This is a blog containing my responses to my own work and progress, for the Advanced Sculpture course.
This is my first attempt at such a thing, so please bear with me!
Looking Back at the First Half of the Semester
This semester (Spring 2018) has been the first semester that I've attempted four art classes, three studio and one lecture; the last time I attempted such a thing was back when I was a Marine Biology student, and let’s just say it didn't end very well. So needless to say, I was quite nervous as to how this semester, and more specifically how this class (Advanced Sculpture), would turn out with such little room for error when it came to project creation.
Due to this perpetual time crunch, I had to keep projects simple yet still have them be interesting, and for myself, a degree of difficulty (because if it isn't over-complicated and/or overthought, then it's not me).
Keeping this in mind, along with the materials I had on hand, I set forth. My first project "Bouquet" was an experiment, testing out my skills after not having been in the Sculpture Studio for quite some time. The individual "flowers" brings thoughts of something out of a Dr. Seuss book to be honest.
After being pushed to work with more welding, "Metalhead" came to be. Originally it was going to be curled more so like "Bouquet", as an expansion on the shape, but during the process I changed my mind to give it the less curved form of the adult shape.
By the third project, "Wishes", I realized I was going with a plant theme for my sculptural projects. "Wishes" definitely born from a need to make something simple, and the wish for more work time. Due to the individual pieces' simple form, I created multiples, and now thinking back, they were inspired by the installation pieces that I had witnessed that same week.
Going on to the fourth project, I wanted to create something that involved more than one type of material; well form really, since it's all steel. "Steel Runner" is the product of the amalgamation of four different types/forms.
"I'll Show YOU Delicate" was actually a backup plan for project five; originally, I was going to recreate "Steel Runner" but just without the central support. Unfortunately, I could not do this because all of the 1/2-inch steel rod that I had set aside to use had been taken by someone(s). Fortunately, there was plenty of (what I believe to be 3/8 inch) rebar; creating a nice contrast between a delicate object and a medium of which is used to reinforce concrete.
My last project for the first half of the semester took inspiration from "Metalhead" in the fact that it is meant to be stuck into the ground and surrounded by other plants. I made multiples due to their simple shape, and in this manner, they can be arranged in infinite ways, making them the closest to an actual organic structure out of all of my pieces.
Looking back at all of these pieces, with the exception really of "Bouquet" which was just an experiment, they were all made with "could this go in my mother's back yard and look good" in mind; as well as the challenge of making something that is completely inorganic look as if is trying so hard to be organic, trying to fit in amongst real plants.
It has definitely been a crazy first half of the semester, but I can't wait for the second half.
Current Work Progress
Currently I am continuing my work from the first half, inorganic trying to be organic, however I am casting my pieces instead of assembling them from steel rods and scrap.
The organic form I have picked is the succulent; for its small and compact size (originally I intended to cast them in using the centrifugal casting method, one that I have not experienced before). As well as I picked the succulent as an inspiration for their tenacity to survive (if a leaf is broken off, a new plant grows from that leaf) and ability to thrive with minimal to no attention needed. For example, my first, and longest experience with a succulent, is one that my mother owns, a "breed" she calls "Hen and Chick". Planted in a pot she got from her mother, this plant has existed well before my mother even met my father (they met in 1985). She keeps this plant on a short wall where it receives direct sun all day and is only watered by the rain (and being in South Texas, there isn't much of that). I have no idea how old, or how many "generations" this plant has had, and it frankly doesn't matter. The simple fact remains, it is still alive!
The process of the creation of my inorganic succulents is that I form them out of a soft wax that is able to be molded at skin temperature. My first one was entirely created by hand. Each individual leaf was individually molded, then attached to the central stem.
However this process of individually molding each leaf became increasingly time consuming (I still need time to invest them, cast them, and clean up the cast pieces). So to remedy this problem, I molded one leaf of each size that I would use (11 different sizes) and created individual rubber molds with them. This way I can fill the void in the rubber mold with molten wax and thus create leaves much faster and much more visually consistent.
So far I have created 5 different succulent plants, within the time span of 1 week; versus 2 weeks to create 1.
Overall
Recap of the work done this semester:
In this day in age, nature and the modern world clash more than ever before, both are trying to find mutual ground within the other. This body of work represents inorganic, in this case metal, trying to become something that it isn’t, but also attempting to maintain a balance of what it is at the same time. Originally these inorganic elements were hidden away in the earth, some in the form of ore deposits, others more heavily concentrated as veins. They were how they were naturally in their realm beneath the earth’s crust, only coming to the surface over the course of a prolonged period of time at Mother Nature’s behest. Both steel (iron alloyed with other trace metallic elements) and bronze (copper alloyed with tin) stray even further from organic as they are manmade metals and are not naturally occurring; this makes them more for want to become what they are not.
In the first half of the semester I used rebar, steel rod, and steel scraps to fabricate plant inspired structures, through the way of cold metal bending, with heating in some instances, and MIG welding. While these forms are crude and slightly abstracted, they display steel’s attempts to imitate, to fit in, within a group it is not a part of. For the second half of the semester I moved from fabrication to foundry, and from steel to bronze, to construct my forms. Through the process of lost wax casting, I was able to achieve a more realistic organic form, showing bronze’s more adamant attempt over steel’s. I even go as far as to use bronze’s ability to patina in order to show growth (please note that for metal pours I only have access to aluminum and bronze, and aluminum is stagnant and does not age).