Tamryn McDermott, a graduate student arriving at the end of her Master of Fine Arts program, stands ready to mount her thesis exhibition.

The exhibit will be on display from March 16 to April 2 in the George Caleb Bingham Gallery.

Assistant professor Chris Daniggelis, who serves on McDermott’s thesis committee, said her artwork “manifests the role of textbook, museum re-ordering of artifacts as a subject matter to be seriously considered as equal to the history it is meant to bring back to life.”

McDermott, however, was once deeply baffled by history; she came a long way to become the artist she is today.

Born in Fairfax, Virginia, McDermott moved overseas when she was in the fourth grade. She then lived with her family in Augsburg, Germany, for seven years.

McDermott spent her adolescence in a confluence of cultures, journeying around Europe with her footprints marked in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.

“As a child, I traveled a lot,” McDermott said. “That kind of informed a lot of who I am and what I’m doing as an artist. The traveling experience in my younger years is a big part of me now.”

After moving back to the U.S. in her junior year of high school, she ended up attending the University of Virginia after graduation. Uncertain of her major, she found her inspiration in her art history class.

“I always had trouble understanding the chronology in history; it felt like a bunch of memorized dates and names I couldn’t make connections between,” McDermott said. “When I studied art history, I could visualize history and chronology through art; analytically, it’s a great tool to comprehend history.”

The idea sparked McDermott’s intent to move to a more suitable institution for her artistic pursuit. She eventually chose Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, where she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Sculpture, followed by a Master in Art History.

“Philadelphia is a city thriving with art; it opened up new doors for a young artist,” she said. “I was living and breathing and eating and sleeping art, immersed in it.”

After that point, McDermott’s career has always revolved around art, including working as an art consultant and an art teacher in elementary school and high school. With a well-rounded range of experiences, she eventually decided to go back to school at MU in 2012.

McDermott’s unique approach to art thrives on her ability to connect the past and present through a methodology of deconstruction and then reconstruction, her professor said.

“She has encyclopedic knowledge of the histories of Rome, enough so that she uses different historical depictions of a singular event to inform the materials, arrangement and form her artwork is to take,” Daniggelis said.

McDermott’s grasp on historical representation of the Roman theme is visualized through materials such as silk, wax and paper with a seeded preservation of her own imaginative interpretations. The hollow, translucent silk bricks she utilizes to stand as a sculptural interpretation of historical reconstruction embody a greater purpose beyond mere presentation of craftsmanship — the material is harnessed to convey values and ideas.

“I use the materials themselves to speak my ideas, to assist me in communicating,” she said. “Silk is weightless, yet it bears the weight of history.”

A wide range of media, including video and photography, combined with museum methods of display, will be implemented in her installation to provide visual, textual and experiential means to yield the embedded values across all artwork.

“Time is involved in all of this — distance and connection,” McDermott said.

Her works of art were initially created under the motivation that through her efforts to forge a visualized affinity with history and a delicate balance between representations, viewers would actively engage in reshaping cognition of the rendered history in its transparency.

The contextualization of the objects proves imperative in her endeavor to perceive history through the fragmented fabric of the ancient city.

McDermott’s work, as well as her enthusiasm in art and creativity, have earned her praise among her friends and colleagues.

“(McDermott) does not compromise and the beauty in her work is equally strong, conceptually,” Daniggelis said. “She is a cornerstone of the MFA program, she has led the program since the day she arrived at MU, and it has been inspirational working with her.”

Billy George, also an MFA student in the program, said that his experience working with McDermott has been eye-opening and fruitful, and that her exhibit is a unique way to capitalize on archaeology and fine arts in the pursuit of an artistic goal.

“(McDermott), across the board, strives for perfection,” George said. “I’m excited for what’s happening for her in the future … I know that we are going to stay in contact.”

After she graduates in May, McDermott said she is determined to shift her creative focus to carving out a future for herself. Following the footsteps of her mother, who is also a fiber artist and an educator, McDermott intends to delve back into education.

“Working with my students gives me a boost of energy and inspiration to pass on knowledge, while discovering new talents,” she said. “I feel like it keeps me young. I enjoy acting as a mentor for young people.”