IG: @livpropeckceramics
Website

Homebodies

My practice in ceramic and video depicts my own genuine and intimate experiences of domestic spaces as a way to bring queer homes physically and emotionally closer to my audience. The domestic spaces I portray are incorporated into sapphic-inspired amphoras, which draw influence from Greco-Roman ceramics. Through layering and multiple firings, I draw and paint scenes that visually represent quiet dinners with my partner, and objects in our living room, as well as sweaters and clothing we share as a part of our entwined closet. I couple these moments with hidden historic and contemporary queer symbols such as violets and lavender flowers, cartons of oat milk, and carabiners as a way to collage the linkage of lesbian history. My work which is composed of ceramics and film, investigates the relationship between sapphic culture and the domestic sphere. By positioning and documenting my ceramics within my own home, the inherent pressure to perform culturally accepted forms of queerness is not felt by us as a queer couple. My work focuses attention on the under-represented aspects of queer domesticity, and it evokes a warm feeling of home in the viewer and opens a conversation about queer cultural norms.

Bio

Olivia Propeck is from Fargo, North Dakota. She’s a ceramic artist who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maine College of Art & Design in 2024. Propeck’s Midwestern upbringing didn’t provide representation of queer homes, so her work materializes the quiet moments of her sapphic relationship, domestic space, and memory. Her practice is wide ranging and includes functional and video work. Her work brings queer experiences, objects, and spaces physically closer to the viewer, bridging the emotional and experiential gap that can exist in heteronormative society. Her work can be found in Portland, Maine markets and her website.