Saturday, December 12, 2015
Soap Carving Changes (FINAL)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT: The additive and subtractive changes I made to the hippo carving were very therapeutic in that I could release some of my frustrations on the piece while simultaneously having a second chance to make it into a work I felt I could fully explore and be proud of. The final result, as seen above, is a work I feel did finally achieve this goal.
In its final changed form, I noticed that the remnants of the carving represented an organic, rock-like formation. The shape gave a much more natural and calming aura. Noticing the red vertical lines on the front end of the structure, I was reminded of a waterfall. I decided to incorporate this idea into its presentation base.
I used hot glue to simulate falling liquid throughout the base, which I painted red to connect to the lines on the soap. I poured a large puddle of red acrylic paint at the bottom of the base. I used a pin to make vein-like lines protruding from the center to compliment the stringy, tangled nature of the glue.
I used unpainted balsa wood cut into angular shapes as the base for the soap. The light, natural color of the balsa wood was meant to emphasize the natural theme of the sculpture, while its plain coloring wouldn't distract from the centerpiece of the work. The angular shapes were made to contrast the organic, messy nature of the soap and waterfall.
Soap Carving (FINAL)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT: Of all the projects I constructed throughout this semester, the soap hippo carvings were the most challenging. I wanted to chose an animal that was unique and sturdy, but also challenging to carve, as the hippo certainly proved to be. The texture of the lemon and rose soaps varied in their consistency and would react differently when I used carving tools on them, so adjusting to these changes as I switched between them was difficult. The strong scent from rose-scented soap in particular caused me to gain an allergic reaction while working with it for extended periods of time, which provided an additional challenge when working with the piece.
After working with the Masking Tape Shoes, I figured that the best way to go about this project would be to plan out my method of carving before I fully divulged into my work. I placed the hippo model I used for reference on a rotating table so that I could view the contour of its body from all angles as I worked with the soap. Instead of carving the soap replicas one at a time, I would take turns between work on them, so that what I learned while carving out a particular negative shape on one, I could apply to the other.
My biggest regret on this project was in the soaps I chose to carve with. My allergic reaction to the rose soap prevented me from being able to put quite as much detail as I would have liked into it. While I gave myself breaks between work sessions to recover, I still had trouble achieving the effect I wanted to with the piece. I felt it was lackluster in comparison to my hippo carving with the lemon soap, which I could devote longer periods of time to. As a result, I chose the pink carving as my subject for the Soap Carving Changes project that followed.
Shoes Masking Tape (FINAL)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT: I chose to construct Converse high-top sneakers due to their unique shape. The depth and height of the sneakers were a challenge to construct; attempting to fit the large pieces to mold around the sole of the shoe to simulate the patterns of the actual model was a challenge. The tape was very flexible and easy to model to the necessary components of the shoe with However, it was also easily dirtied, and the rough edges of the masking tape often made it hard to simulate a smooth fabric or rubber surface. A prevalent lesson I took away from this project was that of organization and precision; I needed to be very careful to what I exposed the tape to in the environment I worked in and how I handled it, or else it would come out looking messy and unprofessional.
Overall, this was a great learning experience. I discovered how to look at an object from multiple perspectives as I saw them instead of how I perceived it traditionally.
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