Growing up in Kalamazoo, only a short drive to Lake Michigan, the atmospheric influence of water has long since lived inside me. Expectedly, my relationship to water traces back to before my birth, in Antiparos, Greece, where my parents met and I have frequented. That island, and the sea surrounding it, live in my memory as something constant. A quiet beckoning exists in its presence that continues to shape my artistic instincts.
I am a senior at Michigan State University earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design. I draw from both the rigid and the raw. Rarely can I add geometric shapes without organic motifs infiltrating their lines to break apart the seriousness. Beyond my primary field of study, I have cultivated the most deep passion for ceramics and I aspire to further delve into three-dimensional art forms following graduation through a post-baccalaureate and Master's program. I approach ceramics as a practice of reflection rather than performance and I rarely begin with a fixed outcome in mind. Instead, meaning reveals itself whilst making. This medium has been guiding me since I first laid hands on it.
My vessels tend to swell. Full-bodied, open-lipped, generous in shape and gesture. There is an ease in their presence, though not without structure. At the center of my practice is a desire to honor the material. I work intuitively, allowing form to emerge rather than controlling it too tightly. Many times I have referenced this process as "the fight," where the clay and I lose one another for a moment, and we must battle to regain synchrony. Clay has taught me to stay responsive. To listen and adjust. This process is not rushed and my pieces are made to last.
I maintain university involvement through the Hellenic Student Association to cherish the familiarity of my heritage. I am often described as free-spirited and open-minded.
I am reachable via email at alexopo7@msu.edu for business inquiries.
