This thesis explores ideas of everydayness, the mundane, and the repetitive emptiness of consumer culture. It looks at the malaise that plagues everyday life and examines several attempts throughout history to break from its grips which revolve around a search for a more ideal state. This research includes utopias of modernism, the transcendental, the communal living of Shakers and Early Christians, ascetic monks and The Desert Fathers. These ideas have shaped my studio practice as I construct installations based on worlds which allude to the eternal, the otherworldly, and the fragility of our physical world when compared to more eternal spiritual archetypes.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores ideas of everydayness, the mundane, and the repetitive emptiness of consumer culture. It looks at the malaise that plagues everyday life and examines several attempts throughout history to break from its grips which revolve around a search for a more ideal state. This research includes utopias of modernism, the transcendental, the communal living of Shakers and Early Christians, ascetic monks and The Desert Fathers. These ideas have shaped my studio practice as I construct installations based on worlds which allude to the eternal, the otherworldly, and the fragility of our physical world when compared to more eternal spiritual archetypes.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Clay, Lauren Ashley"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Painting and Printmaking","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Peter Baldes"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:55:25Z","subjects":["exhibit","mixed media","polymer clay","acrylic","paper","self-taught artists","The Shakers","asceticism","monasticism","Japanese cute culture","paper sculpture","everydayness","Walker Percy","suburbs","sprawl","transcendence","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"],"languages":[],"rights":["© The Author"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1508"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1508","href":"https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1508","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.25772/YFFJ-S643","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Peter Baldes"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Clay, Lauren Ashley"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Painting and Printmaking"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["exhibit","mixed media","polymer clay","acrylic","paper","self-taught artists","The Shakers","asceticism","monasticism","Japanese cute culture","paper sculpture","everydayness","Walker Percy","suburbs","sprawl","transcendence","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© The Author"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.25772/YFFJ-S643","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1508"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores ideas of everydayness, the mundane, and the repetitive emptiness of consumer culture. It looks at the malaise that plagues everyday life and examines several attempts throughout history to break from its grips which revolve around a search for a more ideal state. This research includes utopias of modernism, the transcendental, the communal living of Shakers and Early Christians, ascetic monks and The Desert Fathers. These ideas have shaped my studio practice as I construct installations based on worlds which allude to the eternal, the otherworldly, and the fragility of our physical world when compared to more eternal spiritual archetypes.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["In Search of the Ooey Gooey Good"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Peter Baldes"],"dc:creator":["Clay, Lauren Ashley"],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-09T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores ideas of everydayness, the mundane, and the repetitive emptiness of consumer culture. It looks at the malaise that plagues everyday life and examines several attempts throughout history to break from its grips which revolve around a search for a more ideal state. This research includes utopias of modernism, the transcendental, the communal living of Shakers and Early Christians, ascetic monks and The Desert Fathers. These ideas have shaped my studio practice as I construct installations based on worlds which allude to the eternal, the otherworldly, and the fragility of our physical world when compared to more eternal spiritual archetypes.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.25772/YFFJ-S643","https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1508"],"dc:rights":["© The Author"],"dc:subject":["exhibit","mixed media","polymer clay","acrylic","paper","self-taught artists","The Shakers","asceticism","monasticism","Japanese cute culture","paper sculpture","everydayness","Walker Percy","suburbs","sprawl","transcendence","Art and Design","Arts and Humanities"],"dc:title":["In Search of the Ooey Gooey Good"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Painting and Printmaking"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Fine Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:55:25Z"}