3D to 2D Image

My 3D to 2D conversion project is focused on repetition, scale, and balance. I chose to have my actual crystal collection present in this piece to simultaneously create a sense of duality and oneness between the blank crystals that are inside of the images of the sculpture and the vibrancy of the crystals I modeled them after. Every crystal in the photo is placed in a certain position according to its metaphysical properties and meanings. This piece draws upon my childhood while also reaching into my present.

Masking Tape Shoes

"Hug and Move On"

Artist Statement:

The pair of shoes I chose to replicate are the last pair of non-vegan shoes I intend to own and mark my point in transitioning to a more complete, personal sense of veganism. Every step matters. These shoes fit me so well that they always felt like they were hugging my feet, and I became so comfortable with them that I would wear them for months at a time. However, I have now come to the point of needing to retire the shoes and move forward.

Materials: Masking tape

Dimensions: approx. 4.69" x 7.25" x 10.25"

In Process Photos:

Paper Mock-up

Beginning with the tape

 

 

Final Project Photos:

Balsa Wood Small Sculpture

"Duality"

"With abstract art, it's not really about what just happens. With abstract art, we take inspiration from something that is already a thing, and we rearrange the pieces." (Advice from my professor)

Artist Statement:

I will admit that I was quite lost when beginning this project. I felt unfamiliar with the materials and uninterested in the more abstract side of expression, and I found that the only way to change that was to quiet my mind and force myself to blindly experiment. After having just finished my masking tape shoes before beginning this project, I recalled enjoying working with the tape because there were so many possibilities that I encountered. So, I began cutting and rolling strips of tape at different lengths on the tables in the art studio. The tables are old and have been touched by so many students and materials that my tape ultimately picked up small bits of leftover materials and loose wood finish. Instead of feeling disappointed that the tape was no longer clean, I liked the way that the remnants added character to the little rolled tubes. I had initially attached them together to look like a rectangle but decided to cut the ends at an angle to create a curling wave appearance. This was when I realized that I had come full circle from mindless experimentation to the concept I was subconsciously thinking about: manipulation of the natural world.

I was inspired by memories of my mom and I visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens over the summer before fall semester. I remembered seeing these large red disks suspended in the air amongst the trees as we drove in, and I was in awe. Walking through the gardens gave me the opportunity to closely and personally observe the various ways that nature can be altered and manipulated to create something beautiful, ugly, or just different. I cut and sanded some circles of balsa wood to mimic those disks and used them to support a contrived ocean wave. I wanted it to appear as though the wave was on display for viewers to look at just as they would view different specimens in a museum. Although symmetry, texture, and rhythm all ended up playing a part in this piece, the primary focus was repetition. I wanted to bring the situation into focus with this piece and show through the use of repetition with the rolled tubes of tape that we consistently make decisions that impact the planet we live on, whether those decisions better or worsen the condition. This was my attempt to visually talk about how we, as humans, have a larger impact on the environment than we generally realize. From what we eat to our decisions on what to throw into the trash or recycle, we are constantly altering the world even though it's not always a visible change. I was also thinking about how much people feel drawn to the ocean and beaches, and I tried to take what people think is beautiful and symbolize through the tape that below the surface of the waves the situation can be quite dismal.

Materials: balsa wood, masking tape, wood glue, straight pins

Dimensions: 4.25" x 8" x 3.88"

In Process Photo:

gathering pieces I made to continue experimenting

Final Project Photos:

(Photos of second sculpture waived)

Soap Carving

"What It's Like to Be Invisible"

Artist Statement:
When I found out that this project involved choosing an animal to replicate, I thought about how much I love dogs but knew that I wanted to choose an animal that is used either in the meat or dairy industry, an animal that is often exploited. I chose a Holstein Friesian because I was looking for the most commonly used animal, a cow, and wanted one that had a large udder to represent the way that animals used for consumption are being injected with growth hormones to produce more than they normally would. I searched hard for a vegan black bar of soap because I wanted the color to also be symbolic. The color represents the way that even though we, as humans, live on the same earth with other animals, we largely neglect to get to know who they are, how they think, how they feel, and what they want, while these are all details we place intense focus upon when it has to do with another human. The color represents the way that these animals are nameless and grouped together without any chance of using their voices. I intended for the black to mimic the image of a silhouette. Another aspect of the concept arose out of the actual process of carving. While I know that this is not a subject most people care to deal with or are aware of, it is a subject that is very close to the core of my being. I realized as I was carving that the entire process was representative of how much influence we can have in the lives of other animals. I was able to carve this animal into existence, while other people choose to take animals out of existence.

