Table Settings for Marie Antoinette

(2012)

My objective was to develop a bowl form on the pottery wheel and design a plate and another item that goes with it. The plates and bowls are thrown and altered. The spoon is slipcast and its original form comes from a sock darner. Inspiration for the “pillow” bowl was an upholstered chair from the Renaissance. The plate contains decals with my own design of root vegetables, symbolic of decay and waste, as well as vintage Asian decals, which in contrast portray wealth and excess. My intention was to show the gap between aristocrats and common people during the Renaissance, especially during the French Revolution. The table was inspired by the lavish lifestyle of the aristocrats at the palace of Versailles during this time period, made with objects out of the life of the common people.