Art, Art History and Design, School of
School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work
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First Advisor
Margaret Bohls
Committee Members
Santiago Cal, Matthew Sontheimer, Wendy Katz, Qwist Joseph, Peter Pinnell
Date of this Version
3-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts
Major: Art
Under the supervision of Professor Margaret Bohls
Lincoln, Nebraska, March 2026
Abstract
Subterranean Echoes is an immersive exhibition that explores themes of spirituality, geology, growth, and decay. Depictions of earthly entities, sacred architecture, crystalline portals, reliquary and geological forms are what drive my narratives of ancestral beginnings in-between states of physical and metaphysical realms.
I rekindle and reimagine what it means to stay connected to the land and ancient people of the past. With ceramic materials, I channel divine energy through a primordial process involving earth, water, air, and fire that allows me to reconnect with the land and our predecessors. I create adaptations of spirituality that reflect my own philosophies, experiences, and animistic beliefs within my narratives. This duality transforms my visual experiences into tangible objects that unveil the resonance of Indigenous beliefs and Christian iconographies into one. I feel as if I'm a shaman in the realm of a dream creating my own dual religion with clay.
Western culture has significantly strayed away from these ideologies and ancient practices that keep us linked to natural environments and people of the past. By creating supernatural connections through ceramic materials, I pay homage and remembrance to an ancient past time by immortalizing the contemporary in my own creative way. Harnessing the grounding power of these materials, I can create narratives that reflect my visions of an ancestral spirit realm encapsulated in crystalline. Through my visionary displays, I hope to revitalize the historical resonance of spirituality as it pertains to humanity and the geological world.
Advisor: Margaret Bohls
Comments
Copyright 2026, Daniel E. Garcia. Used by permission