Untitled bowl collab with Rikkianne Van Kirk
When Dani approached me to collaborate on a ceramic bowl for the inaugural Ornamental Cabbage gallery show I immediately knew she’d share in the process in both a personal and brave way (just like her work). The photos and stories of Dani’s grandparents that she provided illustrated that - in Dani - her grandparents saw not only a reflection of themselves, but also an image of the adventurous, beautiful, and powerful woman they
helped raise through the gifts of humor, love, and inspiration. Dani provided the ceramic structure inspired by a personal experience. The shape mimics a tulip, which represents a special moment in her relationship with her grandmother. My illustrations build on that shape and bring in a repetition image/design that represents the strong granddaughter that the grandparents helped raise and - in return - got strength from. We can all relate to this relationship. We all hold people up in small ways and large. We are all strong fruit.
Ceramic bowl with underglaze illustrations. 2024.
Sneeze Louise series
‘Sneeze Louise’ is a series of tissue box holders touching on grief in all its stages and hues. Inspired by a stained glass tissue box cover from Becknell’s grandmother, Louise, who passed from pancreatic cancer in October 2023. Her husband of 70 years, Becknell’s 100 year old grandfather, passed twenty days prior. Through this journey with grief Becknell
has been able to connect with her ancestors for support while also continuing the life cycle and creating life within herself. Now expecting a little girl, even when doctors said it was likely not possible, due on her grandfather's birthday in August.
Ceramic. 2024.
Rooting
Rooting is an intuitive, abstract representation of the root-ball of Becknell’s family tree. Created whilst at Penland School of Craft with daily phone calls of support to her dying Grandmother and family matriarch.
Ceramic. 2023.
Playground Pendulum
A tire swing-like pendulum to heal childhood wounds. Hand stitch with a releasing poem of emotions and mantras.
Soft sculpture. 2023.
Hanging by a Thread
‘Hanging by a Thread’ is a soft sculpture that began conception in February 2020 while Becknell was in France for an artist residency program at the European epicenter of the Covid Pandemic. The sateen textile was printed with scans of Becknell's visual diary from her residency period. Later, while working from Mercury Project, Becknell began to apply acrylic and stitch with thread to release emotions during the societal turmoil of 2020. The textile became a physical diary of visual venting. Currently Becknell has turned the textile into a hanging soft sculpture speaking on the ideas of displacement, anger, self-reflection, loss, change, information overload and a heated social climate. The residues of the pandemic still exist. Finding solid ground and a sense of self is still a struggle for most. What does life look like now? What are the long-term effects of the last three years? May we all find beauty in chaos.
Soft sculpture. 2020-2023.
Illuminated Sculptures
An ongoing series touching on an idea that in a dying world Becknell is creating her own whimsical nature. Intended to awaken the inner child in us all while returning to an innocent appreciation of Mother Nature and all that surrounds us. Inspired by organic forms, coral and flora.
Ceramic with lucite lamp bases.
Papaya
Papaya are ancient fruits used for their digestive qualities and sweet taste. Digestion has played a large role in Becknell’s life, coming to a head in with her 2019 emergency bowel resection. These fruits bring a sense of healing beauty to the past trauma. Becknell interprets the shape of papaya and the lush black seeds as symbols of fertility and new life. Every body is different, each papaya is uniquely hand made and ever seed hand rolled.
Ceramic wall reliefs.
Send the pain on
To be present with others is only achievable if present with oneself. Being present with yourself is to feel the pains, discomforts, beauty and self as a whole. Through grief one can find strength but only if tuned in to accept all feelings. Becknell’s ceramic reliefs are physical manifestations of her own pain due to a connective tissue disease, Lupus. She creates in order to sit with herself and find beauty in pain and anger. The rawness of these works provide a sense of grounding with evidence of Becknell’s existence. Further, her existence has meaning through outward service. At the present she is working through the impending death of her Grandmother due to pancreatic cancer. The pain is palpable in her being and in her body, but in order to fully support her Grandmother during this time she must first be there for herself. Service to others is a crucial part of being human, but what is often overlooked or misunderstood is the importance of supporting oneself to come through to others, particularly loved ones. In times of tragedy people may come out of the woodworks to support, but why is this not a constant natural instinct? May we all slow our pace to be present with and find beauty in even the darkest of circumstances.
Ceramic relief tiles. 2022.
Foreign Body
In her ceramic series for Foreign Body, Dani Becknell reflects on her 2019 emergency bowel resection and bowel obstruction, near fatal events that ultimately infused the artist with a new sense of life. While lingering effects of these traumas are still present, a liberation comes to Becknell in the making of works.
Ceramic & lucite. 2022.
Covid Chair
Speaking to isolation and confinement in our living quarters, the 'Covid Chair' is a physical manifestation of the pandemic lockdowns. Illustrated with scans on velvet of pages from Becknell’s visual diary during an artist residency in Europe January-March 2020. The aspect of lounge room furniture speaks to the fact that we were all stuck in our homes, on our couches, in pajamas, learning a new way of life and a new pace.
Scans on velvet. Upcycled chair. 2020.
Enigma I, Enigma II
As these shapes twist and bend they refract light, just as refractions of light are the division of parallel dimensions. These sand particles of glass entities reflect the macro and microscopic qualities that compose the ‘whole’, speaking on the Universe and all of which it is comprised. The primal act of using fire to mold these sculptural forms was an empowering process for Becknell, allowing her to connect with nature through elements.These glass forms are touching on the fact that everything in the Universe is merely a culmination of particles; matter.
Lampwork glass. 2019-2020.
Molecular
Molecular is a series of sculptural ceramic works inspired by microscopic photographs of molecules. Alluding to the idea of healing ancestral trauma through re-writing DNA imprinting.
Hand sculpted ceramic. 2020.
Meine Meckels
Meine Meckels is a sculptural series inspired by Becknell’s experience of a traumatic episode due to a congenital deformity, Meckels Diverticulum. The Meckels caused a severe bowel obstruction resulting in emergency surgery and an isolating recovery period. These works are figurative interpretations based on the image of the bowel obstruction captured by the surgeon. The removal of the vestigial remnant and portion of intestines acted as an emotional release of past traumas through this distressing experience, leaving physical and spiritual empty space. Meine Meckels series is not only figurative sculptural representations of the constricted bowel but also a reflection of the intricate mysteries within the human body and the effect your interior can have on the exterior of your vessel.
Ceramic, torch-blown glass, hand dyed & stitched textile, watercolor on paper. 2019.
Becknell’s eclectic practice is driven by personal experience and her response to the surrounding world in order to physically and emotionally digest. These spiritually informed works are a unique evolution of habitat born of botanicals, sea forms and unprocessed elements abstracted by her imagination then physically manifested through her hands. Becknell is creating a whimsical aesthetic that transcends our observational world, each work becoming a healing gesture, enlivening spaces with an intuitive expression of physicality intended to both release and replenish.