have you moved on?", because they're very difficult to answer. These pieces both are unsettling, forcing people to consider the difficulties of answering. "Yes it Still Hurts" has bright markings on the inside, while the rim shows a contrasting phrase-"yes it still hurts". "Why" shows the empty feeling many relate to when it comes to the simple yet very difficult question of "why?", something that many struggle with. These both represent the oftentimes conflicting emotions that go through someone who has survived a trauma's head because its not something you can answer with no negative effects on one's mental health.
Bio:
I am Sarah Elizabeth Howard, an emerging ceramic artist from Lula, Georgia. As a graduate from the University of North Georgia, I draw inspiration for my art from the world around me, trying to maintain a balance between my more calm everyday pieces, versus my much more active sculptural pieces. I focus on bringing together both my ceramic art and my soft arts, trying to highlight abstract representations of our everyday lives.My main focus in my works is ceramic ware, but I do try to bring in my textiles, whether that be through surface decorations or actively creating ideas through textiles instead.
- Collections: Fragility and Fortitude