AWAKENING
By
Natalia Arellano Blamey
BFA Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile, 2008
A Report Submitted to the Lamar Dodd School of Art of the University of Georgia in Partial Ful+llment
of the Requirements for the Degree:
Master of Fine Arts
2014
AWAKENING
By
Natalia Arellano Blamey
Approved:
_____________________________
Jennifer Crenshaw, Major Professor
_____________________________
Date
Awakening is a word that embodies the entire process of my academic and life’s path. I have
chosen this title for my work as a landmark of no return in reference to the material and aesthetic
discoveries I have been able to make within my professional practice in the design +eld.; as well as during
my graduate studies at the University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School of Art.
As a designer I have been obsessed in my search for coherence and function over all things. In this
written presentation I will explain my approach to the program, my history as a designer, as well as my
+nal decision to incorporate studies of Buddhist art as the core concept of my work.
My work and search for pro+ciency has been marked by a thirst for perfection and challenged by
duality. In order to better explain my work’s direction I will provide a brief historic, academic & cultural
contextualization of my trajectory.
Originally from Santiago, Chile, being born and living a substantial part of my life in a third world
country has marked the way in which I view the world as well as the way in which I was educated. The
idea of functionality over all things is a concept you cannot escape from, when the survival of a society
depends on utmost economy. This was the teaching of my schools, as well as the view I came to have
towards design and the designing of experiences. This concept came to clash immensely with my process
at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Suddenly, I had arrived in a place where the experience of art, in itself
was of the utmost value. Where the attempts to achieve were in search of a higher expression of an
artistic vision. This to me was like having the =oor taken out from beneath you. I could not conceive a
world where experimentation, investigation and exploration were allowed, without care for economy, be
that material, +nancial or otherwise. Suddenly I was challenged with duality, not only within myself, but a
deep duality, between what I had learned, and what I was about to learn.
I had relied on my knowledge to be the foundation of anything and everything I had ever done. I
felt my knowledge was the only guarantee to success that I had. Giving up this way of doing things, in
order to progress seemed very risky.
My interest in the story of the Buddha originally sparked from reading the narratives about his life
in my art history class. I identi+ed with the stories of inner con=ict within the Buddha’s last life, as well as
the Jatakas. The inner struggle within each of them and the pressure of decision making narrated in these
was very real to me. The idea that we are all constantly being challenged and that the outcome of what
we decide changes us forever was precisely the type of story I could relate to as a designer, artist and
person. This struggle was not one of my own, but the struggle of all. The idea that we all are very similar in
our core, despite how different we had been lead to believe we were is a concept I was very inclined to
pursue in the woven representations I would be developing as my +nal work.
I was born in Santiago, Chile during the 80’s. This provided a dangerous political climate at the
time, as well as a sense of instability and “frozen in time” effect on society as far as modernization and
product availability. My experience in the U.S. began with my parents who were both awarded
scholarships to attend UGA. Their uncompromising work ethic and brilliance was something others were
very aware of. I, a child at the time, did not understand the work of my parents, however, I sensed the
importance of it, and it´s relevance for the human existence.
This urgency to attend to “saving the world” clashed severely with what my sensibilities were. I
have always been very aesthetically focused and have learned at this point that design is necessary in
order for humanity to progress. However being brought into a country that at the time was struggling to
reposition itself in the world, I too questioned the relevance of an aesthetic approach to survival
problems. With this mentality I, just like the Buddha, cast all excess aside and subscribed to a very austere
design aesthetic. Afraid to fall into super+cial adornment I looked to add substance to my work through
the exploration of volume in my woven fabrics. I could relate to weaving in a way that felt deeply honest.
Being able to reconcile my idea of usefulness through the movement of weaving, and the technique
helped me to engage with the material on an intellectual as well as physical level. Nothing was being left
to waste.
The story of the Buddha was not one I was deeply familiar with at the beginning of my studies.
However, the relationship he had to the events in his life, the actions he took and deep feelings of af+nity
or rejection towards certain situations resonated with me and lead me to investigate more. This interest
in the Buddhist art history classes I took lead me to continue my studies with my professor for three
more semesters in what would eventually become my +nal thesis work.
