There are endless possibilities a blank canvas might provide an artist to express creativity. Graduate student Natalie Hellmann chooses to distill her artistic ideas into the most simplistic forms.

“Forms of Repose” is Natalie Hellmann’s master’s of fine arts thesis exhibition. Hellmann uses an eclectic mix of materials, ranging from porcelain and clay to silk and steel in her showcase.

Different materials can elicit various ideas, such as repose and stillness, Hellmann said.

“I’m trying to create an internal balance to suggest the idea of beauty and fragility, but also a stillness,” Hellmann said. “I like to encourage viewers to imagine what each piece would feel like in their own hands. I think that through this, we are able to engage more with the pieces.”

Growing up as an only child in Cincinnati, Hellmann spent a lot of time outdoors playing by herself. Her experiences drive her creative thought processes when working with ceramic drawings and sculpture, Hellmann said.

“It’s my own history with objects and part of my personality too,” Hellmann said. “The work is sensitive, with sensitive steps of approaching it.”

Hellmann’s fiancé, Ian Shelly, said he sees the innocence and beauty in her art through the “romantic and naïve” lines that exist in her clay drawings. Shelly enjoys seeing how meticulous Hellmann is with her artistic processes.

“It drives me crazy when I look at the amount of time and effort she puts into puncturing holes into the porcelain,” Shelly said. “Because I can’t put that kind of meticulous repetitive activity into my work.”

Matt Ballou, an assistant teaching professor in the art department, has been influential in the maturity of Hellmann’s artistic career.

“He sees my vision and helped nurture me,” Hellmann said. “It’s great that professors can see who you are and are able to guide you towards artists or readings that would influence and expand ideas you have.”

Hellmann has a unique approach to art, Ballou said. He hopes her investigations with form and structure will have the viewers experience and appreciate quietude and tenderness.

“I am most impressed with how (Hellmann) has held onto the core things she has cared about for many years,” Ballou said.
The amount of emotion, sensitivity, nurture and response Hellmann put into her art is conveyed in the simplicity and details of her pieces.

“I want my audience to be engaged, and if they look hard, they will be rewarded by small surprises,” Hellmann said.