Plaster Sculpture
When coming up with ideas for this plaster sculpture I explored the concept of marriage, love, and trust and images and shapes that depict those feelings. As a newly engaged, (now married) woman I am constantly observing the relationships of those who have been married for years and I wonder what it takes to build bonds that strong and beautiful. I wanted this sculpture to be representative of two people coming together to become one. The growth and ebbs and flows it takes from both parties to create a successful union.
*Final pictures coming soon*
Artist Inspiration
Tolla Inbar
German Contemporary Artist
I was inspired by this artist work and her ability to convey the idea of goal achievement through her abstract sculptures. The way she uses multiple figures in her work and connects them in various ways translates her message beautifully. A goal with my piece is successfully connect two figures.
Aspiration Duo(’18) bronze
German Sculptor
I was inspired by this Artist ability to create such natural rhythm in his pieces with a material as tough and seemingly unmalleable as steel. The movement that Peter Obel creates in his work almost makes you question what his sculptures are truly made of. If possible I would like to create quite a bit of movement in my piece exhibiting the ebbs and flows of growing together with a partner.
Expanding Nearness (’21) steel
Ruth Bloch
Israeli Artist & Sculptor
While exploring this artist work I really enjoyed the reoccurring themes of love, family, and intimacy. I would like my sculpture to focus on the expression of love and trust in two becoming one. I felt quite a bit of inspiration from her pieces in regard to that concept.
Blossoming Love 4 (‘17) bronze
Caprice Pierucci
American Sculptor
In this Artist work I noticed how she is able to create lots of holes and spaces in her work while still managing to obtain a whole and complete sculpture. Although my goals for my piece are to demonstrate the emotions of love and trust and joining together as one I would like to create spaces in my sculpture that give the illusion of TWO forms merging into one.
Cloud (‘17) Birch plywood/pine
Mariela Zacarias
Mexican Sculptor and Painter
Mariela Zacarias is another sculptor that makes you question if the materials she has used could have even been a possibility in constructing them. This artist creates sculptures that resemble fabric. When exploring her work I almost didn’t even realize they were sculptures. Aside from the color and patterns that she uses, which are inspired by Mexican traditional weaving. I am again inspired by the movement apparent in her work to demonstrate the draping effect of fabric. A lot of trust and growing together requires leaning on one another. Incorporating that movement in my piece may help express that emotion.
Seashell to my Ear ('22)
Wood, metal mesh, plaster, polymer, acrylic paint
Proposal
The first slide are my initial ideas. The 2nd slide is a picture of the final sketch of the design I decided upon. Pictured on the 3rd slide is a small scale Marquette, created before beginning, of the final sculpture using clay.
Process
Materials:
Chicken wire
Wire cutters
Plaster
N95 Dust Mask
Two plastic buckets
Drop cloths
Large bucket for hand washing
Surform
drywall sanding screen
40 grit wet sandpaper
Once the small scale Marquette was created. I was able to use it as a reference for shaping the chicken wire into the foundational frame.
I began by cutting two pieces of chicken wire. one slightly smaller than the other. I then shaped the chicken wire into the desired complimentary S shapes. Once the chicken wire had been formed I then connected both pieces together at the top.
The piece was not able to stand on its own at first so I began by mixing the plaster, dipping the burlap and covering the chicken wire from the bottom up. Once the plaster at the foundation began to harden I could stand the piece up and continue to add burlap and plaster to the middle and top.
Once the entire piece was covered and dry I began to use the surform and sandpaper to Smooth out the surfaces of the piece. I did realize when sanding that some burlap was exposed to covered those pieces in more plaster.
Reflection
Working with plaster was unlike any medium I've every used before. I enjoyed the process of creating a skeleton and building on that. If I could do anything differently I would have made the frame much smaller and focused more on creating a stable piece. Sanding was quite the challenge and I believe it would have been a less arduous process had the size been a bit smaller and the foundation was more solid.
Comments