The concept of awakening was very powerful to me as an artist, as well as a designer. During my
studies at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, I achieved a growth in my thought process and conceived ideas
in a totally different way by the end of my studies. Much like the Buddha, the beginning of my path was a
path of struggle. For me the struggle had very much to do with my mental constraints of what was
possible and what was not possible. I felt like the knowledge I already had, tied to my undergraduate
experience as well as my work experience was the only thing I had in terms of assets to use to make my
work. Therefore I clung to them with fervor. I did not want to let go of what I knew in order to learn
what I would learn in the future. I felt fascinated by the story of the Buddha when I took my art history
class with Professor Nicolas Morrissey. The story of the Buddha, a beautiful privileged prince who
abandoned all the luxuries and indulgences in the world, because he felt there was more to life than what
he was being exposed to. I feel deep af+nity with this story, being an international student who has
pursued graduate studies in a foreign country because I felt strongly that there was more to the world
and to my life as a designer than what I was being able to experience. A calling of sorts brought me to
the LDSOA and it has ful+lled my expectations with regards to +nding what I was seeking far beyond
anything I could ever have imagined.
For my +nal work I would be developing a series of 8 woven yardages, each representing an
important moment in the Buddha's last life. These moments serve as points of no return. During each of
these the Buddha is transformed forever, never to return in the same way that he was, or behave in the
same way that he did. It is a testament to the personal improvement we all seek within ourselves. I have
sought it in myself and believe others pursue this same dream. To become “better”, “cleaner”, “+tter”,
“stronger”, “smarter”, or what have you. The improvement mentality, the attainment mentality are truly
fascinating subjects to me and have fueled the production of this massive work.
I have wanted to represent all of the Buddha's lives in this work, not only the life in which he
became awakened, in an effort to represent visually, and tangibly all of the sacri+ce he took upon himself
in order to be able to aspire to the obtainment of his main goal, that of the Nirvana.
Each of these works will be explained in depth, as far as narrative, concept and materiality are concerned.
AWAKENING
(This title is attributed to the complete work)
ONCE (This title is attributed to the ceramic works)
547 Jatakas of Shakyamuni Buddha
Prior to his last life, the Buddha underwent 547 lives in which he did not attain awakening. Each of
these lives represents an attempt in which he would come closer and closer to his awakening. Each life, is
a repetition in the cycle of rebirth. I wanted to represent each of these stories in a physical way. I needed
to create an object with meaning that would stand in the place of all of these 547 lives. This is when I
decided to make 547 ceramic bowls. The bowls are porcelain, they are like bones. They are the relics of
the previous lives. The meaning of the bowl is in this case symbolic, the bowl being a very strong element
in buddhist culture, that which is representative of the middle path, as well as generosity, a kindness on
which buddhist monasteries rely upon to this day. The bowl is a very simple object that has great
potential, to store, collect, gift and adorn. Although it is a simple object, that does not necessarily imply
that it is an easy object to master. In the creation of these 547 bowls I attempted to feel as the Buddha
felt. With each and every bowl, I was closer and closer to attaining my goal, however, I would never attain
perfection in this medium. I felt strongly that for the piece to be inherently related to the story, the
development of it needed to be a sacri+ce. This sacri+ce needed to embody all aspects of life, physical,
mental, spiritual, chronological and others. The display of this work would have the objective to expose
the hardship endured in attaining a +nal goal. As an MFA candidate this will be the culmination of my
studies at the LDSOA and I felt great commitment to making a strong conceptual piece that would
narrate the story of endurance, sacri+ce and potentially the mastering not only of a craft, but of a
profession.
