tiny useless things

hand built ceramics, air dry clay
acrylics
acrylic seal/varnish

a little exploration i did to communicate a message about society, humanity, ableism, and self worth. the collection consists of tiny mugs you can’t drink out of, tiny vases of glued in (faux) flowers, and tiny buckets you can’t put water in.

all useless.

…

read the why behind the message and more about where this concept came from below.

being a designer i’ve always tried to find a purpose and function of anything i see or make—it’s just in our nature as designers (inventors and problem solvers). i’ve also struggled with the persistent very human thoughts of, “am i doing enough?” or “am i producing/creating enough?”

the older i get the more i realize that art (and life) is not always about having some profound purpose and impact all the time. we don’t always need to be “useful” either. sometimes just simply existing is okay; what and how much we produce isn’t tied to our value and worth.

these tiny useless mugs, vases, and buckets were made as symbolism of this and serve as a reminder whenever we see this tiny useless thing just… sitting or hanging somewhere.