Carolyn Clayton uses the framework of her 1850’s historic home and the facilitation of an artist residency within its walls as a social practice from which to consider the melding and overlap of art and life. Through this lens she makes installations, participatory systems, and sculptural objects and displays. Her work examines the societal allure of cleanliness and order in contrast to the human drive to accumulate, hold close and imbue objects with meaning. She received her MFA from University of Michigan in 2016 (with a certificate in Museum Studies) and her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009. She was awarded the Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship in sculpture in 2016 and a National Arts Strategy Creative Community Fellowship in 2018, where she began to develop the concept for the Walkaway House.