BFA
THESIS EXHIBITION
sienna joy patterson

This body of work represents the discoveries I have made this year while exploring paint, application techniques, environmental space, my own experience, and various materials. It intrigues me how a basic shape suggests a window into another world, such as a living space; how two dimensions suggest three and vice versa. I am fascinated by the transformation that occurs when I offer my touch and sensitivities to the materials. The mundane becomes recycled into a being of its own. 

Through painting I explore the pictorial image and how it feels to paint on different surfaces. I realize that the image is hardly ever flat; it has ridges and texture. The painting naturally lifts off of the wall, it bends, and it gains weight. Texture plays a determining role when I paint; I am concerned about coating the entire surface. 

A painting is developed in layers, and because of this many layers are hidden. Underlayers are additives for the colors on top of them. Each day I find myself taking a new leap, working bigger, trying something new, or turning something on its head, like using a lot of paint. 

I have questions like how to bypass the rules of the gallery and how to provide a more intimate interaction for the viewer. My answer to this problem was to allow you to move around the paintings and explore the piece in all directions. I want to engage the senses and foster an experience that connects me to the world through this interaction of art, artist, and audience. 

Sienna Joy Patterson is a 2025 graduate of Maharishi International University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts Program in Fairfield, IA. She began making art in her bedroom and started sharing her artwork at various art markets and venues local to Pensacola, FL. 

She creates paintings and drawings with subject matter including landscapes and references to real places or observations through the abstract language of paint and the collage element of material.