A Peak Inside my Portfolio- Additive Sculpture Update

Alright friends, this piece is a beast! I cannot seem to finish it and even though I've spent hours and hours on it, there still seems to be more to do! I've completed the construction and now I'm on to finishing the surface. I coated the entire piece in plaster which took forever! I had to make small batches and continually rinse out my container. Lots of trips to the sink! I used a fork and my fingers for the application. As you can see, the piece is taller than me so it took a long time to cover the entire surface area.

After the piece was completely covered, I moved into the painting stage of finishing the work. I'm using a matte black acrylic paint. Doing a small area at a time, I paint it and then wipe off a good portion of the paint using a sponge The process is slow (again!) not to mention it is tearing up my hands and the sponges. But, what I'm left with is an amazing texture and finish! I love it! The black paint remains in all the grooves and cervices but comes off of the higher areas so the white can show through. This gives the piece the grungy, gritty look that I was hoping for. I'm about half way done and have high hopes to finish it next week (although that has been my plan for the last two weeks so we'll see...) Stay tuned for finished product pictures!

A Peak Inside my Portfolio: Social Issues Additive Sculpture

This semester, I'm taking a sculpture course as part of earning my Master's degree. I'm liking the course, but it is challenging for me, especially in the realm of construction. This first piece is a additive sculpture constructed of wood, dry wall compound and wire. It's not finished, it's taking so long to put it all together correctly!

The assignment was to create a sculpture that addressed a social issue. I chose to have my piece discuss the idea of our freedoms in this country and how, for some people, more 'freedom' actually means less freedom.

These are just in-process pictures, more to come soon!

Creating a wire loom for my metal wire weaving

Starting to do the weaving!

The structure of my sculpture complete!

What's Going on in the Classroom: Social Issues-Group Paintings

Hello all! I know it's been a bit and that's my fault. I have no excuse other than the end of the year causes me to be lazy. Okay, okay I know it's not technically the end of the year, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now, especially since our annual art show is over. Everything builds to that show and now that it's over, it feels like we're going down hill!

So in the art room, we just finished a Computer Graphics project, which I will post examples of in  a day or two. However, we are finishing out the quarter strong with a group painting! Students were put into groups of five or six people and given the task of composing an image based on a social issue. Their goal was to bring awareness to something happening in the world today that they felt strongly about. After choosing their topic, they brainstormed ideas and images that they could use. Every student had to be involved in the drawing and painting of the large image. Check out their work so far!

And as a side note, look at the fun little portrait I found while cleaning up. Someone painted it on a palette. So creative!