Soft Sculpture

In 3-D class, we had a recent assignment to create a large soft sculpture inspired by the work of Claes Oldenburg. The sculpture had to approach or go beyond human scale. We also had to find a specific site at Tyler install the work in. We had to think about the context of the environment and how it related to the sculpture.

I chose to create a large pad (of the "sanitary napkin" kind), which I installed in a chair outside the advising office at Tyler. It was well received, and brought up good discussion about culture, what is considered disgusting, taboo, comfort, and choice. I chose to put the pad in a chair next to another empty one. This brought up the fact that when given the choice, most people would feel uncomfortable sitting in the chair next to the pad, and would choose a different set of chairs farther down the hall. The image on the left shows the pad outside the advising office. The image on the right shows my Professor, Dan Cutrone, posing with the pad.

2-D Color Study

In 2-D, we've been making small compositions with guoche to explore color value and saturation. These studies were all non-representational. Mine were 6" x 6". I think this one was the most successful.

Gerbil Painting

I've been slowly making a series of paintings of gerbils for a while now. This is the latest one. This isn't for any specific class. It was just for myself. The painting is acrylic on canvas and is about 9" X 12".

Spring Break Assignment

Over spring break, we are drawing bananas as they age. This assignment in Drawing class is an exercise in color observation. These bananas are from day 6. I used watercolor pencils to draw them and then add a painterly quality.

2-D Project One

In 2-D, our quilt project culminated in a final quilt. We had to think about elements we weren't thinking about in out smaller quilts such as size, pattern, material, and texture.

I made my quilt from ties. I opened the seams to create new shapes, and sewed the fabric sometimes with the back facing forward. This created more variety in the shapes, colors, and textures I had to work with. I tried to find a composition with interest and balance.

The quilt was well received in the crit. Ideas were brought up that I hadn't thought of before. The teacher commented on how its a blending of masculine and feminine associations: ties being associated with men and the act of quilting being associated with women. The patterns in the fabric also have a variety from humorous to traditional. The eye travels through the piece with the help of certain directional and contrasting shapes and colors.

The quilt measures roughly 15" X 40" as is made of hand sewn fabric.

Color Compositions

In 2-D, we've been learning to use color by experiementing. We've been selecting different colors, and trying to put them together so they look pleasing. These are three compositions I made with dyed paper. The one on the far left was made first and the one on the far right was made last.

Drawing

In Drawing class this past week, we began using chalk pastels. We did two drawings using color. The one on the left was done first on 18 X 24 paper. The one on the right is roughly 30 X 40 inches.