This year here at Edinboro
University we have three ceramics students going through their candidacy
reviews. Candidacy typically happens once you've been in the MFA program
for 1.5 years. Once a student is reviewed for candidacy they are
officially accepted into the program here at EUP, given they pass. You
are not required to have a show for candidacy, but all three 2nd year MFAs here
at Edinboro are doing so this year.
Our first MFA student to
have their candidacy show was Ashley Bevington. Ashley is from Nashville,
OH and received her BFA from Columbus College of Art & Design in 2014.
Bevington has participated in many regional & national exhibitions
and has received numerous awards within her craft. Bevington was awarded a
graduate assistantship through Edinboro University's MFA program, and is
expected to graduate in 2017.
Ashley's statement is as
follows:
"My work revolves
around the disillusionment of adulthood. As children, we long to be grown-ups.
It isn’t until we become adults with responsibilities and analytical tendencies
that we realize how good we once had it as children. With added pressure of the
media, we tend to have bloated expectations of what our lives should be. I have
found that having lowered expectations is a key to happiness. I find the humor
in daily negative events in order to avoid ruining a potentially good day. This
newly found survival tactic has me reliving my past through this mindset. The
pieces that I create are all objects from particular stories that in some way
shaped who I am today. The stories are typically traumatic events that took
place during my childhood. I am trying to re-experience these events as my
current self. I feel that once I complete a piece about a specific event,that
event becomes merely a story, and the burden of that event can be lifted from
my present life.
I coil build the majority
of my ceramic sculptures. The pinch marks left behind are similar to stitches
holding a wound together. The pinches add a warped/nostalgic feeling to each
piece. I use pastel colors as a sense of relief from heavy content."
Ashley put together a
wonderful show! It was very thoughtful as an installation, creating
a narrative while walking through the gallery, yet each piece holds
up just as well on it's own. The playfulness in the pinched textures
and color of her work is inviting for the viewer, asking the viewer to relate
to the concepts, imagery, and narrative.
Needless to say Ashley
passed candidacy with flying colors! We're so happy to have her in the
program here at Edinboro University. Ashley is currently the Vice
President of Clay Club. Make sure to keep up to date with her on:
WEBSITE
