Wood
Project, Process, & Response
This project was assigned under the title of Technical Portfolio. With both wood and plaster we were to explore these new mediums, developing new approaches to creating. We were to create two free standing 3 dimensional forms that were visually interesting in the round. One with wood and one with plaster, taking into consideration form, primary contour, secondary contour, texture, patter, scale, volume, mass, linear structures, as well as positive and negative space.
When I began working with wood I felt very lost. The possibilities were endless! At that point I did not have any obstacles or boundaries to work around so I began my process with some creative play. I found that I enjoyed using a reductive tool to create long curved wood shavings. I wanted to bridge my figure drawing II work with my sculpture work, so I thought it might be interesting to create part of the skeletal structure with the wood shavings I had. I constructed part of the spine and most of the rib cage until I found that I was fighting with my material too much. After several trials and failures I decided it was time to move in a new direction. After a chat with my professor I found that the answer, or at least the next step, was right in front of me. I took the forms I was working with in figure drawing II and created the figures with wood. I cut out the inside of the forms using a handheld jigsaw to create 2 figures. I then took out more of the inner mass leaving the outline or outer contour of the form. This I thought left behind an interesting dance between the 2 forms and the negative space between the thin wood figures. To finish the piece I mounted the 2 figures on a black base giving it a finished look and a place to be displayed on.
I think that the finished product is very appealing and successful. I am going to continue with this process and explore making these forms. I would like to become even more comfortable with the handheld jigsaw in the next projects. My plan is to use this method but explore it on different scales, with a variety of woods and try different forms of installation, as well as placement.
This project was assigned under the title of Technical Portfolio. With both wood and plaster we were to explore these new mediums, developing new approaches to creating. We were to create two free standing 3 dimensional forms that were visually interesting in the round. One with wood and one with plaster, taking into consideration form, primary contour, secondary contour, texture, patter, scale, volume, mass, linear structures, as well as positive and negative space.
When I began working with wood I felt very lost. The possibilities were endless! At that point I did not have any obstacles or boundaries to work around so I began my process with some creative play. I found that I enjoyed using a reductive tool to create long curved wood shavings. I wanted to bridge my figure drawing II work with my sculpture work, so I thought it might be interesting to create part of the skeletal structure with the wood shavings I had. I constructed part of the spine and most of the rib cage until I found that I was fighting with my material too much. After several trials and failures I decided it was time to move in a new direction. After a chat with my professor I found that the answer, or at least the next step, was right in front of me. I took the forms I was working with in figure drawing II and created the figures with wood. I cut out the inside of the forms using a handheld jigsaw to create 2 figures. I then took out more of the inner mass leaving the outline or outer contour of the form. This I thought left behind an interesting dance between the 2 forms and the negative space between the thin wood figures. To finish the piece I mounted the 2 figures on a black base giving it a finished look and a place to be displayed on.
I think that the finished product is very appealing and successful. I am going to continue with this process and explore making these forms. I would like to become even more comfortable with the handheld jigsaw in the next projects. My plan is to use this method but explore it on different scales, with a variety of woods and try different forms of installation, as well as placement.