Research Symposium

BIO

Violet Lorish is currently a second-year student studying at Florida State University in the College of Music and the College of Communication and Information. She is pursuing dual-degrees, a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Media Communication Studies, with a minor in Spanish. In the Spring of 2025, Violet engaged in her first collegiate research, presenting her paper “Rhythm of Reason: Musical Training, Early Childhood Development, and Mathematics” at the Undergraduate Music Research Symposium, hosted by the Society for Musicology at FSU. During the 25-26 school year Violet worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant through FSU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). She assisted MFA Candidate Amarachi Odimba on her research titled ENFOLD Series, studying the use of "Utilitarian Objects as Metaphor for Movement in Contemporary Artistic Practice”. From this study she developed a personal work titled Metamorphosis which she will be presenting at FSU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, where she will be a speaker at their Nourishing Creativity Hour. Most recently, Violet was named a Tyler Fellow for the summer of 2026, during which she will be completing artistic research abroad. Violet is from Atlanta, Georgia, and enjoys spending her free time hand embroidering, playing the violin, and spending time with her family and five cats.

Utilitarian Objects as Metaphor for Movement in Contemporary Artistic Practice

Abstract

Growing up, I was surrounded by everyday objects that once felt ordinary but now resemble a transitional narrative, marking my passage from childhood to adulthood, and shaping my memories and identity. This concept guides my inquiry, how can everyday materials be used to convey movement and transition? Under the guidance of MFA candidate Amarachi Odimba, I assisted in the production of her current work titled ENFOLD Series, which explores concepts of movement, material culture, and memory. The work is a mixed-media installation consisting of paintings, sewing, embellishments, and a plastic plaid bag, her personal travel bag, which historically relates to the socio-political history of the expulsion of Ghanaians from Nigeria in the 1980s. While assisting in her studio research through material exploration and literary review, I developed a personal work that reflects on the transition from childhood to adulthood. Drawing inspiration from her work, and skills learned in applied studies of material use, I incorporate a plain blue variant of the bag material she uses whilst incorporating materials from my childhood to create my work, titled Metamorphosis. The ENFOLD Series allowed my work to expand upon concepts of movement and transition, with similar material combinations including woven bags, embellishments, and personal childhood items. Metamorphosis suggests that the act of movement and transition can be exemplified by material culture, and that objects which we utilize every day, provide the basis of personal and collective expression and experience.

Keywords: Art, Embroidery, Mixed-Media