current thoughts

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

(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

branches

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...

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

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

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.