Grad photo backlog pt. 2
I’ve been trying to get as many photos as possible off my phone. Feels like a tremendous job. Also a good reminder to do this more regularly and even get some hard copies printed. Phones die. charger cables get lost. tech changes. You know the drill.
These are from two different projects. One with roses zip tied into a “coffin” for preservation. The other is attempt to cut a silhouette of a skeeter out of window screen mesh. Looking back at my projects it’s fair to say I’ve been obsessed with mosquitoes for the last three years. Something about them acting as the vampires of the Gulf appeals to me. Blood suckers you can’t always see.
First ever modest little one-part silicone caulk mold. The tiles are tinted cement. Thinking about fossil records and that skeeter trapped in amber from Jurassic Park.
Even more skeeters. These are sculpted with a soft wax. I love how the color looks like thick congealed blood.
Attempted to make a lost wax cast of these skeeters, but sadly the mold failed because plaster was not fully dry on the inside. Give yourself lots of time between plaster applications my friends.
Super hulking clay fist I built to grasp this cycad-like branch. The leave shape is based on one of my all time favorite cycad plants, horridus encephalartos, which you can see a painting off in the pt.1 post. This display case was my first stab at finger joinery so that was fun time. Actually very satisfying to see come together. This sculpture soft nods to Victorian era botany. Attempts to bring ‘order’ to nature.
Not totally happy with it. I changed the handles eventually. Would still like another go at this one.
Thinking about theater again. Decided to make this odd door-sized theatrical flat. Lots of time was spent with router giving this plywood landscape a tiny bit of incremental depth.
The ‘window’ on this flat has a panel of mesh stapled behind. Keeps the skeeters out.
This was a big project for thesis exhibition. Found this abandoned crate by the dumpster and proceeded to spend six months doing surgery on it and scooting it back and forth with the help of 2-4 other persons. I decided I wanted to make this into a ‘peepshow.’ It began only about 8in thick, so we added another 8in ring to its depth (see photo 2). For some reason, no one knows why, the entire back half of the crate was painted solid black. I spent a couple long days sanding all that off. Eventually we built some shelving on the inside to hold multiple shadow boxes, these would comprise the ‘peepshow'.’
Making the shadow boxes themselves was another can of worms. I’m terrible with exacto blades so I knew I wanted to laser cut all the shadow box ‘flats’ to ease my pain. Of course this also meant re-learning how to make the vector files and use a laser cutter in the first place. Not clear if I really did myself any favors.
laser cutting and securing all the shadow box flats here.
Fun times moving this beast! You can see a good shot of the crate’s trap door here. This had a door—not pictured—that fit into place and blended with the rest of crate. This opening was made to allow gallery staff to turn the inner lighting on and off by accessing a power strip inside the crate.
Install shots. Power access was from a floor plug positioned just under the base of the crate. I drilled a hole into crate floor to bring in power without it being visible from the outside. Here you can see how the shadow boxes were positioned on shelving to align with peepholes on the two crate faces. Overall happy with this one. light had a nice glow from the peepholes. Eventually I will make a post about the content of the imagery. It’s primarily based on broadcast media disaster footage and my own memories of home flooding during Harvey in 2017.
Example of one of the eight, nine? shadow boxes before it went into crate housing.
More crates! Yes, one more crate from the dumpster to play with. This one was much smaller and more manageable. When I found it the ‘windows’ were covered with gator board panels glued to the inside. When I removed them the dimensions made me think of early U.S. circus wagons and train cars. I jazzed up the facade to act as a gilded cage and made a very thin, paper-doll like Gulf Chimera to live on the inside.
Still learning to sew so this was a great opportunity to practice ruching. Will ruche again. 10/10 drama.
Again, this crate was super narrow. Definitely used for shipping art originally. I made a base to lift the crate/wagon and make it sit closer to eye-level. Would love to try this again with some kind of wagon wheel situation. The text on side one reads: “BEHOLD! BEWARE!” on side two it reads “ BANISH! BEWAIL!.”
Enough for now. More backlogging backbloging soon.