LAST LIFE
(This title is attributed to the woven works as a group)
BIRTH
The birth of the Buddha is marked by a serenity, that of no pain to his mother, he entered the
world in an ethereal way. He was born into a life of luxury and pleasures. It is this very life that would
provide a cage, from which he would take long time in escaping. My goal was to be able to embody all of
these characteristics in a woven that would symbolize the very beauty of the Buddha's upbringing, as well
as how unnatural and rare it is to be born into those circumstances. A prince with a kingdom, palace and
the promise from the gods that he would one day save the world. This seeming blessing cursed the
Buddha's upbringing and led him to feel like a prisoner within his own kingdom. Growing numbed by the
lavish surroundings, Prince Siddhartha would feel himself an outcast or stranger to his own palace and
family. I feel great attachment to this story, especially this episode, for it is an extremely human thing to
feel many times alienated by the expectations the world, or many times more your closest relations have
of you. I felt strongly that I needed to represent these concepts with the choice of warp and weft within
my fabric. The silver grid I mapped out to conform the pattern of this fabric was carefully thought to
re=ect the beauty of this originary place, as well as symbolize a cage of sorts. A beautiful cage that
everyone would like to admire, as with the Buddha's palace life. Something that would create a longing in
the onlooker and only represent the prison for he or she who was living that situation. This fabric is a
2400 thread, 80 ends per inch mono+lament nylon warp. The set up process for beginning this woven is
nothing short of 18 hours. I felt the need to submit myself in some way to the feeling of the stories and
episodes I chose. I felt a duty to represent them accurately and that in order to be able to speak of them,
or for the wovens to faithfully tell the story, they would need to embody the energy of the episode
chosen. The challenge to develop this woven therefore was completely intentional. Bordering on the
verge of insanity, it was necessary to create this woven with these characteristics in order to respectfully
re=ect the suffering as well as abundant beauty of the episode. The choice of material is as well a
re=ection of this principle. The plastic thread allows for a beautiful, seemingly harmless material, however it
is very durable and if trying to destroy it by hand, you will +nd it quite indestructible. This re=ects the
prison of sorts, which along with the grid, leaves the subject exposed through an unnatural, plastic, illusory
man made material. A transparent, rich, beautiful prison is the style in which the story takes place. The
beginning of this last life.
LIFE AT THE PALACE
This woven is characterized by the immense luxury that Siddhartha was brought up in. The lavish
lifestyle and etiquette that surrounded him since his very birth were qualities that would later on prove
very dif+cult to free himself from. Not from a lack of effort on his behalf, but because of the expectations
people had of him, especially his family. It was very hard for them to allow him to experience the outside
world, even when he did, they made sure that it was catered to represent the same beauty that he had
been accustomed to experiencing in the palace. Given the very strict characteristics of his palace life, and
the fact that within this life of opulence he was still experiencing life in a very limited way, or perhaps
because of this excess he was having a limited experience, are the terms that have dictated the
development of this woven. The golden coiled thread is representative of the luxurious lifestyle, creating
an enticing shine and dynamic re=ection. This re=ection is only possible because of the coiling, which in
itself is binding the thread, this binding is symbolic of the experience Siddhartha felt he was having as a
prince. This metallic coiling is constraining the thread, not allowing it to move freely, hence the relationship
to Siddhartha, the interior of the thread is of natural cotton +bers, but you would never be able to
deduce this, because it is carefully hidden. The blue metallic thread is also allusive to the royal qualities of
the prince, his “blue blood” if you will.
REALIZATION OF DEATH
In the realization of death episode, the Buddha has decided that he wants to see the world
beyond the palace gates. This creates an enormous ordeal for his father, who orders all sickly and elderly
people out of the Buddha's sight on this day. However, this was not possible and +nally the Buddha will
come to encounter an elderly man. He will then be brought to the inevitable notion that with old age,
death comes as a consequence, and that none of the riches surrounding him will ever be able to prevent
this from happening. This realization inevitably leads to him loosing the understanding in the way he has
lead his life, or the life he has become accepting of as his own. This episode in the life of the Buddha will
spark a life changing decision from which his path will never be the same. My interest in this episode is in
the similarity it has to our everyday life. There are episodes after which we learn things that will change us
forever, we cannot un-learn them, and after these moments we are never the same. Decisions, situations
or knowledge cues mold us into what we become in the future. For each person this will be different, but
I was very drawn to the idea that these moments, cathartic moments if you will, are present in the lives of
all human beings, and culminate in the formation of our character.
