workspring2004

spring 2004

i got to pre-register for this semester,
and thus got into classes i wanted to
take and had more creative freedom

(left) my sculptural forms mid-term project
a labor intensive technique, coiling, is used.
about 19 x 24 x 16"

(right) a short term project using a coiling method,
with monofilament around shaped flatwear. coiling
with monofilament took even longer than the yarn!
about 13 x 28 x 20"

i really enjoyed coiling and used that process for my
final project as well (left: 6.5 x 9 x9"). this time i used
pine needles as the core and synthetic yarn to coil.
(below: under the pine tree where i collected the
needles)
my first version was aesthetically unappealing to me;
after my review/critique i took it apart and made the
piece on the right
about 2 x 11 x 9"

this image is of a mixed media piece i made for a
liberal studies course about Goeth's faust
the arm is a life-size cast of my own arm, and i
made the "feather" pen out of a plastic straw,
monofilament and clear resin.

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my concept originated out of particle physics, and evolved
to attempting to show something in a three-dimensional
realm that scientists believe has at least eight dimensions
and figuring out how these sub-atomic particles would
react toward each other.
(starting with top left working down & around) i hand carved this
particle cluster for about 5 weeks;   me, melting aluminum
cans in the furnace;   i made about thirty molds, each
mold has 7 pieces and is made of a plaster mixture;   fired
molds ready to be poured, using the molten aluminum;
the first two casts had so much flashing, i had to drill
dozens of holes and grind the ridges down, because we
didn't have the equipment to cut the flashing off easily;
chipping the burnt mold off of the piece;   more drilling
holes;   three of the finished pieces, this is how i wanted to
display all thirty of them, so the viewer lost where one
cluster begins and ends, however time and funds became
an issue and i had to stop after pouring the third one. i
then made clusters out of every material i could think of:
fabric, dirt-glue mixture, newspaper/glue, fabric/starch,
wax, plaster with sand, and so on;   i mounted them onto
a sheet of plexiglass (which i jigsawed and plexi-welded
into an organic shape) each cluster is about 5 x 5 x 13"

sculptural forms

on the left are some examples of weekly
assignments where a different technique was
introduced for each assignment, on the right a
close-up. the best and worst thing about thses
techniques, is that they are very labor intensive. i
seem to have an affinity for tedious processes.
below examples of weaving techniques for the
same class