Mon Valley Mud: The Reinvestment of What Has Been Left Behind
This body of work was my honors and studio art senior thesis at California University of Pennsylvania in 2020. The ceramics have glazes applied which have been formulated using only custer feldspar, wood ash, and sediment from abandoned industrial sites in the Monongahela river valley, including a coal washing facility, a glass factory, and a site of acid mine drainage. The black and white photographs which accompany the ceramic works were taken at the sites while collecting the sediment. I then developed the film using a caffenol process which uses instant coffee, vitamin c, and soda ash as the developer.
Map of Sites Where Sediment Samples Were Taken
Map Key
1.Pike Run
2.Banning Mine #2 Coal Washing Facility
3.Monongahela Boat Ramp (Directly downstream from Donora)
4.Downers Run
5.Point Marion Glass Factory
6.Greensboro
7.Crooked Run, Downstream from LongView Power Plant