This woven was developed with natural cotton +bers, as well as metallic threads. In 1 inch
intervals, this stripe was designed to resemble very much a prison. This prison which I developed for this
episode is meant to be harnessed as a prison of the mind. For the Buddha at that moment, the realization
of death was a notion that he could not disown, it haunted him, and tortured him. The fact that he could
not escape it made him plan for a better life in his eyes at that moment, the future resignation of all of his
material possessions and immediate desires. The stripe is a navy and cream stripe. The navy represents the
newfound darkness that has come with the idea and proof of death and suffering. The haunting of the
mind is the main concept for this woven, however, never completely resigning the beauty if this story and
it's evolution. I feel strongly that in order to maintain the beauty and enchantment of the story, making
strong elegant decisions about the components of the textiles as well as the technical aspects of the
fabric is necessary, therefore, never truly resigning the luxurious quality of the fabric. This is in effect, from
beginning to end, the story of a prince.
LEAVING THE PALACE
Finally after learning about death, sickness and suffering in life, and how all other people seem to
experience these hardships, the Buddha sees no value in continuing to live his life in the way that he had.
He is perplexed at how others can seemingly live happy oblivious lives and decides there is no point in
continuing this charade. It is a de+ning moment in this last phase of his. Existence. He is resigning his
throne, leaving his family and giving up all of his material possessions. This moment is indeed very
dramatic, in the sense that he is going from one extreme to the next. Deciding that material possessions
are not the answer to life, he goes in search of this answer by initially leaving all these things behind. He
will +nd however that in the world he will be unable to shed the princely idea of himself very easily.
Moreover, he will never completely stop being remembered as a prince. This concept was the most
important idea for the development of this woven piece. It is a natural cotton warp, with mono+lament
weft and metallic thread every 2 inches. For this piece I decided to create a sculpted memory in the
fabric using a smocking technique. The purpose of this technique was to create a sort of scarring in the
fabric, which would come from the warp being pulled from the plastic weft. These scars would come to
signify the royal precedence of the Buddha and show how this life of luxury had scarred him internally as
well as scarred the perception of him externally. The con=ict between the natural and plastic threads also
speaks to the odd nature of this situation. He is a prince, who willingly excerpts himself from a situation
that most people can only dream of, an unthinkable decision for most. There is a contradiction in this
situation where most people would like to be in his position and never leave the palace, they long for the
unnatural, and then prince Siddhartha, whose natural environment is the palace, wants nothing more than
to run away. For this reason as well, I chose the subtle metallic thread stripe, as a reminder of where he
came from, a stamp of royalty, as well as a curse.
ENLIGHTENMENT
The Buddha has chosen the life of an ascetic in the hopes of achieving awakening and ending his
suffering. He now believes that without desire, and material possessions he will be free from all of the
previous burdens in his life. He takes on an immense journey of starvation and meditation on his mission
to +nd the answer that he is so desperately in search of. Under the Bodhi tree he comes to meet a girl
who will offer him a bowl of rice. This bowl will come to be the most important element of the story,
signifying balance and generosity. The Buddha, very hungry at that time and exhausted from so much
sacri+ce accepts this gift and is disowned by his fellow ascetics. They see him as a treason to their way of
life, he has succumbed before temptation. This is however, not true, in this story, the rice bowl will
represent the awakening and the realization that in order to become awakened you must walk the middle
path and have balance in your life. This realization that the Buddha came to with his acceptance of food
would become his moment of awakening and therefore, enlightenment. It is in this moment that he is able
to consciously end his circle of rebirth and therefore, suffering. This would become one of the pillars of
the meditation practice as well as an idea to aspire to through behavioral decisions in buddhism. The
concept of balance for me as an artist in very foreign. In this sense I feel more comfortable in the
conceptual pillars of leaving the palace, those of throwing oneself into the thing you most would like to
do. The idea of balance, seems unattainable, however, this concept has made for an exceptionally beautiful
woven.
The warp for this fabric is a natural cotton warp. The weft I chose were alternating plastic and
natural cotton thread stripes. The balance is represented by the compromise between the two materials.
The plastic thread takes the place of all things unnatural, too straining or in=exible. In this category we can
add the palace life, as well as extreme asceticism. Both these paths are excessive as well as depleting
towards the body and the character. On the other hand we have the natural threads. These threads
represent the soundness of the mind, they provide more =exibility and therefore are more prepared for
change. The warp as well is a natural cotton thread, symbolizing that this balance is also sustained by
nature. The give and take of the two materials creates a stripe that gives way to a structured fabric with
many folding possibilities. It is a fabric that represents the steps taken in order to achieve this balance.
