
Blake Williams
Associate Professor, Ceramics
20 Kresge Art Center
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-432-0483
will1396@msu.edu
blakejwilliams.com
she/her/hers
Biography
Blake Williams is a ceramics artist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Michigan State University. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently in Philadelphia, PA, Baltimore, MD, Brooklyn, NY, and Jingdezhen, China. She earned her MFA from Louisiana State University and her BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Ossuary Projects, her newest body of work, examines the relationships between the tangible and intangible aspects of objects and mortality with patterns of porcelain bones.
statement
“Objects hang before the eyes of the imagination, continuously re-presenting ourselves to ourselves, and telling the stories of our lives in ways which would be impossible otherwise.” – Moira Vincentelli
The things we collect and that surround us reveal our narratives and silently map our personalities. What we leave behind becomes the physical memory of our existence. Objects contain ghosts of memories and have the power to disclose forgotten secrets.
I am influenced by the silence and expanse of cathedrals, the familiarity of domestic environments, and the magical reality of dreams. I hope to conjure memories and transform awareness.
At times, I approach pieces that I have created from previous installations as found objects. By reworking, new installations evolve. Recently, I hand build or cast porcelain objects to open new chapters of exploration.
My current work focuses on the imagery of bones and flowers in order to reflect life. I am interested in the human condition, how an individual relates to their surroundings, and what it means to interact and have relationships with other humans and animals. Making art is a continuous search for meaning.