Tiarra Bell Dryness

Born and based in Philadelphia, PA, Tiarra Bell earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Furniture Design from RISD in 2020. Working primarily hand in wood, Bell’s pieces are directly inspired by her Christian faith. A meditative quality pervades her work as a physical manifestation of her values. Intrigued by the invisible, she often creates objects that feature portal-like forms.

This piece represents the spiritual dryness within the Samaritan woman, as well as within many people in the world today. The Samaritan woman kept running to sources outside of God which left her dry and empty. God formed us. He is our creator. He wrote the instruction manual for every human being, only He knows exactly what we need. But anytime we go to an outlet outside of God, it leaves us empty and dry. Dryness is like a never-ending cycle. You’re thirsty but you have to keep running back every day because you’re never satisfied. People kept running to alcohol to solve their problems, but the moment they sober up, their problems still exist. There are all types of outlets that the world runs to day after day, whether that sex, drugs, gambling, partying, etc. but the end thereof is never satisfying. This form is symbolic of that never-ending cycle.