FIRST SERMON
In this woven the +rst sermon represents the materialization of the teachings of the Buddha. It is the
lesson upon which the entire buddhist community will begin to establish their way of life. After attaining
awakening the Buddha will postpone his own Nirvana, that which he has pursued for so long, in order to
become a teacher of what he has learned. He will do this reluctantly after a plea from the gods
themselves, however, it is still a gesture of absolute generosity. To wait, in bene+t of others, afters so many
years of work towards a goal, demonstrates clearly the type of being the Buddha had become. Someone
in control of their humanity and character, but ultimately connected and empathetic of their surroundings.
This woven was meant to represent the different categories in the realms of our own lives in a
compartmentalization of sorts. The small rectangles represent the different aspects of our lives. The virtual
stripe formation creates the illusion of overlap, nudging us to believe that the beliefs in one area of life do
not necessarily exclude or ignore other aspects of our lives. The larger squares at the bottom of the
woven represent the origins of these lessons and their initial rustic qualities which will later become more
clear in the formation of the rectangle shapes. This woven is a linen and polyester both warp and weft.
RETURN TO THE PALACE
The return to the palace is a very important episode in this story. It represents the return to all
things the Buddha was escaping from, as well as a return to his roots. The path that he chose, leading him
to attain awakening has changed him forever, therefore, when he returns to the palace, he returns to the
same place, but he is not the the person he used to be. This speaks to how life's events change us and
how this story portrays, hopefully changes us for the better. In this episode, the Buddha is returning to
teach the people what he has learned. He left a prince, and returns a teacher. He is postponing his
Nirvana in order to share with others that which took him so much sacri+ce in attaining. For this reason,
this woven is one of the most important to create. I chose to reinterpret the idea of life at the palace.
This time, former prince Siddhartha, now the Buddha is a visitor. In his quality of visitor he is arriving as a
teacher, and bearer of the gift of knowledge. At the same time, he is in a state of half here and half gone,
in the sense that this is the end of his existence at the palace. For this reason I chose a stripe pattern
where parts of the palace are represented by the metallic threads, and then the absence if the Buddha is
represented by the plastic weft.
NIRVANA
The Nirvana is the +nal episode I decided to represent int this woven narrative. This is the
culminating episode of the Buddha's last life in the sense that it is the moment that the Buddha ceases to
exist on this earth forever. He has ended the cycle of his rebirth and his suffering. This episode is of
empiric importance, since all of the previous lives and this one lead up to this moment as the moment of
utmost importance. All of the efforts will come together in one magni+cent moment, the release from his
bodily cage into nothingness. Throughout all of the previous wovens I established a constant that was the
stripe. This stripe would represent an ever evolving cage. In many cases a beautiful cage, but a cage
nonetheless. The stripe represents the body and limits of humanity. These limits have been so far
throughout this work both physical and mental. In this last woven my main objective was to represent the
dissipation of this cage. The solid silver at the bottom of the gradient is representative of the beginning of
this journey, a beginning of solid connection with the material world and disconnection from the pursuit
of nirvana at that point. The solidness of this block becomes more scarce, revealing the initial disconnect
with the palace life and all of the material ailments of humanity.
In this body of work I hope to have represented faithfully the story of the Buddha to my own
understanding, but also having depicted it in a way that others can resonate with. In taking upon such a
massive hand made project I have wanted to endure similar sacri+ces in my discipline as those the
Buddha pursued in his last life. It has been my objective to make a parallel of his story with my own and
that of every other person. I believe strongly that we all pursue greatness in our live. Whether this
greatness is one of accomplishments or feelings, it is greatness all the same. Whether or not we attain a
Nirvana of sorts in our own lives is not something I will ever be able to know, however I believe that it is
most important to recognize that whatever the path you choose there is an intrinsic value in great
attempts.
