Leenland

Objective of Play

2011-07-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

Objective of Play
at galerie OPEN by Alexandra Rockelmann, Berlin
26. July - 31. August

Untitled, 2011
Cotton, wax and brass fittings

Sculptural works.

2010-07-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Since I have been in Berlin I have felt restricted by space and money, however, like a goldfish, I have grown to fit my home and have begun to work on smaller forms. They take on a maquette-like presence, representing forms that would be big enough to fill a room.

I have started to build wire boxes around the form that give them their own structure to hang from, and enable me to visualise better how they will look in a larger space. It is tricky to workout how to cut and sew forms in order to achieve certain movements or forms in the final object.

Side project

2010-07-30T10:56:00.001-07:00

I have always sketched cartoons and created little characters but never seen them as something that represents my 'art', but having left university and trying to figure out what I should be doing, I have realised that my 'art' is whatever I do, here are a few of my recent characters...

Infiltrate - Berlin

2010-06-04T03:24:00.001-07:00

Check this

Hidden spaces.

2010-06-04T02:41:00.000-07:00

Finally I am starting a new project - collaboration - with a dancer. Its going to be a steep learning curve. Thinking of how to use the space is the most important at this point. We have a level of a large room from an old brewery that has been taken over by artists and small galleries and project spaces. A real Berlin-esque space. Crumbly walls, rough floors and cracks in the ceiling letting in the light from outside. Big steal girders and lots of rubbish to clear away.

I cant wait. It's important though, I feel, to keep the feeling of the space. It would be such a shame to take away what makes it so exciting. I always find it hard to know how to go about using a space. Urban exploration comes to mind. It epitomises how I see and feel about Berlin. Everything is through people and exploration. There is an entire network of people who have come together through a desire to live in this city. People are passionate about the city because it is so 'alive' and the reason for that is that to really enjoy it you have to discover all the secret, hidden locations and events. Its a big adventure where you have to talk to people and engage with everyone and everything to live it. One giant treasure hunt where everyone is involved and excited.

With regards to this new project... I want to create an 'urban' or 'un-natural' garden that can be walked through. A space/experience/environment. Interiors and exteriors. Smells and curiosities. Within the hidden space there are little corners to discover. An adventure playground for the imagination.

Karsten Holler quoted:

2010-04-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

"When you are a young artist you want to become somebody who is able to show his work outside of the studio. Often it takes a while before one of these works gets out. But when get some kind of public approval for what you're doing it's actually very hard to stop doing that. It's not only art magazines and journalists who are branding you; in some ways you are branding yourself. You say: 'Oh, well I did so many other things before and nobody really showed an interest in that, but suddenly I have something that people get interested in, which also means that the art magazines are writing about it, so I will have a very hard time trying to change that into something else.' So I think a lot of branding is a secondary effect of a more psychological difficulty of the artist to overcome this problem."
(art review)

Ritual:

2010-04-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

Akha swing festival!

Swing and back to play!

2010-04-03T12:58:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to make a swing for about 6months now and have always been a big fan of 'the swing'. Its a standard thing to find in your local park - and even in the parks that aren't dedicated to kids - come summer and there's never a swing free. Everyone loves them.

I am trying to find the history of the swing. I imagine them to have been around forever, being simple and such fun (although I dont understand what it is that we love so much). I think there is something meditative about swinging and swings themselves are associated with such a diverse range of people. Children in parks, teenagers, love and romance, the garden swing for the Grannies, sex, monkeys and apes ... and I'm sure more that I'm going to discover. Not only that, but I think that they fit into any situation - prehaps not a court room... but they can bring something to a space. A bedroom, sitting room, garden. park, bus stop (!) and how about guerrilla swing sets - swings that appear all over the city in public places. Engage-able street art!

Street art!

