In Bloom Ceramic Exhibit by Tyler Dallis

The Mercer Gallery is pleased to bring in up-and-coming Kansas artist Tyler Dallis with an experiential installation titled “In Bloom,” This group of works explores how finding a good flower is just as hard as finding a good person. When you finally find that person in your life that makes you happy, it’s like picking the best flower in the field and calling it yours. There will be a closing reception on Thursday, November 17th, from 6 pm to 8 pm, with an artist’s workshop happening the following Friday morning from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm in the Joyce Fine Arts building, room 1413, the drawing and painting room.

Tyler Dallis is a Master of Fine Arts candidate at Fort Hays State University, with an emphasis in ceramics. Dallis grew up on a reservation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital city of the Cherokee Nation. From a young age, there was a love for the arts, whether music, theatre, or fine art. After graduating high school, they enrolled at Crowder College, a community college in Neosho, Missouri, where they found a love for ceramics. Dallis began working with clay and instantly fell in love with the medium. They changed their major to pursue ceramics full-time at Fort Hays State University and graduated with BFA in studio art (ceramics) in 2020. Dallis’s goal is to become a college professor teaching ceramics. One day, Dallis would like to be recognized for their unique style of figurative ceramic sculptures, collages, and photography, addressing the complex and often controversial subject matter.

Dallis’s work discusses the connection between bloodlines, biological, adoptive, or found and collecting memories While collecting memories. They view creating works of art as creating a Rolodex of my life experiences, people, things, or events. When in the studio, Dallis braids these themes into the clay as coils complete. Embedding them into the stoneware strengthens and solidifies the memories into reality, making them less likely to be forgotten. To the Tyler Dallis –

“Family is everything. I do not know what I would do without my support system behind me. From a young child to adulthood, my bloodlines played a crucial role in my development as a human being. I was surrounded by people who either held me up or pulled me down. I was constantly conflicted with myself.”

Through these interactions, they began to shape who they would become. Reflecting on those memories made Dallis think about what they wanted and did not.

With the art installation “In bloom,”: The artist focuses on People and flowers and their search to find the perfect one for the ideal movement. Finding a good flower is just as hard as finding a good person. Flowers trigger three chemicals in the brain to make a person happy, dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. The expectation of a reward triggers dopamine. Blossoming flowers start the sense that something special is coming because of dopamine. Oxytocin is often called the bonding hormone. It creates a feeling of trust, whether romantic love, maternal attachment, or group solidarity. Serotonin is often mentioned in the context of antidepressants; however, after research, it was found to be released when a mammal advances its social importance. Serotonin is released when one feels essential or prideful. Friends can do the same thing. They are there for you when you need them. They listen, learn, grow, move, and live amongst you. They can have the same effect on you as flowers, releasing those chemicals within the brain. My friends and the people I surround myself with helping me be happy. They release those three chemicals and make me feel wanted and supported.

The Mercer Gallery is open Monday through Wednesday, from 9 AM to 4 PM, Thursdays from 9 AM to 10 PM, and Fridays from 9 am until 4 pm. For information, contact Gallery Director Michael Knutson. At [email protected].