Rebecca Stevens
ceramics MFA
Rhode Island School of Design
Specialisms: Ceramics / Contemporary Craft / Fine Art
Location: Providence Rhode Island, United States
Rebecca Stevens
First Name: Rebecca
Last Name: Stevens
Specialisms: Ceramics / Contemporary Craft / Fine Art
Sectors:
My Location: Providence Rhode Island, United States
University / College: Rhode Island School of Design
Course / Program Title: ceramics MFA
About
Grounded in a strong concern with the roles of craft and decoration within contemporary life, I use hand-made dolls and domestic objects to make sense of my lived experience. As a girl raised in a conservative social setting in North Carolina, I use these objects to express my current feelings of discomfort with the stereotypes of feminine virtue that I learned from those environments. Working primarily in porcelain with the addition of textiles, I intentionally embrace feminized materials, styles, and methods of making to critique gendered forms of socialization while questioning historical and contemporary perceptions of feminine taste and women' s labor. The doll as a subject in my work references a view of women as objects of beauty, which hold no agency, and reflects my own discomfort with the feeling of being on display in public life. However, dolls also serve the purpose of making sense of the world around me. They provide a means for expressing emotions that might be difficult or unsafe to express in certain real-life scenarios, and they present opportunities to role-play different versions of myself.
The Home and the Self: on Perceptions of Feminine Virtue
Reflecting on my own feelings and experiences with domesticity and on the larger patterns of socialization they reveal, I use decoration and domestic objects to explore my discomfort with the stereotypes of feminine virtue that I grew up around in the American South. These specific ideas of socialized feminine virtue center around domestic service and a focus on appearance. Working primarily in porcelain with the addition of textiles, I embrace materials, styles, and methods of making that are associated with women and girls. Through hand-crafted tableware, dolls, and decorative patterns I critique gendered forms of socialization while questioning historical and contemporary perceptions of feminine taste.
Competitions