2010-03-26T10:29:00.001-07:00

Something that i have always been interested in is time and how something can change. "We are all ephemeral beings" and we are always trying to make something beautiful and permanent. Everyone has memories and we all remember events differently as we all see things through our own individual perspectives and emotions. We can make something eternal. It will always change, whether is physicality or meaning.

It is something about street-art that is so appealing - other than its sense of anti-establishment and rebellious attitudes. everything ages, gets painted over, removed or/and weathered. as does everything really, but in street art you can see it happening. Isabelle Krieg is someone who i have recently discovered and really like the time factor and banality in her work. it is something that i see in street art too.

I need to start making something. itchy fingers!

cut-out film

2010-03-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

My baby's fine!

and....Sorry I'm late. moving picture.

Tea total

2010-03-23T13:29:00.001-07:00

Makes me think of home!

As happy as a poncho!

2010-02-02T03:04:00.001-08:00

This is an altered realisation from an idea i had of a complete circle. Hooded, pockets and all! Completely enclosed and inaccessible other than via the neck.

aDRESS

2010-01-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

Finn Stone studio projects...

2010-01-13T08:45:00.001-08:00

All in Fibreglass...

Clowning

2009-11-27T05:39:00.001-08:00

Bunny...

2009-10-09T04:06:00.001-07:00

get in it

2009-10-06T09:06:00.001-07:00

Here is my first allinone.

next step...

2009-07-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am about to start an apprenticeship with Finn Stone in north London so I shall conquer fibreglass and resin.

I want to build a swing and in January I am moving to Berlin...so crossed fingers its all going to happen.

Final show

2009-07-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

The final degree show went really well - i thought! the response to my piece was inspiring and the work that was displayed around it worked well and the show as a whole seemed to be well recieved. I dont think that much work will ever go into the putting on of an exhibition again.
The grass and the general form of the sculpture was organic and was emphasised by the light from the window. After the show I hung the form in a tree to see a different context. I am beginning to feel that public sculpture and the uplifting and inspiring potential that public art has is a direction I would like to pursue.

Grass Web

2009-06-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

This is the piece that was shown in LS6:09, the Leeds University degree show. The light worked really well and the way it was constructed really helped with the disorganisation of the work. I made it in a heap on the floor - restricting design and an understanding of how it may look when hung to encourage accident and non-design. The grass grew well through the show and to keep it going it was installed in a tree in the park which was removed after only a couple of days.

My new moto of everything experimenting

2009-05-14T07:37:00.001-07:00

I keep getting frustrated and stuck. It seems to me to be contradictory to plan and theorise before creating. Creating should come from an instinctual engagement with stuff. Just stuff - anything and everything.

I also think that everything should be tried. All areas should be approached openly and with a positive learning attitude. There is so much to learn and absorb and the only way is to grasp and participate in anything and everything. And so,... I am beginning to engage myself in the art practice of people that are willing and interesting. So I am not limiting and narrowing myself to the formal elements of sculpture...

I am going to expand and take on anything that I am able to put my hands to. In this way I can only develop a greater understanding of things that I dont understand, and stir up the norm with some unexpected experiments. I am not allowed to be scared to try and to have a go will produce a result which shows whether something worked or not.

Costume, biology, chemistry, performance, social interactions...

And embracing new things will hopefully enable me to understand and input new elements into my own practice. Everyone is constantly 'developing a practice' so to define a practice at such an early stage of my career seems crazy.

Grass experiments

2009-05-07T09:18:00.001-07:00

I have been experimenting with grass and planted grass seeds in a form similar to previous experiments using stockingnet and weighting the end. Here I have created five weights hanging all connected to make one form. The ends are full of compost and grass seeds. Within two weeks the grass grew.

