Over and Under

Over and Under, 24" by 18", Oil and charcoal on canvas, 2010

Man Stretching

Man Stretching, 27" by 35.5" Oil and charcoal on canvas, 2010

Useful to "useless"

Here's the result of my first sculpture assignment.

The useful object was an eggbeater. I was drawn to the negative space that the blades created. A beautiful cone-like space. I was also taken with the implied motion of the blades and decided that movement would also be a main feature of the sculpture. As I was building the piece, a few suggestions were made from my profs that this could take on an organic feel and that it would be much more interesting to vary the repeating blades instead of making them uniform.
A few different things come to mind: fish gills, cello, sound waves, tendrils . . .
I can't wait to see what our next assignment is :)

Working in the metal shop

It is such an amazing feeling. Bending and shaping solid metal with these crazy powerful tools, making it look easy! The sparks flying everywhere, singeing my hoodie, getting down my neck. But the zip cutter (angle grinder: using the edge of the blade) cuts through the stiff and cold sheet metal like its butter. The loud buzzing and hissing of sparks makes my heart thump partially from fear and excitement. It's exhilerating! An hour of cutting (somewhat) straight lines, i was getting quite good with it about half way through. I was able to start to feel the grain (?) of the iron against the blade. I could tell if it was straight or veering off the guidelines I'd drawn. Next I'll have to sand the sides cuz the cuts left some harsh edges and then bend the "blades" and create the negative space and motion that is the crux of the piece. I really, really hope it stands upright lol.

Wooo! So much fun!

Thoughts about sculpture

I'm really enjoying my intro to contemporary sculpture class. I'm learning so much and I love exploring this new medium. What astounds me the most about sculpture is the presense of it: the immediate actuality of the object. It's not an impression of something or a rendering of an idea: it is a real thing! And i'm loving working with my hands. It reminds me of graphic design college and cutting mattes and type and basic forms. It's different from painting because sculpture is less about the emotion and spontaneity of expression and more about form and space.
Here's some sculptors that I like:

Bill Woodrow

Cal Lane (she's from Victoria!)

Richard Serra

Who knows where this will take me. Maybe in 5 years, I'll be making sculptures instead of painting? Maybe I'll be making sculptures of my paintings? Art study is what makes getting up in the morning worth while. (aside from a few other things of course <3)

All-over Figure

All-over Figure, 31.5" by 39.5", oil and charcoal on canvas, 2010

organic curves and forms
squished together
writhing and pulsating
warm and drippy, sweat
no start or finish

riot of form
sinewy and serpentine
like hair down your back
and tongues salty skin