Back River Project

The latest assignment in my sculpture class was to create a piece from materials collected from a Back River cleanup. On a Saturday morning, the class took a trip to the Back River to clean up and look for materials. Construction of the projects began right away during the next class. I found a 7 foot pole at the bottom of the rive. I used the pole, stacked beer bottles, and a part of a tree to display the ideas of stability, unstable parts, and permanence.

Abstract Plaster Sculpture

This is a small piece I completed in my 3D art class. For this assignment, we were grouped into pairs. Together, we were supposed to used wax or plaster to create an interesting coupling of items. My partner, Vicki, made a tiny, heart-shaped, wax perfume bottle. I cast plaster in a handmade cardboard box to create the initial shape of my piece. I rounded the edges of the piece and carved the spike-like shapes. I created a mosaic pattern on the front surface of the piece, using a pin tool. The hole in the front is octagonal. The overall piece was meant to resemble broken, fragmented glass of an item that was once intact, such as a perfume bottle. The satin surface treatment was accomplished with spray paint to portray the idea of reflected light. 

Value Painting

This is a value painting I did on canvas, using only black and white acrylic paint. I completed this piece quickly in the art program Towson holds for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I work with the Center for Adults with Autism in this program every Thursday night as a part of my service learning for my honors seminar about the life spans of Autism. The instructor, who is also on the sprectrum, handed everyone canvas paper, black and white paints, and several brushes and told us to create value in a painting. By the end of a long day, it was to use this exercise as a stress relief and make big, uncontrolled strokes on the canvas with my brush. I had no direction with painting when I started and when I finished. Taking a step back, and looking at the painting, I do see some recognizeable shapes . I see two feathered hearts, two femurs, and what appears to be two sets of rib cages.

Cardboard Palette

Cardboard Palette
This is a sculpture made out of a set of cardboard strips. The mock palette was a scaled down model of an actual palette. The model is one fourth the size of the palette. Duplicate strips of cardboard were used to create the sculpture to the left. The model palette had a soft texture. The same texture was translated to the sculpture through the rounded, flexible shapes. The pieces of cardboard were sliced in half to give the gear-like look of the  rounded elements. A stiff, rigid, geometric material was transformed to a organic, flowing sculpture.

I found it appropriate to upload this piece on Valentine's Day. I really enjoy the color combination of pink and red. I hotglued red crayons to the left corner and purple and pink crayons to the right corner. I used the heat of the highest setting on a blow dryer to melt the wax of the crayons. Once the crayons were melted, I held the blow dryer at different angles to direct the wax across the white canvas. I also replaced the glue sticks in the hot glue gun with a crayon and shot the melted crayon at the canvas. I cut a piece of cardboard into the shape of a heart and then cut the heart in half, in order to split the layers of the cardboard to expose the inside texture. I enjoy making things by using materials in ways they were not originally intended.

Gavenus PhotographyThis link takes you to a website displaying the photographs of Jim Gavenus. The photographs include wedding photos, portraits, and cultural photos. My favorite portfolio on the page is the one titled "Faces of Haiti". The black and white photos capture the spirit, beauty, and simplicity of life in this Third World Country faced with poverty and disease. Art that portrays this beauty has a special place in my life. This winter, I traveled to Honduras, a Third World Country in Central America, to work on the construction of a bilingual school in Villa Soleado, outside of El Progreso. The experience was life changing and greatly influenced the way I live my day to day life.