Inspired by Louise Bourgeois' 'Cells', I want to develop the idea of space. I would like to work on private places that are nothing. No relevance or purpose. Useless spaces that are in existence just to be space. I am working on the idea of these places being natural or having strong elements of growth and plants. Living spaces.

going green

2009-04-24T04:11:00.000-07:00

I have recently started to experiment using seeds. So far I have planted grass seeds and cress. I have little experience in gardening so this has opened up an area of the unkown, which I am finding exciting. I like the idea that it will input colour in the forms and allow a natural growth to determine the work. It will be freer and the work will become more like my creations as I will have to nurture and tend to their growth over a long period of time.
It is teaching me about the natural world and the fundamental biology makeup of our physical world. There is the planting, growth and death. There is colour. There is chance and unpredictibility. There is discovery and education. I am not sure what will happen or how it will turn out, but the experimentation with a completely new medium is exciting.

Statement

2009-03-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

I want to learn about the world we live in and the physical things that we are surrounded by. Through playing and exploration I am constantly developing an understanding for the mediums I use, and engaging with the world around me on a physical and instinctual level. The materials are from the world, and I want to discover and display their limitations and possibilities. The materials are my only starting point, and working through their processes I make forms that explore these physical properties. Stretching, tension, weight and length are a constant theme that uses the height of the architectural space, hanging from the ceiling, drawing attention to the environment that the viewer and the form share. During the making I am in a reality where my concentration is fully absorbed by materials. The objects take form through an intuitive engagement that almost becomes an extension of myself, or my ‘offspring‘. The obsessive repetition involved in the procedures inevitably forms a strong relationship between myself and the work. They are tactile, concrete forms, and I want them to exist on their own, referencing nothing other than themselves. I see them as individual characters, with their own strengths and weaknesses.

White- hope house gallery, Leeds

2009-03-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos just to give an idea of the exhibition. It was an exhibition of four artists working in very different mediums and with very different interests. The experience was great to work with others at putting on a show, and it seemed to go ahead without much difficulty. It is a great space, but difficult to find, which limited the number of visitors. I found it incredibly useful to see my work installed in a space and to watch how people interacted with the work. There was a lot of touching and squeezing. Overall a valuable event for me.

2009-03-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

2009-02-28T13:52:00.001-08:00

I want to learn about the world we live in and the physical things that we are surrounded by. Through playing and exploration I am constantly developing an understanding for the mediums I use, and engaging with the world around me on a physical and instinctual level. The materials are from the world, and I want to discover and display their limitations and possibilities. The materials are my only starting point, and working through their processes I make forms that explore these physical properties. Stretching, tension, weight and length are a constant theme that use the height of the architectural space, hanging from the ceiling, drawing attention the environment that the viewer and the form share. During the making I am in a reality where my concentration is fully absorbed by materials. The objects take form through an intuitive engagement that results me seeing them as almost extensions of my Self, or my ‘offspring‘. The obsessive repetition involved in the procedures inevitably forms a strong relationship between me and my work. They are tactile, concrete forms, and I want them to exist on their own, referencing nothing other than themselves. I see them as individual characters, with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Studio Flash Photography

2009-02-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

Play

2009-02-24T09:07:00.001-08:00

Having discussed our reasons for making art with numerous people, I have decided that play is not simply an action or activity that is carried out simply for enjoyment, pleasure, joy and delight. It is far more complex. The engagement of the emotions and the seriousness with which children undertake playing suggests that there is a necessity in it. We educate ourselves, discover the world around us, create relationships with others, communicate, discuss...

It is the starting point of so much more than simple pleasures. As human beings we have a desire to understand and discover, and playing is the most natural and affective way of carrying out these developments of our minds. The more you know the more you question. Play is the thirst for knowledge from the subconscious.

2009-02-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Goard

2009-02-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

The forms and my processes are beginning to tire. I need to have a break and look around and try to refresh myself. I was attempting something random with a slight varient on the basic shape. I would like it to be more bulbous. The two pieces of wire are joined in a continuous length of wire. I think this could be developed on, as I like the two exits.

