Unit 2: Volume + Mass

Part One: Metamorphosis (mesh/plaster)

Artist Research

Primary Artist – Kiki Smith (American, 1954)

While looking through the list of artists I found myself drawn to Kiki Smith and her work; There’s a nice sense of balance within her artwork, depending on the piece, they have pleasing symmetry and asymmetry; this can be observed in her sculptures as well. There seems to be an emphasis in areas of the compositions that contrast between positive and negative space; The movement, how it leads your eye through the piece is comfortable, I find myself intrigued, interested to see more. Pattern is also commonly used, whether that be in shape, color or texture.
Smiths’ sculpture ‘ Born 2002’ is quite a strange and interesting piece. There is a pleasing balance between the female figure and the body of the animal that are satisfying to the eye. What I like about the sculpture most is the contrast in texture amidst the female figure and deer, rough to smooth, and how it adds to the movement of the sculpture. The paper she uses in the other chosen artworks remind me of the texture of dried gypsona on the outside of the paper bag sculpture project we are currently doing.

Chosen Artworks

Born, 2002, Bronze, 99.1 x 256.5 x 61 cm
  • Harbor Jacquard Tapestry, Jacquard Tapestry, 113 x 75 in., Post-War
  • Sainte Genevieve, 1999 Ink on Nepal paper 6′ 2 1/8″ x 4′ 3 1/2″
  • Cathedral, Jacquard Tapestry, 113 x 75 in, Post-War

Sources

http://www.artnet.com/artists/kiki-smith/4
https://www.pacegallery.com/artists/kiki-smith/

Process Work/ Photos

Here are pictures of the gradual process of constructing and building the “paper” bag. I found, in the first bit of cutting the mesh and sewing it into the designated shape that this was the most difficult. The bandage plastering part of the process was my favourite, as I really liked seeing how the bandages hugged the body of the structure. The most annoying bit of the project (so far), has been the drywall mud. I have a lot of dips and curvy areas which made it difficult to get into.

  • Layer One

Drywall Mud Photos

Sanding Finished/ Primed
As I was coming to the final processes, I found myself liking the finished product more and more.

  • Sanded
  • Sanded and Primed (Gesso)

Final Product
Completed with vintage white water based paint and black India ink. I liked the way the sculpture looked when completely white, so I decided to go with something slightly off white to reflect a white paper bag. I was initially curious with how the India ink would react/absorb into the primed sculpture which lead me to using it. Feelings after – Perhaps too dark for the shadow portion of the figure, but a fun little experiment.

Final Sculpture with Second Coat

Unit 2 Part 2: Made and Altered Space

Secondary Artist: Jessica Drenk

An American artist who was raised in Montana, from a young age she has been influenced by her natural environment. Drenk beautifully transforms commercial products into amazing sculptures, connecting these manmade objects to their natural origins through her artworks.

A quick look through her work, it’s evident that Drenk is no doubt inspired by the natural and geological world. First introduced to the piece ‘Circulation 18, 2021’, I was immediately ensnared by the shape, line and pattern work. The artwork takes on the appearance of a fallen logged tree – its growth rings visible, or a geode. With her use of layers the line and colour of the artwork enthrall the viewer. ‘Contour 5, 2021’ has such a pleasing appearance, the carved areas of the pine wood remind of how the ribbon tool cut through the clay when I was working on my project. The layers on this piece create a similar depth effect as ‘Circulation 18, 2021’. The piece ‘Soft Cell Tissue’, was just strangely interesting to me, such a simple material manipulated into something that’s so visually different, he black emptiness in the centers of the tiolet paper rolls creating a void. In all the works displayed below, there is common use in layers of lines and colour creating 3D on a relatively flat surface. This does not apply to all her works.

Circulation 18, 2021
Repurposed books, wax and glue
31 x 29 x 1 in
Contour 5, 2021
Carved Pine Wood
20 x 20 x 3 in
Soft Cell Tissue, 2013
Tiolet paper, Burnished and waxxed
16 x 9 in

Process/ Development Photos

Sketching ideas on first day project was assigned.
Playing with clay when first given out.
Experimenting with the given tools and carving out sections for my forestry theme part of the sculpture. Was more challenging than I expected.
Creating the ocean part of the project – Squished in the sides and rounded the top to make a rail like shape. Added barnacles on the top with a hole cut out of the bottom for light to come out through.

Painted and Completed Pieces

All the pieces together after being fired in the kiln.
Painting clay with acrylic paint. Mixed it with pouring medium to create a glossy look and texture.
Main light pieces!
Extra pieces. Paper and mod podge was used for the outside of the purple pieces.

Outdoor Images

Incorporating some finished clay projects into nature! My favourite part was photographing the bright ‘fungus’ I made, the colours contrast wildly and brings a fun pop to the objects surroundings.

Final Product

I am so happy with the final product, although I was unsure with where I wanted to take this project I think it turned out great. I wasn’t expecting the pieces to shrink but it didn’t seem to interfere with how I assemble it. The painting process was one of my favourite parts, along with the photography portion as it was really nice to see these objects in nature. I find myself wanting to create more clay ‘fungus’ and photograph them in a wild environment… Overall, I really enjoyed this project and did not find it difficult in any way, unless if you count the beginning when getting used to the clay. I’m very pleased with my little lamps.