I have attached for your convenience images of the installation at the Georgia Museum of Art
with it's supporting narratives.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work is motivated by a +erce necessity to obtain perfection. I am aware that this does not
exist. However, as a child would be, I am obsessed with that which I cannot have. My process is result
oriented. I design all of my work around the reaction I am pursuing. This motivation to create comes from
a place of play. The surfaces I make are intended to trigger an urge to touch and experience the material
for yourself. In this scenario we are all children once again. To be in awe and need to feel in order to
experience what is real is one of our most basic impulses. To witness this reaction in others helps me
believe that we are all not that different from one another. This connection to me is the most important,
since the process of creation is so isolating, I experience the feeling of play and joy through the reactions
of other people. It is in this quality of observer that I can truly recognize that my work has come alive.
AWAKENING
This body of work narrates the Buddha's journey through his 547 lives prior to the last life he
lived in which he attained awakening.
We are all in a journey for greatness. We dream about it, write about it, sing about it, make movies
about it. Greatness is the ultimate currency. In my search for what it means to be great I fell in love with
the story of the Buddha. The humanity displayed in the narrative of a person who had it all and, deciding
that all he had was not all he was seeking, resonated very close to my heart. This story in it’s own way is
the story of every person, a story of struggle, desire, despair, awareness and completion. It is our humanity
that pushes us to achieve great feats, overcome unfathomable obstacles and display kindness in the
harshest of moments. I felt compelled to materialize this narrative in the way that I am most in tune to.
The creation of handmade fabrics is a time and focus intensive process. In the repetition of the work I
faced many obstacles, both of the body and the mind. The overcoming of these has manifested in the
objects you see before you. It is a tribute to the work we endure in our own lives in the hopes that our
efforts will not go unnoticed and our voices will not be forgotten.
CERAMICS
Once
These 547 bowls each represent a life of the Buddha prior to his last life in which he attained
Nirvana and ended the cycle of his rebirth. They are displayed as a demonstration of the sacri+ce gone
through in order to reach this goal. Each of them individually created with their own unique quality, the
bowls represent the hours and lifetimes of achievement or suffering endured up to his last life.
Porcelain and red clay. White slip and clear glaze
LAST LIFE
WOVENS (from left to right)
Birth
The Buddha is born a prince in a gilded cage. Surrounded by luxury he is kept from the harsh
realities of the world in hope that this would serve him well and that he would become the perfect king
& provider for his family & kingdom.
Mono+lament plastic and metallic threads
Life at the Palace
The palace life is one of excess and ostentation. Monotonous and exuberant, the metallic stripes
resemble the blur of reality and the constriction of comfort. In this scenario they are somewhat of a
prison, a beautiful prison, but a prison nonetheless.
Cotton, metallic, and metallic coiled threads
Realization of Death
Prince Siddhartha journeys outside the palace walls where he encounters a person of old age,
someone who is ill, and a dead man. This is the +rst time he has ever witnessed such things and the +rst
time he has been outside the palace. It sickens him to see how unaffected people are by the notion that
they too will someday die.
Cotton and metallic threads
Leaving the Palace
Siddhartha renounces his throne and leaves for a life of asceticism. He no longer wants to
participate in the denial he sees around him. He has gone from one extreme to the next in the search of
an answer. For this answer he is willing to give it all.
Cotton, mono+lament plastic, and, metallic threads
Enlightenment
After many sacri+ces, perils, hours of meditation, and hunger the Buddha is approached by a young
woman who offers him a bowl of rice. He has come very far in his path and, exhausted, accepts this gift.
He realizes that the only way to enlightenment is through balance and walking the middle path. Extremes
are not serving him and he is done with these attachments forever.
Mono+lament plastic and cotton threads
The First Sermon
The Buddha shares his knowledge with his disciples for the +rst time, establishing generosity,
teaching and the middle path as the way to achieve ful+llment in our own lives. He has reluctantly
postponed his own Nirvana for the bene+t of others, a truly sel=ess deed.
Cotton and linen threads
Return to the Palace
The Buddha returns to the palace, now as the awakened one. This is the same place where he
was born and raised, however he is not the same. The choices he made in this last life have changed the
course of his existence forever. He now arrives as a teacher, a guide, a fully awakened being.
Cotton, metallic and mono+lament plastic threads
Nirvana
The Buddha now leaves us. His time on earth has come to an end. His lessons have been shared and he
no longer is tied to his physical body. He has transcended the material world and ended his cycle of
rebirth. He leaves in peace, into nothingness.
Mono+lament plastic and metallic threads