Mid year - Emma Rushton/Richard Bell 20.01.09

2009-02-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

Need to address how to display and exhibit.
How are the works installed and what effect does this have on them?
Think about how they work with the architecture of a space.
"Truth to materials" is confused. Modroc...etc are traditional sculptural materials, so a truth to them is a difficult one.
Current work looks messy.
What the objects do is more interesting. Hanging is playful - imaginative and engaging. Hovering despite the weight.
Is is important to make something which doesnt ahve a distinguishable material?
Is it the process or form which is more important?
Do I want to escape from the meaning of the materiality and association?
Can interpretation be open?
How to record the images.

Sand bags

2009-02-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

Multiples?

2009-02-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

These are canvas strips dipped into plaster and then coated with PVA. I want to see if they work as a group. Either hung from the same string or hung close together as a unit. I like the meathooks but have to question them. I also don't know whether the forms should hang directly from string, whether the string should be built into the internal construction of the form or whether it should be chain. I think chain is too hard and aggressive. But these make me think of pods in waiting. And the hooks give a more object feel to them as they can easily be moved and placed somewhere else. There is an impermanence.

current thoughts

2009-01-21T03:15:00.001-08:00

I have been thinking about colour. Looking at my studio, everything feels a bit dead. They all merge together with the pale, fleshy tones. It is not so uplifting. Whether I want my work to be 'uplifting' or not, I dont know. I have the possibility of being given old climbing ropes, which are coloured. Initially I was not interested, but am beginning to think that I cannot afford to be fussy, and why am I so stubbornly ruling out colour?

Painting covers up the surface of the materials used, which seems like hiding something. A sense of shame. It denies the material's qualities and seems a strange thing to do. But dont knock it till you've tried it.

Additionally, I am still digging holes in my mind. Why is art important? It's a question that doesn't lead very far, but I feel that it is a question that you should be able to answer for yourself if you are to spend your life doing it. Otherwise there is no sense. No one wants to live without a reason or meaning. Art provokes thought. It is an escape from reality and is a way of dealing with reality. It's enjoyable and engages other senses than reading and discussing. Prehaps we need art in our culture to give a representation of the imagination and the desire for beauty and enjoyment that so much of our culture denies us. Despite being able to give a few possible justifications, I am consistently running these concepts through my head to convince myself.

But I do love Art and want to spend the rest of my life doing it and being involved in it. And it's that pleasure that doesnt seem like a valid reason for it. Maybe I am wrong. Love for something is a good enough reason as any.

New processes

2009-01-21T03:02:00.000-08:00

(Fabric and plaster on rope)

The papier-mache process is slow, painstakingly monotonous. It is simple, non-toxic and cheap. But I feel that for the moment I have got to a point that I need to experiment with other layering methods. Using old scraps of canvas (or any thick fabric that I have got my hands on) and dipping it into plaster, I have followed the papier-mache layering method, yet obtained fully textured and faster results.

I am now working of a multiple of smaller forms using this process. They do not use the height of the space as the branch forms did, however, I do not want to limit myself to the consideration of the space with each piece. I need to maintain an experimental thought process where I do not limit myself with considerations, such as particular processes, the space or a pre-concievied idea of the form.

(Canvas and plaster on wire)

Scenic studio view

2009-01-14T09:58:00.001-08:00

branches

2009-01-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

A test with a completed "branch" worked well. I dont want them touching the floor, but the length works well with the thickness. As a unit of 3 they may work better. The most recent is the best. It is thick and hovers only a cm above the ground.

I have begun a new method of using material instead of newspaper, and plaster instead of the papier-mache mixture. It is a quicker method that produces more textured results. Pleased so far.

Thought developments at present stand...

2008-12-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

At present I have had to think alot about the context of my work. I started with the struggle of why I spend my time 'making' and what value it has. I came to the conclusion that personal pleasure and interest is enough, and to start asking questions such as these is going to lead me nowhere.

