ARTIST STATEMENT
As our bodies are impacted by unseen forces and transformative processes, so too are other physical substances. I experiment with ceramic materials and processes that leverage a modicum of control against the serendipity of unpredictable results. My fascination with materials and transformative substances reflects a concern for my own materiality. Pieces are often approached with an alchemical approach to melting raw ceramics materials together in the kiln, such as glass frits, metallic oxides, and minerals. In these combinations, I achieve haptic qualities that are familiar, yet mysterious and unplaceable. Sometimes, underlying ceramic forms are combined with fabrics dipped in liquid clay slip. The clay-laden, heavy fabric responds to gravity; it acts as skin, a dead weight, or a veil to the ceramic forms underneath. Sacred spaces are also integral to my research. These spaces paradoxically make the body feel insignificant yet part of a magnanimous whole. Arches are a recurring form throughout my work. An arch can be a space, a symbol, a form, a movement, a line, a threshold, a passage, or a grave. These potentials offer paradoxes and resist collapsing into absolutes. I find mystery to be one of the most compelling emotions, and I try to arrive at a sense instead of a certainty in my work. I am more interested in the open space of sensing rather than in the concrete boundaries of knowing.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Elaine Buss grew up in the wide-open prairie fields of Lively Grove, Illinois. Her work explores ambiguity and the nondescript, specifically in relation to the sensory, ineffable, and intangible experience of inhabiting a human body. She earned an MFA from Ohio State University (2018) and a BFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2010). Her work has garnered multiple awards including an Inspiration Grant (ArtsKC), Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist Award, The International Award for Visual and Performing Arts (Ohio State), and an ArtistInc Fellowship (Mid-America Arts Alliance). Elaine’s work is held in collections such as Honos Art (Italy), Belger Collection (Missouri), Baggs Library (Ohio), Potamkin Collection (Florida) and C.R.E.T.A.Rome (Italy). Elaine is an Assistant Professor at Kansas City Art Institute in the Foundation Department and was a 2022-2024 Visual Arts Resident at Charlotte Street Foundation.
© Elaine Buss