The Divine

Below is the Artist Statement as presented with the Fall 2025 Exhibition "Flora and Fauna." Each piece has a statement to go with it as told from within the narrative.

Story keeping is the art and craft of telling stories to keep them alive and pass them down. My work is created from the perspectives of different story keepers sharing tales of the Divine Age. “Flora and Fauna” acts as an entry point into a mythological world of divine figures and their foes, and the ones passing down the stories of these strange beings. I use clay to create simplified, whimsical animal sculptures to explore how myth, nature, and storytelling intersect.Mythology offers a way to explain the creation of the natural world and its inhabitants. Beyond this, myth provides the world with structure through religious practices and the concept of the ‘Divine.’ I have created a narrative exploring both
how the Divine creates environments and act as stewards for these environments. By showing my four-legged creatures in different stages, I explore how divinity acts as an inherited title and duty rather than an inherent state of being. The Divine go through a life cycle where they grow into their power and titles before returning to the land and passing their power on. I also look at the corruption of the Divine and the struggle to adapt to the ensuing disruption of communities and life cycles. The Divine are caretakers and creators, when they are corrupted their communities splinter, becoming lost or corrupted as well.This body of work is primarily an introduction to the life cycles of the Divine, and all the inhabitants of this world. The work in “Flora and Fauna” is only the beginning of an ongoing series exploring this world and all of its inhabitants.

Reclaimed

The inheritance cycle of the Divine necessitates the bringing of young to take the place of the Elders. When young Divine are born the essence of the Elder is passed to them and influences their future paths. During this transfer, the body of the Elder Divine is reclaimed by the land and creates a holy site. Many abbeys and temples were built on such sites in later ages.Excerpt from Baron’s “Encyclopedia of the Divine Age”

A Place to Grow

The Pilgrims act as caretakers for the young Divine. Notably, the Pilgrims did not originally have this relationship with the Divine. Over time, this symbiotic relationship developed to allow the Pilgrims to grow to extraordinary sizes, and in turn, the young Divine were protected from the Corrupted. There also seems to be some evidence that the Pilgrims aided Elderly Divine Ones, however, this data is as of yet inconclusive.Excerpt from Baron’s “Encyclopedia of the Divine Age”

In the Midst of Their Works

At the height of their power, the Divine created and stewarded natural wonders. These wonders, commonly referred to as the Divine Works, laid the foundations for the world. The Divine have territories they are bound and responsible to. In such territories, the land thrives and strange new creatures emerge from it. While not fully understood, it is known that the Divine performed ceremonies according to seasonal cycles with many variations based on their domain.Excerpt from Baron’s “Encyclopedia of the Divine Age”

A Reproduction of Malice

It was originally thought that the Corrupted ones only came from the Divine being corrupted, but the discovery of the colonies changed this. It is now understood that the Corrupted have two primary modes of reproduction: overcoming the Divine and the forming of colonies. The colonies seem to emerge from fallow land untouched by the Divine. Once individual Devourers are large enough, they detach from their colony and begin hunting for land and prey of their own.Excerpt from Baron’s “Encyclopedia of the Divine Age”

He Who Devours

Devourers are one of the most widespread predators in the Corrupted class. They primarily hunt the young of other species and are quite active in these hunts. However, it seems that once they reach a certain size, they become more sedentary and rely on their own younglings to bring food. While they are able to consume the bodies and power of the Divine, they are unable to digest their horns, which are often found in the remains or territories of Devourers. “He Who Devours” is the largest Devourer on record, and the territory he held remains scarred from his presence.Excerpt from Baron’s “Encyclopedia of the Divine Age”

The Novices

Classical Mythology in art

Nulla vitae dictum auctor etiam vitae pharetra euismod. Cursus fringilla nulla lectus vulputate porttitor at dignissim nisi urna odio mus quis.

relics

Nec nascetur vis feugiat cras quisque luctus libero.

functional work

Nulla vitae dictum auctor etiam vitae pharetra euismod. Cursus fringilla nulla lectus vulputate porttitor at dignissim nisi urna odio mus quis.