Then I had to realise what exactly it is in my work that I am interested in. Materials, the processes and the form. Not only are these three subjects the essential parts of my work, but they are also the fundamental principles faced by sculpture as an art-form in general. Sculpture consists of space, weight, material and form.

I have also started to look at the "pyschology of creating". It is simply an subject that fascinates me. How we have developed a passion for aesthetic things to look at and simply take pleasure from, when our society demands physical participation and a function within society.

As far as my work is concerned I am continuously finding developments that I want to work on, however I need to spend time installing the finished pieces into an environment where I can see whether they work or not, and how. I have not given myself many opportunities to see my work in context.

branching extremities

2008-11-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a few experimental photos from the installation of one of the completed 'branching extremities'. I want to install lots of them over the area of an enclosed room so they create an environment. These are made of lengths of wire layered in papier-mache, and an outer layer of mod-roc and then Latex and then hung from the ceiling with meat hooks and chain.

forms

2008-11-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

More recently I have been working on a very slow process of papier-mache on lengths of wire. Initially I imagined them entertwined, but have decided that they may use the space better and not look too complicated and 'faffy' if they are more spread out hanging from the ceiling filling a room. I want them to each be the thickness of a finger and thumb when making a circle. I am going to cover them in mod-roc. I don't like the references of newspaper and the text and images distracting from the forms.

This is an extension of the hanging tube fabric I have used. It is one of the only forms that rests on the floor. I want to further this form once I have completed the tenticles. I am going to experiment with sand as the weighted end, and am aware that I need to look more at the space and location of my forms as they use their environment in its height and attracts attention to its surroundings as much as to itself. I have tried a couple of exteriors to give an idea of how they would be outside...

I am currently researching sculpture as a practice and its formal qualities and the significance of the 'object', as well as the importance and meaning of sensation in order to give myself a better understanding to what it is that I am doing as a sculptor.

more recently...

2008-10-20T15:02:00.001-07:00

I have recently discovered a tube-socking material that comes in a roll and have been playing with plaster weights that are formed in the end of a piece of this tubing. I can see this being pushed and experimented with further, and really like the weight and tension shown with the plaster and the stretched fabric. I am going to see if they will free-stand using PVA, fibre glass, wax, and/or varnish. They also need to be multiplied and seen en mass.

This is a metal rod with papier machee, mod-roc, iron wool and pva. I am not sure if it is at all finished yet, and am having problems as to how it should stand. At present it leans against the wall, very heavy and unstable. I am not sure if a metal base would make it too monumental.

These are globule/cocoon-like forms that drip down from under a shelf at chest height so you need to bend down to see them. They are now white with a varnish, but I am not satisfied with the cleanliness of the white.

The magical world of Wikipedia...

2008-05-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

‘Aesthetics is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values….Aesthetics studies new ways of seeing and of perceiving the world.’

‘We can call a person, a house, a symphony, a fragrance….beautiful. What characteristics do they share which give them that status? What possible feature could a proof and a fragrance both share in virtue of which they both count as beautiful? …each art form has its own system for the judgement of aesthetics.

…there has been long debate on how perception of beauty in the natural world …is supposed to relate to perceiving beauty in art or artefacts.’

‘Yulem describes an object formed by natural processes, which possesses a set of intrinsic aesthetic characteristics that transform it into an object of unique interest. Only a naturally formed object that is recognised to possess such a unique or appealing character is considered a ‘yulem’ object. ‘yulem’ object is in contrast to a ‘work of art’ or ‘found art’. A ‘yulem’ object’s creation in unintentional and not the result of human forethought. ’Art’ objects are intentional manifestations of creativity. This distinction forces emphasis on a collective recognition of an object’s intrinsic aesthetic characteristics verses conformity to a pre-existing set of aesthetic criteria.’

‘Yulem objects are never dictated by aesthetic delectation. … Yulem objects are not based on a reaction of visual indifference with at the same time a total absence of good or bad taste.’

