Self Embrace- Charity Starre Glaza

Solo MFA Thesis Exhibition

Me, Myself, and I

Through the unique process of self-examination and exploration I am learning to celebrate myself as a woman with imperfections. Beautiful. Exploring every inch of myself conceptually and physically, often, is a means to discover my unique and imperfect qualities. Choosing the word imperfect is purposeful as it is opposite of perfect. As a woman the ideas of popular culture’s idea of how a woman should look are buried in my head at a young age. What is it to be the “perfect female”? This along with personal traumas starts a story of never being good enough. However, focusing on my imperfections challenges the notion of this “perfect female”. Rather, I choose to celebrate every one of my imperfections. These are what make me authentic. They are like an artist’s mark authenticating their unique work of art. The authenticity becomes beauty. It is the freedom to be myself; to love myself, my limits, my imperfections; making them my strengths. These are the qualities that carry my story. Each mark a moment in my history. My artist mark, my authenticity, my beauty.

Through this exploration I have learned that my being and body is beautiful the way it is by flipping the script and seeing it as art; something I can comprehend as a female artist. This process forces me to expose the qualities I personally struggle with while reflecting on my inner dialogue. I use the traditional craft mediums ceramics and fibers as a means to reflect on the exploration of concept and physical self. They become pivotal to the intimate story of self as it was formed and is forming. Ceramics allows me to express the body as a vessel of my form and volume. While fibers are used as a direct reference to my body’s skin as a record of history and experiences I carry as a female human.

- Charity Starre Glaza

Self-Embrace – Solo MFA Thesis Exhibition

Self-Embrace is a progression of works combined to represent the continuous journey of learning to love myself. Through ceramic processes and techniques, I express the progression of my sense of self. As the works progress the increase in authenticity of self is obvious as my artist’s marks become more intuitive and confident.

The first sculptures were hand-built with a controlled slow slab-built method. This process took time and patience to work into the large forms into what they are now. They are smooth with large curves representing the form of the female body. With these works my sense of self and appearance of exterior were curated and controlled much like the building process. Small imperfections on the clay’s surface were overworked erasing my unique artist marks. They were left as mono-tone forms representing the female form and not my own authentic self. The last sculptures were hand-built with a free-form slab-built method. This process is quick and intuitive; I had to trust my instincts. Now the small imperfections stayed, no longer smoothed over as before but let be to show my artist’s mark the authenticity of self. Now my sense of self is less controlled and more intuitive. Through these works I have learned, and still am, to embrace my imperfections because they are what make me authentic. Which makes me beautiful and strong.

-Charity Starre Glaza

Exhibition Images: Self-Embrace

Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992)
No Thigh Gap, 2020
20” x 15” x 21”
polychromed terra cotta sculpture — Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992) No Thigh Gap, 2020 20” x 15” x 21” polychromed terra cotta sculpture

Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992)
Back Fat Beauty, 2020
20” x 12” x 21”
polychromed terra cotta sculpture — Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992) Back Fat Beauty, 2020 20” x 12” x 21” polychromed terra cotta sculpture

Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992)
Pinch Me, 2020
17” x 6” x 8”
polychromed terra cotta sculpture — Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992) Pinch Me, 2020 17” x 6” x 8” polychromed terra cotta sculpture

Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992)
Boulders, 2020
14” x 11” x 12”
polychromed terra cotta sculpture — Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992) Boulders, 2020 14” x 11” x 12” polychromed terra cotta sculpture

Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992)
Criss Cross, 2020
19” x 8” x 12”
polychromed terra cotta sculpture — Charity Starre Glaza (b. 1992) Criss Cross, 2020 19” x 8” x 12” polychromed terra cotta sculpture

Getting to Know the Artist: Artist Bibliography
Charity Starre Glaza

I was born January 4th, 1992 in Bad Axe, MI. I was the kid you could always find playing outside covered in mud, a little sign of my later passion in life. I had a love for animals enjoying many in my childhood in a rural farming community, but ultimately art was my interest. Anywhere there was something “art-sty”, I was involved.

Attending a private school my first two years of college I was able hone my artist skills while learning to become a K-12 art teacher. Transferring 2012 to Saginaw Valley State University I changed my course of study after realizing I did not find joy in my original degree choice. However, I had discovered my true passion in life. It only took one course and a great instructor to get me hooked on ceramics. My passion formed and grew with ceramics in my life daily. Graduating from SVSU in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Art, with a concentration in ceramics I was ecstatic. I quickly realized I was not done pursuing the discipline of ceramics. With my intentions to share ceramics with the world I pursued graduate school.

In 2017 I started at Eastern Michigan University pursuing a Master of Fine Art in ceramics. Beginning my journey at EMU I was awarded the Graduate Assistantship in the ceramics department for two years and later Teaching Assistantship for a year. Teaching has been a means of continued learning and improvement of my own skills and knowledge beyond what I can learn in a book. It is a lifelong joy that changes with time, creates new ideas and interactions, and challenges my knowledge of ceramics. I aim to be enthusiastic and continue to learn leaving those willing with joy and curiosity for the ceramic’s world.

While studying at EMU with the nurture of a great community and peers I have intensely begun to explore the discipline of fibers alongside ceramics. Fibers has become pivotal to my journey as a craft artist exploring the concept and physical self. Ceramics and fibers are both traditional craft mediums I use to intimately explore my body’s story as it was formed and is forming. Ceramics allows me to express the body as a vessel in form and volume. While fibers are used as a direct reference to my body’s skin as a record of history and experiences I carry as a human.

With future opportunities I hope to continue to grow, stay enthusiastic, and curious. At the end of the day all I hope is to spread the joy and community of ceramics and the craft mediums. I will be graduating this December of 2020 with a Master of Fine Arts in ceramics and fibers.