Michael Richardson

Artist Statement

Mike Richardson, M.F.A.
P.O. Box 12484
Odessa, TX 79768-2484
Telephone (432) 413-7385
richards_m81@yahoo.com

My art practice revolves around specific materials and processes. Materials are chosen in relation to the unfolding direction or narrative of each individual piece. I am also drawn to the aesthetic and integrity of high craft. My work is highly influenced by this notion, leading me to bring these elements to the forefront. One facet of the content of my work is the “hand made” object. I am not necessarily trying to make a comment on today’s consumer treatment of objects so much as I am indulging my want or need to make things. Processes and materials hold a central purpose in the conceptual range of my work. I feel that materials have intrinsic qualities and context ascribed to them that are an integral part of my practice.    

The ideas and concepts for my work are derivative from a continually evolving understanding of my self and the world I live in. I have come to understand my work as a personal practice whose function is to explore my conscious and as an exercise in mindfulness. What manifests becomes my own vernacular, which enables me to organize my memories and thoughts in a more significant way than just writing or speaking about them. Through work, I engage in a dialogue with material and visual symbology to create a sentence, paragraph, or page in my own language.

I find visual narrative the most effective way to communicate and convey my thoughts and feelings. The imagery is simple, uncluttered, and meant to be my own symbol or icon. I try to create a space that pulls object and image together to tell a story that has personal importance. This process is very important as an articulation of my world view.