2022

Ash Xylarium 

The Ash Xylarium explores the relationship of fire, memory, and the feedback loop of creation and loss in the north-central Colorado Rocky Mountains. From childhood to revisiting as an adult, the project stems from the artist’s observations of seeing landscapes transform due to more frequent and intense wildfire. Fire is a catalyzing medium of loss and creation—a feedback loop—and is explored here through past, present, and future. Using glass as a material that embodies this feedback loop within every facet of its lifecycle, the story engages the glassmaking process from glass recipe, form-making using glass’ high-fidelity reprographic quality, and reforming through glass’ ability to transform infinitely. Cast glass books capture ghosted figures of trees native to the fire-affected areas that do not regenerate post-fire as easily as they have previously. The drawers present vignettes of loss/creation cycle: the bark beetle as contributor to the loss of millions of acres of trees from the mid-nineties through now; videos capturing the moment of ignition; slides showing parts of different tree species—cones, needles, twigs—before and after they turn into ash; and “forest glass”, an adaptation of a medieval glass recipe that embodies place through fusing wildfire ash and sand.

With special thanks to: my thesis advisors (Jocelyne Prince, Rachel Berwick, and Denise Markonish), Hotnights casting team (Syamini Breathwaite, Ashley Harris, Ariel Aravot, Donghang Yang, Tracy Zhang, Jiemin Park, Jocelyne and Rachel), the lovely folks in the RISD foundry, Lauren Glenn, Eliza Potenza, Dr. Sharon Hood, Shona Kitchen and the rest of the Techlands crew, Hyundai x RISD Research Collaborative, RISD NatureLab, and Mark Rukamathu.

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Grad Show 2022, piece in group exhibition.

Download thesis book here

RISD Grad site