Artwork copyright Rachel Dorn. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Artwork copyright Rachel Dorn. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Artwork copyright Rachel Dorn. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Pod, 2018

Rachel Dorn
(American, born 1980)

Location: Washington State School for the Blind, Vancouver

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Pod by Rachel Dorn is a surreal ceramic pea pod with mismatched peas. Dorn notes, "Forms derived from plants, removed from their original context, altered in color and size... manage to surprise the viewer and offer different interpretations."

This artwork is part of a curated collection by Gregg Schlanger in October 2023 for the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver. The local Art Selection Committee wanted artworks that anyone can approach and fully experience and understand via more than just sight. Gregg Schlanger selected artworks that are comfortable in the hand and have a tactile experience. This artwork is meant to be touched.

Artworks are installed by the doors to the eight residence rooms and the residence assistance room at the Life Skills for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) Residence. They are wayfinders. Before street numbers, buildings were identified with low relief tiles. Schlanger hopes that the residence rooms will become known by the artworks, such as the Pod Room. The LIFTT Residence houses students working on a vocational goal and adult independence. Residents have varied experiences of sight loss and levels of comfort. The LIFTT program is a hugely empowering step for young adults with blindness.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washington State School for the Blind.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Rachel Dorn is a ceramic artist and art instructor at Yakima Valley College in Yakima, Washington. She creates abstract sculptural forms inspired by plant forms and aquatic life that are at once familiar and strange. She also creates ceramics that are a reaction to recent political and social themes, such as her politics bulbs installations, scream mugs, and COVID balls, mugs, and planters. Her pieces are all meant to invite touch, and they are designed to be handled.

Dorn earned a Master of Fine Art degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006. She moved to Yakima later that year to run the ceramic studio at Yakima Valley College and teach classes.