DEEPER ROOTS SERIES

Artist Statement

          The ceramic works presented here represent a small portion of my technical and creative efforts.  I worked in several other mediums and processes including photography, computer graphics, paper making, and wood.

          Building on a solid foundation in the Liberal Arts, Art History, and design, specializing in Ceramics at the University of Dallas, and continued my education at Indiana State University.  I truly set “DEEPER ROOTS” for myself as a creative artist and as a human being.

          The central metaphor in these ceramic sculptures is that of imagined botanical growth.  They are humans disguised as blooming plants.  They are totems to be read from roots pulling in nutrients, to plumped out bodies brewing up life fluids that move to the fruition in full bloom.  These blooming plants are you the viewer and are also very autobiographical… they are me.  They represent what has happened to me during my passage to becoming a professional, creative artist/teacher and, hopefully, a better human. 

-         Michael Martin Cummings

October 2003