Because I Felt Like It...

Today, after dealing with a high level of stress due to choices about the future, applying to grad schools, keeping up with school, working, and being social I had no patience for conceptual art.  I went to my studio to work on a sculpture that I am currently struggling with and felt numb.  I often get so worried about the reasoning behind my work that I forget about what I'm making and why I'm making it in the first place.  But today was an inspiring day; I went to a show at the 840 Gallery at DAAP, visited the painting studios at DAAP and had positive conversations about art with my peers. In the end, I came up with a fantastic idea for a photo shoot that will occur next Tuesday evening. AND! Once I returned to my studio, I grabbed a piece of wood from the discard pile, made some plaster and made art JUST BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT. There was no message, concept or connection to an audience that I was aiming for.... just making art for art's sake. For my sake. I cannot express how lifeless I would feel if I could not make something on a regular basis. The piece is not done and there is no title but I know that the next step will be to add color.  

In Progress

     

In Progress (close up)

My friends and I call this process plaster painting.  I mixed thick plaster and painted it on plywood with my hand.  As it hardened, I was able to sculpt the plaster more to a better shape.  My sculptures, except my foundry work, typically lacks color.  I hope to see where my inspiration takes me and if I can successfully color this impressionistic piece.  All of this was completed on a spur of the moment "grab-random-materials-and-make-something-awesome" feeling and in less than an hour.  This is why I love art. Anything is possible.

Special thanks and shout outs to Max, Sarah, Andi, Mamie, Farron and Abby!

Thesis Proposal

I have struggled greatly over the past semester to nail down my thesis.  I believe that this has been so challenging because I want to make art about a large plethora of topics, not just one.  However, I just may hove found the one topic that I can grow and build upon for the remainder of the year while remaining true to my passions and interests. I present to you, my thesis proposal.

Through extensive studies of the human figure and facial structure, I have developed a strong interest in using the face and body as a canvas and tool for interpretation and suggestion. As a sculptor, I use mediums such as plaster, clay and metal to add to the repertoire of the human figure in the art world.  Since my interest in makeup escalated and my plans to pursue a career as a makeup artist, my attention has turned to the character that can be brought forth from the human figure with the use of visual allusions created by makeup.  I want to bring my audience into a narrative that they can relate to in some way but still be removed at the same time.  As human beings, we emote and force the understanding of our own personality traits and features onto fictional beings in the simplest desire of creating something new but still familiar.  As a sculptor, I want to take fabricated characters from the imaginations of others and myself, bring them into existence and put them before an audience, forcing them to come face to face with a being that is foreign yet known. 

I have researched ancient mythology, current fantasy novels and contemporary artists that focus on narratives in their art.  Throughout history, people have imagined creatures that combine features of a human being with animals or other fictitious beings to create an entirely new creature.  The number and variety of these beings fascinate me; Examples include the sphinx, the centaur, angels, and the satyr, to name a few.  Fictional characters with mixed human qualities have existed since ancient times, often in myths or have served as deities.  The Egyptians worshiped multiple gods that were depicted as humans morphed with animals.  As a culture, we even personify objects to have human characteristics.  Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

is the greatest example of lifeless objects being given a face with a personality and the freedom to move about as humans do. 

To prepare for the projects that will be born from this concept, I have been experimenting with various mediums and tools.  Each character will be life size; therefore, I must consider the weight of the materials I use.  I plan to use materials in unconventional ways, such as hollow plaster.  This is a process I have already used for my sculpture Lay In My Body.  I am currently invested in using wax and plaster dipped paper cranes.  These cranes will be adhered to one another to form the body of a creature conjured from my own imagination based on a character that represents war in the Wicked Lovely book series written by Melissa Marr.  This creature will have an altered human body with a concave torso, a beak and will consist of nine hundred and ninety-nine paper cranes.  In the hollow of her torso, will rest the skeleton of a baby bird.  For now, I am titling this piece as Aves, which is the scientific word for bird.  Aves will rest on a bed made to look like the bed of a person but will be made up of materials that could be found in a birds nest.  I believe that creating an environment for Aves to exist in will help build the narrative and invite my audience in.  An artist that I found inspiration from for my current sculpture project is American sculptor Petah Coyne.  Coyne uses taxidermy birds and wax among other materials in her sculptures.  I coincidentally discovered her work after I began designing Aves.

I believe that people have invented these imaginary beings to be symbolic in nature.  For example, Marr’s character that represents war is a woman with a face that is combined with a raven’s, the bird that symbolizes ill omens or death.  I want Aves and the other characters that I create to be symbolic in nature.  My goal is for the audience to see the narrative and interpret the 

metaphors and morals within, much like Greek mythology where each myth contains at least one principle that was significant to their culture. 

To be true to my original focus of the human figure, I will ensure that each character’s human traits are very present in their make up.  This is my attempt at merging theater with fine art, by setting the stage and building a character with the main goal of telling a story.  I understand that my focus has shifted from the fragility of human life, as I stated in my fall research statement.  However, I still maintain that the basic subject will remain the human figure as I had originally intended for my senior thesis.  

Foundry: In Progress

 I took Foundry in the Spring Quarter of 2012 and I have the privilege to take it a second time at DAAP.  This course teaches how to create bronze and aluminum sculptures. We learn how to vent our wax pieces, create the molds, assist in the pour, grind the metal pieces and use patinas.  I will be posting   a "How To" guide for the ways of the Foundry because I often get so many questions about the process when I tell people I'm in the class.  But before I post the full guide, I wanted to share my first piece that will soon become bronze! I have several narrative concepts for my art in this class. The first is the story of the iconic super hero and the child who looks up to him.

Here is the wax sculpture, which is the first step in Foundry. 

For over a year, I have been fascinated by society's obsession with superheroes.  The super hero character seems ultimately flawless in skills, intelligence and resources. Unlike every single person on this planet.  There is no real super hero in the way that Superman, Batman and the like are depicted. Like boys grow up reading and watching superhero comics, wear the underwear with the superheroes emblems and play with the action figures.  These heroes are depicted as flawless to children.  As an adult, I read a comic that took place many years after the typical Batman and Superman scenarios and both protagonists were older, with grey hairs and imperfect morals.  It was shocking to see these infamous heroes with traits of mortality and humanity about them.  This piece is my tribute to this idea of imperfect heroes.  When this piece is finished, the "superhero" will be wearing a blindfold as well as a cape.  I am unsure about what colored patinas I will use but I am very excited to begin this process and will be sharing with you very soon.