{"id":7,"date":"2015-04-28T19:00:06","date_gmt":"2015-04-28T19:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/normamegraphsen.wordpress.com\/?p=7"},"modified":"2026-01-03T14:53:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:53:57","slug":"what-does-me-graphsen-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/normasueoneil.com\/?p=7","title":{"rendered":"What does “me graphsen” mean? On Making, Meaning, and Authorship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMe graphsen<\/strong>\u201d (\u03bc\u03b5 \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd) literally means \u201cwrote me\u201d<\/em> or \u201cdrew me\u201d<\/em> in Attic Greek. It comes from \u03b3\u03c1\u03ac\u03c6\u03c9 (grapho)<\/em>\u2014to write, to draw, or to paint. From this same root we get a whole family of English words: graph, graphic, calligraphy<\/em> (beautiful writing), geography<\/em> (earth writing), biography<\/em> (life writing), lithography<\/em> (stone writing), and many more.<\/p>\n

In ancient Greece, craftsmen\u2014particularly potters and painters\u2014often signed their work using phrases like me graphsen<\/strong> or the more common me poiesen<\/strong> (\u03bc\u03b5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd), meaning \u201cmade me.\u201d<\/em> These inscriptions were written as though spoken by the object itself: so-and-so made me; so-and-so painted me.<\/em> The art quite literally spoke on behalf of its creator<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That idea has always resonated deeply with me.<\/p>\n

As an artist, a writer, and a lover of mythology, I am drawn to forms of making where image, story, and meaning are inseparable. Much of my work\u2014both visual and written\u2014is narrative in nature. It tells stories, borrows from ancient traditions, and participates in a lineage where art is not merely decorative, but communicative.<\/p>\n

During my time in the fine art department at Brigham Young University\u2013Idaho, I took several ceramics courses. One assignment remains a favorite: recreating a historical vessel or technique. Because of my enduring fascination with Greek mythology and classical art, I chose to recreate a lekythos<\/strong> (\u03bb\u03b7\u03ba\u03c5\u03b8\u03bf\u03c2), a cylindrical vessel traditionally used to store olive oil.<\/p>\n

The depiction on the surface is of Nike, Goddess of Victory, holding a winner\u2019s sash\u2014a traditional athletic prize\u2014poised as though presenting it to a champion.<\/p>\n

In this piece, I included both a potter\u2019s signature and a painter\u2019s signature, echoing the conventions of ancient Greek ceramics. It was an exercise not only in technique, but in authorship<\/em>\u2014in understanding what it means to make something that stands within a tradition while still bearing the mark of an individual hand.<\/p>\n

This way of thinking continues to shape my work. Whether through illustration, painting, or storytelling, I am interested in art that carries its origins with it\u2014art that quietly says, someone made me, and here is why<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Images of the lekythos and detail views appear below.)<\/p>\n