This ceramic sculpture was created for an Invitational group exhibition: Prom Dress, Seventeen on Being 17. I explored this American rite of passage through my personal experience and those of my family members. Not just the experiences of my son and my siblings at Prom, but also our parents very different experience of age 17. They were unable to attend prom due to leaving school and marrying at a Justice of the peace. Because the dress is one of the most important symbols and acquisitions for the prom, I included a formal dress shape. The ceramic torso and gathered fabric skirt, sculpted from clay slabs, are textured with lace.
My discovery of brushing ceramic slip over lace for this sculpture, changed how I texture my torsos and wall sculptures.