Diana Ciuca

Wood sculpted into a lotus flower.

Landscape of the Mind a work in progress

The Lotus

Thoughts Create A piece on positive intentions.

Adventures in Thailand, Summer 2015 The family of students and teachers gather around to celebrate the Director’s son’s birthday. I watch the sunrise after the 4am morning meditation at Wat Sanghatan near Bangkok.

desires (practice)

eye (practice)

This work is a representation of beauty standards upon women. The title, “Pet” has dual meanings - one is a name used to call someone you are fond of, the other represents an animal which you own. Whereas “pet” may be a title of affection, here it indicates that the sort of bodily changes women are expected to make traps them in a cage. The metaphors are endless, from the symbolism of the eggs to the rusted bars and shiny wire. The multiplicity of meaning makes this work powerful beyond it’s “gross” aesthetic.

March, 2015

A piece of wood selected specifically because of it’s resemblance to the curvature of the human spine. I cut it into the 22 upper parts and left the lower thicker stem fused together but with five markings to represent the 5 sacral bones fused together. The sharper point is closest to the neck. This piece is a result of the process of carrying this wood across campus, to cut it in solitude in the woodshop, a representation of scientific removal and dissection. It is placed back on stage, near the last bit of undeveloped land on the college campuses colloquially known as The Wash.

Art as Intervention. Plaster copies of hands were distributed around campus with a note encouraging bypassers to pick one up. Each came with chia seeds in the dirt. The participant is asked to water the hand, even at the risk of destroying the art piece, in order to allow for new growth. The symbolism is that help is always available but you must do the work and water the seeds yourself.

Amateur Art Hour! Sample works from my incoming year at Claremont McKenna College. These pieces hung in my room and acted as the inspiration and catalyst for forming the CMC Art Club the following year.

Quietly Shifting My home state of Florida and its many natural and unnatural scenes. January 2015

Florida Paths

Thailand 10.Aug.2014

"paradise in different places" Florida, December 2013

Alabama Truckin' 2012