A Seat At My Table
materials
completed
advisor
completed
advisor
white stoneware
wood ash
2019
Donald McKay
A Seat At My Table is Joanne’s Master of Architecture graduate thesis at the University of Waterloo. She approached it as an opportunity to learn the craft of pottery and woodworking. She set out to make dining furniture, dishes, and utensils to contemplate a meaningful sense of place. Participating in what Hannah Arendt calls the vita activa, she explored how the objects she makes become tangible manifestations of the hands that touch them.
It begins with the premise that our interactions with food, table settings, and other diners show how we engage with the social and material world. Table manners and etiquette are a window into a convivial life. The table setting forms the backdrop for dinner, framing the space, the routine, and the ritual we inhabit every day.
The table setting invites guests to attend to the food and to the people we share a meal with. In doing so, guests bring the forces that gather the meal to light. There are palpable traces of humidity, mineral content, and the gentle touch of the hand in the ceramics. Weather movements, disease, and growth patterns are embodied in the wood grain. Each object translates a microcosm to the table, welcoming diners to touch, smell, and taste the meal shared together.