‘After an object is observed by others a consensus of its aesthetic value in built. If many recognise the characteristics of the object as uniquely interesting the value is great.’

Bronze...

2008-05-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

This is the bronze at the beginning of the cleaning process. You can see where the channels of wax were attached underneath the sculpture in order to pour the bronze into the plaster mould.

Dissertation thoughts...

2008-05-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

In order to contextualise my practice I need to know what it is that I do. It is difficult to pin-point something like that if you didn't originally aim at something specific or with a particular goal.
If I look at my work, the way I make it and what I say if I am questioned about it... I would say that 'process' and 'materials' are the essential part.

A vague form is controlled at the initial stage.

I.e, if it is going to hang, it will be formed around a length of rope. If it is going to be cube shaped, a cube mould will be used...etc

However, there is not a particular theme to which I am trying to direct the spectators attention. I simply enjoy the messy proceedures and the uncontrollable textures of the materials. It is a hedonistic process for me and I am not trying to achieve anything. The sculptures are a result of 'play'.

But why all the sculptures have a continuity or a characteristic of work produced by the same one person must be something to do with something subconcious. My inner characteristics of what I enjoy and finding aesthetically pleasing and my interests. I am aware of my interest in insects and the small intricate cycles of nature. I've always been fascinated with biology. And I think it is evident in my work. It is unintentional and I was not aware until it was pointed out.

But to find a subject of my work to contextualise and discuss is difficult. Prehaps I should look at the simple aesthetic value of art and the validity of meaningless art. Or materials and processes and what defines 'beauty'?

BEaUty

2008-04-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

The subjective experience of "beauty" often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature, which may lead to feelings of attraction and emotional well-being. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a common phrase that expresses this concept.

In its most profound sense, beauty may engender a salient experience of positive reflection about the meaning of one's own existence. An "object of beauty" is anything that reveals or resonates with personal meaning.

Giles Kent

2008-04-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Someone that I think has some aesthetic and uncomplicated way of working with natural materials.

www.gileskent.co.uk

"...an indulgence in purity of form for forms sake; yet it is a purity informed by the personality of the material and his experience of the natural landscape..."

Next development...

2008-04-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

I am now working on one form in both bronze and ceramics. I have no idea where it has come from, but I feel that it is very 'earth-like', as though it has been born from something of the fundamentals of the earth.

I like their irregular form and the composition of three of them together.

In the ceramic form I am making a simple cast which will enable me to reproduce them and experiment with different finishes in the ceramic process.

Ceramic egg...

2008-04-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

An update image of the egg...free-standing in ceramics. Now to be glazed...the next learning process begins.

The cast wasn't exactly perfect so there were a lot of irregularities and problems with forming the egg into one form. Using lots of vinegar and under some questioning eyes, I managed to produce my first complete sculpture in ceramics.

Animate...

2008-03-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have had an idea for my long animation piece... simple and a perfect opportunity to really struggle with technicalities and learn. A bird´s eye view on bare feet as they walk along a paved street to a destination.

´the journey is the destination´

It will be nearly 2 minutes long and as the walk happens, different things are passed on the way, such as some money on the ground, some very high stilhettos, a puddle...

The music in the background has no vocals and is lighthearted.

These are photos of the feat of engineering that we have come up with to give the effect of the road moving...

The egg...

2008-03-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

My design for a project to learn the casting and ceramic processes is in full swing.
There have been plenty errors along the way due to not having a clue what to do when or how. But with the help of some sympathic students and a lot of charrades, i am approaching a finished sculpture.

The egg-like form was primarily made out of clay around a contruction of wood and metal wire.

Once the clay form was complete, small rectangular pieces of metal were pressed into the clay to make a dividing wall in order to divide the sculpture into two halves. Special ceramic plaster was dribbled over the entire sculpture as a primary layer, and then two more layers were added in a thicker consistency. On the outer layer, pieces of wood were secured to the outside of the cast on each of the two halves using a hair-like grass with the plaster.