"Animals are here with us, not for us." - Anonymous

Materials: African Black Soap
Dimensions: N/A

In Process Photos:

Final Project Photos Waived

Map Relief

"Journey Through Dysphoria"

Artist Statement:

I was rather intrigued and confused by the concept of creating map reliefs and how diverse I came to find out that world could be. I grappled for some time with the varying ideas I had in mind because I initially felt that my piece needed to be based on a geographical area to be considered a map relief and then, I had a hard time making sense of what would be the most authentic way to map out something as intangible as feelings.

I finally decided that I wanted to challenge myself to physically represent what gender dysphoria feels like because it is not something that people can see others dealing with. One of the first details I knew was that I wanted to use the outline of a human head and chest as the base to explain that whatever I would be illustrating takes place almost entirely within those confines. So, I found a piece of foam board, drew out the shape, spent days carving it out on a scroll saw in the wood shop, and sanded it down. I also knew that I wanted to use the color blue because it symbolizes my gravitation toward masculinity on the gender spectrum and is also the only color that helped me feel comfortable throughout the past three years of my life. I painted several pieces of paper in different shades of blue paint I had mixed, and I tore them apart into small pieces and layered them starting from the most peaceful color to the deeper and more definitive colors. I layered them so that it would appear as one piece patching up the space where another one ends, but the area of the head covered with these little pieces also speaks to the way in which overthinking and anxiety can cloud a mind. Then, by using a method that some call "ribbon" or "quilling", I created the space on the map that is symbolic of my attempts to present myself as masculine and sometimes tough. It is also symbolic of the way that people see me presenting myself and assume that I am one gender or another. The most difficult part, ironically enough, was finding a way to blend the two sides of the map - what takes place inside my mind and what appears on my exterior. The ripped pieces of paper that are raised represent the steps I have taken to present myself in a way that feels most comfortable, but they also appear to be falling off of the person when it is viewed from the side.

Materials: Polystyrene foam board, paper, acrylic paint, glue

Dimensions: 24" x 20.94" x 2"

Inspiration/research:

Jan Albers

Matthew Picton

Carrie Dickens

In Process Photos:

Final Project Photos:

Memento

"Finding the Key"

Artist Statement:
This project was inspired by a poem I wrote around the same time for my poetry class. Having two creative outlets this semester gave me a new way to look at ideas and emotions and allowed me to express some through writing and some through sculpture. However, this memory was so special, happy, and vivid to me amongst my other blurry or sad memories that I chose to work with it in both mediums. The poem was intended to be a poem about memory and the writing process and using this specific memory as a metaphor for what writing feels like. The poem reads as follows:

Gem Mining 

I see a rust orange mountain on my right

And a deserted country store on my left.

The road ahead is long but should lead to

Where I want to go, so I close my eyes

And whisper, “Please be the place where

I can see.”  Opening my eyes again, I notice

Cars packed full passing by and thank

The trees and sky for life. Another car

Speeds past my window, and

The image runs through my head

Like patient water flowing through

The wooden flume. I feel the ice-cold

Water numbing my hands, but I won’t stop 

For anyone, not even for me

Because I’m almost there.

I am hell-bent on finding it – the key

To the box full of gems crowded inside.

“I know it’s just hiding,” I tell myself

As I slide the tray left to right, up and down.

“This is it!” I whisper as stones appear through

The dirt. Aquamarine, Garnet, Amethyst.

Another car rolls by, but I don’t examine it.

After much deliberation on what approach to take with illustrating this concept and memory, I decided to mimic both the roof of a log cabin and the style of an A-frame house. I used Poplar wood because while Poplar trees grow in most of the Northern Hemisphere, they do grow specifically in North Carolina, which is where this memory comes from. The metal mesh mimics the idea of sifting through ideas, sifting through life's various possibilities as you would when you go gem mining in the mountains to find crystals through the dirt that you let run through the holes with the water. As for the crystals inside, I wanted them to be made of another natural material to mimic the inherent beauty of crystals, gems, and stones, but they are white to symbolize the unknown and the numerous possibilities there are in life. The viewer is able to look at the crystals and imagine them in any way they choose, while I know exactly which ones I modeled them after.

Materials: Poplar wood, metal mesh, white clay
Dimensions: 4" x 2.94" x 3"

Inspiration/research:

Marco Trelli



Martin Azúa



Julia Harrison



In Process Photos:

Final Project Photos: