The escape/break out

the long view...

caught by The Boots

mother and children....

killed by The Boots

it is too late.....come on!

The Boots are pinned

all clear....run!

too thirsty to run....

nearly home free!

I wish that I could have posted a video of the full effect.  As you walked down the hall you follwed the escape.  I also wish I could have recorded reactions from people.  At one point a group of people said the shoes were creeping them out…..too funny!!!!!!!!

Meret Oppenheim

Gazen Bowen

Willie Cole

Now that I had an idea what others did with shoes, I had to come up with my own idea.  While at home I found a small “bird cage” and some fancy keys.  I put a pair of shoes in the cage with the keys hanging next to it.  That was not a use of space or viewer interaction.  I also wrapped the shoes with strips of fabric….sorta like ancient foot binding.  I still wasn’t thinking on the right level.  Eventual I came to the cage again and shoes escaping from it.  This was it and I ran withn it.  So here are my first attempts at this in the art building.

escaping shoes

climbing/flying away

After playing with the shoes in the installation space for a couple hours and getting some much needed feedback, I felt I had a good grasp on what I would do in the end.  Pictures from the actual finished piece to come.

I thought that was going to work and so was not worried about it any longer.  Over the weekend I gathered 18 empty wine bottles to set up my songs.  I enlisted the help of my sister because she has a piano.  We spent around 3 hours filling, hitting and dumping wine bottles.  We created 3 songs: Twinkle Little Star, Ode To Joy, and London Bridges.  We did our best to tune each song to a set of bottles. 

Monday afternoon I headed back to my sculpture to hang bottles and make sure all was well.  I realized that the bottles were too heavy and needed to add support.  I found 3 metal poles with cement at the base.  I rigged these to my exsisting design.  I attached all by bottles and tested each set.  Success!!!!!  Ha…yeah right.  THe whole thing came crashing down…..arrggghhhh!!!!!!!  In serious frustration I removed my bottles and had to figure out how to stabilize it better.  Another instructor suggested smaller cross arches attached to my weight support poles.  Woohoo…..it was not coming down now.

Now with a sturdy sculpture I could reattach my wine bottles.  Once I started putting them on a few students came over to play with it whille I was finishing up.  I was super stoked.  Here is the finished product.

droplet, blob, bean, bubble, dab,dot, driblet, drop, globule, grain, particle, pea, pill, shot, speck, spherule, stone, pearl, astragal, driplet, talus.

With the list in hand I thought it might provoke something….no luck, still lost.  Finally Clare suggested beading something that wouldn’t normally be beaded.  With this advice and the synonyms I came up with an idea.  I was going to create a long long long string of silver beads on wire.  With that I was going to make a wine glass of sorts.  I would do the same thing with red beads and have it look like wine was spilling out and onto the floor…..beading up….

Once I got the beads on the long wire, I struggled to get them to hold the glass shape, it would hold the curve but not the form.  Time for a new idea.  I sat playing with the beaded wire for a couple hours and even let a friend play with it hoping she might do something that might stimulate my imagination….nope.  Eventually I thought about making a bunch of circles in silver and connect them with small red circles….that idea seemed very 2-d to me and I wanted something 3-d. 

Something made me think of sea anenome and I began cutting the wire into smaller pieces…they still had the curl from the wine glass attempts and playing with it.  I liked how it looked hanging there, the way it sparkled in the light.  I decided it needed more color and I found some green and purple beads.  I thought it needed a variety in lengths.  So in the end, this is what happened.  I really like it and will probable hang it somewhere in my house when it comes home.

hanging in the classroom

another angle

looking up from under

from a distance

This is my fiber creation.  I called it 5 inches because it looks like 5 little (well actually big) inch worms climbing up a tree.  Each “inch worm” is made from rolled fabric with glue in between all the layers.  Some of them are wrapped with furry yarn to add a little more character.  I installed them on a tree that appeared to have some of the same qualities as the fibers.  The furry worms matched the organic stuff growing on the tree…while the fabric had a pattern that almost looked like a wood or bamboo. 

Initially I was going to create sticks/twigs with the rolled fabric and then use the fluffy yarn to add blooms to it.  Once the first piece was finished, I decided it probable would not be sturdy enough to stand.  It was at this point I realized my creation looked like worms and I went with that.  The words I think of are curved rolls.  I had fun doing this project and everytime i pass the tree where my project is installed it makes me giggle.

furry inch

smooth inch crawling up organic growth on treefurry and smooth inches

in this creation, the curved plane is dominant and the cube and line are back up.

This is the bristol creation I turned in as my final product.  I really like this one, it was my favorite.  I loved the super curved plane…that is why I made the decision to turn it in. 

This project was divided into 4 parts; wire sculpture, google sketch up, bristol paper, and lastly found object in nature.  I missed the first day of the project which was the wire gesture sculpture.  I did however go online and find an artist that worked with wire.  I found him very amusing.  His name is Terry Border.  His art is more whimsical than anything….but I really liked it.  Another individual I found was Ruth Asawa.  She crochets wire.  She encountered Joseph Albers at Black Mountain College and he challanged her to experiment with new materials.  Her art is nothing like Terry Border’s, infact I think they are at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Asawa’s work is beautiful….I would LOVE something like that in my home.

Part 2: Google Sketch-Up

The second phase of this project was to create something three dimensional in google sketch up.  I have worked with sketch up before for my History of Furniture II class.  I still found it challenging though…maybe that could be blamed on the fact that I took that class almost 2 years ago.  I have plans to do a 2 hour CEU class that teaches how to import AutoCAD files into sketch-up and make 3-d models.  Here are my and Michelle’s attempts at Sketch-up.

first attempt....getting use to the commands

Serra wanna be

We were asked to try to create a 3-d sculpture that was reminiscant of Richard Serra.   He works with sheet metal in large format.  Amazing work if you ask me.

   When I went online to find other artists in this field, I wanted to find something other than the designers of virtual worlds like Second Life or The Sims.  The individual I found creates animated wallpaper, reliefs, and rosette windows.  He puts a hugs amount of time into this wallpaper and it is so captivating and relaxing at the same time.  His name is Christopher Pearson.  The wall paper I saw was for a high end restaurant in London called Sketch.  It was awesome to see a William Morris inspired design morph into an underwater world.  Another individual I found created 3-d images with chalk.  They were not computer generated but I thought it was really amazing anyway.  Julian Beever creates illusions that make you feel like you could walk right into his image….but obviously you can not. 

Part 3: Bristol paper

So for phase 3 we used bristol paper to create shapes or containers I suppose.  This at first thought seemed easy but turned out to be much more complicated that I needed.  When you think about a shape, you don’t think about what it takes to create it.  Some students went online and downloaded patterns.  Personally, I thought that was a cop out for using their heads and imagination.  They did find more complicated things to build but all they had to do was cut and glue.  I created a box….which was mostly easy to figure out.  My second creation was an oblesck….such as Cleopatra’s Needle.  This one took much more time but turned out pretty decent….after some refiguring half way through.  Here are my bristol creations

bristol cube

short stubby cleopatra

Part 4: Found Objects in Nature

Phase 4 required going outside and exploring the surrondings for things that could be art.  We watched a video about Gabreial Orazco and his methods.  I found him interesting and strange all in one.  He questioned everything around him.  Going to to grocery store and creating a sort of chaos and photographing it.  We also talked breifly about Andy Goldsworthy with whom I have known about for years.  I think his work is spectatular.  He only uses things in nature to create beautiful sculptures and such.

When sent out to create my own Orazco or Goldsworthy I struggled….I could not seem to find things to use.  Everything seemed too cheesy or just plain boring.  Here are my attempts.

bright red berries grabbed my attention

a leaf tower I built in the bushes...connected by stems

a line created by moving things out of the way

a fork I found in the creek...

As mentioned above I really liked Andy Goldsworthy…his mind works in amazing ways.  I also found a guy that creates “gardens” on the side of buildings.  His name is Patrick Blanc.  The designs he creates change the feeling of the entire building.  YOu no longer see a concrete jungle.  You see WOW!!!!  He works with interiors and exteriors.  His creations are meant to last years and are also meant to make people stop and think.  I am actually going to use his creations in one of my projects for a restaurant I am working on for my Contract II class.  Very excited about it.

I enjoyed all of the phases of the project and found them to be educational for me.  I am not the biggest fan of the bristol paper forms but that was just because it stretched my mind…..

attempt at a flower in a vase

My first successful attempt was a complete accident.  I got frustrated and poof…there was a really cool 2D and 3D piece. 

2D shooting star and heart

little surfer big wave

2D view of kudzu

3D of kudzu taking over the house

2D of sunglasses or eyeglasses...whichever you prefer...

glasses sitting on the table...

3 sphere stack lamp