After this stage, once the plaster was dry, the line of metal pieces divided the cast into two halves which were gently pryed open. Unfortunately nobody informed me about the puzzle effect the crevasses and protruding parts of the form were going to have, and so the cast broke in complex places and the clay had to be dug out of the cast to free it.

After washing the cast and rescuing the broken pieces, I fixed the cast by patiently holding the shards in place and fixing them with thick plaster and hair-like grass. Once the cast was dry I sanded down the inside until they were smooth and washed off the dust ready to be used to form the ceramics.

Taking a small chunk of pre-prepared red clay at a time, I formed a smooth layer, about 1 inch thick, over the majority of the cast. I missed out the complex areas as I was aware from previous mistakes that the ceramic form would break. I added a supporting, grid-like structure of the ceramics to the interior of the sculpture. I am now at the stage of putting together the separate pieces to form the final sculpture.

a new leaf

2008-02-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

Being in Krakow has provided no direct or obvious inspiration, and I feel as tough I am stagnant and in a rutt of no creativity. I never thought that a situation such as this, where I can relax for a year and just learn processes, would make me feel so frustrated and stale. I am sure I will return to England having learnt more than I feel I am learning, however I need to keep myself active.

I am turning over a new leaf.

I am going to play with messy materials in my room and maintain a development of thought.

This hanging pod is much like my other pods, although it is painted red and dripped with bee wax.

Being construction...

2007-10-29T06:06:00.000-07:00

I'm lost here. It's not independent work, but you have to find your own way.

I have looked back at my work and still find myself drawing pod like forms and my interest in insects is as strong as ever... so i'm using it in order to discover the new processes i am having to use here.

I was asked recently if I am interested in 'transfiguration'. I don't know what I'm interested in but there seems to be a consistent theme of hatching or dormant life running through my work.

I've also started doing a simple animation of a little boy blowing up a balloon to get the hang of start-stop animation before I kick of with my big one...

Last and latest

2007-10-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been pretty stagnant and not really been making anything for a number of reasons. But I've been absorbing the sights and have taken alot in and think that this year may have a great impact on my work.

I have just moved to Krakow, Poland where the sculpture is very academic and traditional. I will be spending the year on one sculpture in clay of the female figure. I'm also going to learn the processes involved with metalwork, bronze, ceramics and animation. This is going to be a year of technical improvement and learning processes, which I'm really looking forward to.

At the end of last year I experimented a little with resin. This is a long piece of blue knitting that I coated in resin until it was so stiff that it could stand alone. The resin also made the knitting translucent making it look more like glass.

John Updike

2007-07-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

"The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before and he does it without destroying something else."

Mesh

2007-05-23T09:46:00.001-07:00

I've been playing with the look of pushing materials through others. Here i stretched sacking over wire hoops and then dripped or squished materials through them. I like the idea of hanging them and them being openings, like the ends of drainpipes. Also want to try out the use of lighting a bit more.

Long object

2007-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

This is just a long piece of wood tied up with hemp string and then covered with papier-mache, plaster and then PVA. it's surprisingly heavy and probably just under 6foot. i love the glossy surface that the PVA gives it.

plaster cube

2007-05-17T02:03:00.000-07:00

this is the first of my work to not hang and sit on the floor. i dont think its quite finished but its already going mouldy which is mad. think the large solid form of a cube will go further and i'm now beginning to look at holes.

plaster pods

2007-05-17T01:53:00.000-07:00

these are my initial casts that i want to take further. am thinking about lots of pods on each length of rope. floor to ceiling. and lots of them...like a forest.

plaster sphere

2007-05-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

this is a large plaster sack thing on a rope. its really heavy and i didnt wait for the plaster to dry properly so you can now see the plaster rotting inside the latex! quite like that about it though.