TRAUMA BODY
2021 | 2024
I created multiple sculptures during a three week intensive Expressive Arts program in Las Vegas, NV in the summer of 2021 . A small group of 6 people where we were verbally guided to work with our eyes closed, exploring the feeling of the material in our hands. Through this process I created six pieces.
In the summer of 2024 I was able to bring three of these pieces to Pittsburgh Art and media for a Raku firing class and exhibited them in my first Pittsburgh art show at the Library of Accessible Media. This show involved each artist coming into their recording studio and record a description of our work following a provided script. The art was then exhibited next to a audio listening device with our recording, so the viewer could listen to the artist speak while they ran their fingers across the surface of each work.
Somatosensory
Please enjoy these audio recording of my voice reading the scripts below for each piece. Enjoy my amateur video attempting to show all sides of the work. If you were able to attend the show opening night, you would recall the touch and feel of each sculpture.
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Can you imagine their temperature, texture and weight?
Title of Sculpture Rupture
Description / Artist Statement
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My name is Allison Streater.
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The title of this sculpture is Rupture.
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This sculpture is hand built with clay and glazed using a firing technique called Raku. Raku firing is when a piece is taken from the kiln while still glowing red hot and placed into sawdust to ignite in flames. This starves the piece of oxygen activating the glaze into a variety of colors which are out of control of the artist.
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The size of this sculpture is 7” tall and has a circumference roughly of 5”. Its base is wide and sturdy and leans back as it continues to the top which is 1” in circumference. It is an organic shape that is heavy and wide at its base and concave at its center.
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The texture and color of this piece is created using a Raku glaze called Metallic Mystery. The smooth areas are blue, turquoise and black. In some of the blue areas the glaze has crackling lines throughout that are black and contrast onto the cool blue tones yet remain smooth. In the areas where the glaze could settle the color is metallic copper and rough to the touch.
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This piece is one of 6 created during an expressive arts retreat where the participants were guided to sit with their eyes closed and encouraged to push, pinch and pull a large lump of clay, meditating on the feeling it provoked. I was inspired to participate to help process the trauma of a motor vehicle accident I survived in 2005 where my pelvis was broken into 5 places and my aortic arch was severed at the base of my heart. The process was contemplative and slow. When we opened our eyes we were instructed to continue smoothing and taking in what we had created. Here is a description of one of those pieces.
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Creating this piece with two hands my thumbs tore open the inside to reveal an ambiguous organ-like shape. I found this to represent my heart whose aorta had been severed and miraculously repaired. The sculpture tapers into a folding neck with a large hole below, representing my vocal chord that was paralyzed during my procedure, temporarily taking my voice and forever altering it. Behind the sculpture the clay folds into smooth long streams into small pools, carrying the grief I endured during this challenging part of my life.
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Title of Sculpture Split
Description / Artist Statement:
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My name is Allison Streater.
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The title of this sculpture is Split.
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This sculpture is hand built with clay and glazed using a firing technique called Raku. Raku firing is when a piece is taken from the kiln while still glowing red hot and placed into sawdust to ignite in flames. This starves the piece of oxygen activating the glaze into a variety of colors which are out of control of the artist.
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The size of this sculpture is 4” at its widest point, 8.5” long and 4” tall. This sculpture is an organic shape that is concave in the middle.
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The texture and color of this piece is created using a Raku glaze called Metallic Mystery. The smooth areas are blue, turquoise and black. In some of the blue areas the glaze has crackling lines throughout that are black and contrast onto the cool blue tones yet remain smooth. In the areas where the glaze could settle the color is metallic copper and rough to the touch.
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This piece is one of 6 created during an expressive arts retreat where the participants were guided to sit with their eyes closed and encouraged to push, pinch and pull a large lump of clay, meditating on the feeling it provoked. I was inspired to participate to help process the trauma of a motor vehicle accident I survived in 2005 where my pelvis was broken into 5 places and my aortic arch was severed at the base of my heart. The process was contemplative and slow. When we opened our eyes we were instructed to continue smoothing and taking in what we had created. Here is a description of one of those pieces.
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Creating this piece with two hands I separated the clay with my fingers, gouging at the clay and tearing it apart. This piece felt like the inside of myself, seemingly torn apart from one event. The clay bulks at the top giving a large edge, pulled from the back with all fingers leaving deep grooves. I can feel the pain of my experience in this piece.
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​Title of Sculpture Pelvic Floor
Description / Artist Statement:
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My name is Allison Streater.
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The title of this sculpture is Pelvic Floor.
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This sculpture is hand built with clay and glazed using a firing technique called Raku. Raku firing is when a piece is taken from the kiln while still glowing red hot and placed into sawdust to ignite in flames. This starves the piece of oxygen activating the glaze into a variety of colors which are out of control of the artist.
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The size of this sculpture is 6” at its widest point, 8” long and 4” tall. This sculpture is an organic shape that is concave in the middle.
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The texture and color of this piece is created using a Raku glaze called Metallic Mystery. The smooth areas are blue, turquoise and black. In some of the blue areas the glaze has crackling lines throughout that are black and contrast onto the cool blue tones yet remain smooth. In the areas where the glaze could settle the color is metallic copper and rough to the touch.
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This piece is one of 6 created during an expressive arts retreat where the participants were guided to sit with their eyes closed and encouraged to push, pinch and pull a large lump of clay, meditating on the feeling it provoked. I was inspired to participate to help process the trauma of a motor vehicle accident I survived in 2005 where my pelvis was broken into 5 places and my aortic arch was severed at the base of my heart. The process was contemplative and slow. When we opened our eyes we were instructed to continue smoothing and taking in what we had created. Here is a description of one of those pieces.
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Creating this piece with two hands I separated the clay with my fingers, gouging at the clay and tearing it apart. In the center merged an organic shape, a mystery of what was to come in the following months of my car wreck. Not only did I rupture my aortic valve but I also broke my pelvis in 5 places. My leg detached at the pelvic fold and pushed into my body. Would I walk again? Could I have children? Only time could tell. The deep grooves surrounding the outside of the pieces represent this gnawing mystery of what was to come in my healing journey. Two holes where my thumbs had pierced the clay left what looks like a pelvis, yet this one intact. Resting my hands at the top of this piece my fingers can cusp the work. Despite the visceral destruction of this event, the piece feels gentle, like surrendering to an event I had no control over.
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