Meredith Host

Artist Statement

I am a collector of overlooked patterns, patterns you see on a daily basis. Every time I enter a restroom, my eyes immediately look to the toilet paper roll. If I have not seen this subtle embossed design before, I will take a few squares and place them in my pocket. I obsess about these found ubiquitous domestic patterns contained in the paper products we see, use, and throwaway every day.

The prevalence of these dimpled decorations in our daily life renders them invisible, their utility questionable. We barely notice them and take them for granted. In this body of work, I am taking these motifs and reintroducing them by transferring them from one material to another. The conversion from something ephemeral into something permanent intrigues me. Ultimately, I am giving these patterns visibility and celebrating their presence in the context of other domestic objects meant for daily use.

Bio

Meredith Host was born and raised in Detroit Rock City. She received her BFA in Ceramics from Kansas City Art Institute in 2001 and her MFA in Ceramics from The Ohio State University in 2008. Meredith has spent time at numerous ceramic residencies including The School for American Crafts at RIT in Rochester, NY, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME, and Dresdner Porzellan Manufactory in Dresden, Germany. She was named one of the 2011 Emerging Artists for NCECA and Ceramics Monthly. Currently, Meredith lives in Kansas City, MO and is a full time studio potter. She has an extensive collection of patterned knee socks and taxidermy shoulder mounts and is a self-proclaimed horror dork and root beer connoisseur.