rcoffmanart: April 2023

Pins and Needles

Pins and Needles

Straight pins, nails, black paint, insulation foam, embroidery thread, yarn

16" x 7" x 2"

This sculpture explores a phobia of mine- trypanophobia, or a fear of needles. The original inspiration was a presentation on pain and acupuncture, which led me to reflect on how fear keeps me from exploring something healing, like acupuncture. Pins and Needles represents how phobias snowball from a small trigger to something overwhelming and frightening. Visually, another inspiration for this piece was pinscreen toys- I wanted to recreate their wavelike surface. I used the transition in materials from pins to nails to communicate a mental progression from seeing little needles as small and non-threatening to big and scary. I arranged the piece to drip down the wall like blood and added the red thread and yarn to enhance that imagery. This piece is significant to me because it allowed me to explore and express my fear. I hope that viewers with similar fears to mine find it relatable.

David Gerry Partridge

source

Ward Fleming

https://providence.makerfaire.com/maker/entry/222/

Erwina Ziomkowska

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Making-a-point-with-Pins-Needles-art-exhibit-5168701.php#photo-5740219

Spine, Colony, Box

Spine

Cream paper, gel medium, tracing paper, wire, wood, white ink

6" x 3" x 3"

Colony

Gel medium, tracing paper, wire, wood, masking tape, white ink

6" x 9" x 6"

B O X

Paper, gel medium, black ink, white ink, masking tape, wood glue, balsa wood, black thread

7" x 7" x7"

The sculptures entitled Spine, Colony, and B O X were initially inspired by insects. Additionally, they each follow an element of design. I created Spine with a tactile pattern in mind. I wanted to focus on grouping the little paper creatures inside the mouth of the sculpture and have them climb out of it. I decided to include a twisting shape in the piece and emphasize that shape with the spine of paper figures. I initially included significantly fewer paper creatures, but I realized the work lacked a sense of repetition, so I added more and I think that made the piece more successful. I created Colony with negative space in mind. I intended to visually communicate a hive or colony of negative spaces that congregate in between treelike structures. I wanted to focus on a sense of space and nature while remaining nonobjective. I felt the work lacked weight, so I included wood bases in the wire structures. I also incorporated irregular shapes inside each hollow roll of tape because I felt that the piece needed more texture. B O X is about focal point and was partially inspired by shadow boxes of insects. I intended to visually communicate focal point through tonal contrast as well as actual light and shadow. I wanted to focus on simplicity for this piece, so I only used black and white and relied on different textures to add interest. The essential elements in B O X were the white paper and the light that filters in through the cutout on top of the box. They work together to create the focal point inside because the light emphasizes the contrast created by the white paper on the black background. I decided to include thread to create more depth in the openings of the box. I felt the work lacked detail on the outside of the box, so I used a layer of masking tape and gel medium mixed with black ink to completely change the texture of the paper. The making of these pieces inspired me to make more non-objective work in the future.

Elsa Mora

https://www.elsamora.net/project/one-hundred-and-one-notions/

Mary Button Durell

http://marybuttondurell.com/

Pia Mannikko

https://piamannikko.com/works/some-people-knit-2010/

112 E Palmetto Ave

112 E Palmetto Ave

Off white cotton fabric, blue embroidery thread, clay

3" x 2" x 2"

112 E Palmetto Ave reflects my memories of the house my grandma lived in when I was young. I wanted to honor my grandma's memory with this piece and recreate the sensorial associations I have with her home. The title of this piece is the street address of her house, where I spent nearly every weekend for my entire childhood. The shape of the pouch was inspired by my grandma's beaded cigarette cases, which I filled with heavy little clay spheres instead of cigarettes to represent the weight of her dependence on nicotine. I knew I wanted to include sewing because of the time I spent in my grandma's craft room full of fabric scraps, lace trims, and a sewing machine. I embroidered the pouch because of the many embroidery projects she made for me as she sat in her living room watching a game show on television and burning a cigarette. The repeating patterns on the bag and on the spheres symbolize the predictable flow of weekends I spent at her house. The blue thread and white fabric were inspired by the blue and white plates she had in her kitchen. Finally, the nine spheres represent each decade of her life, and the terracotta they resemble is for the countless clay pots of bromeliads on her back porch.

Indies Blue plate pattern by Johnson Brothers

https://www.replacements.com/china-johnson-brothers-indies-blue/c/45696

Vintage cigarette case by Whiting and Davis

https://madgeshatbox.com/product/vintage-cigarette-case-by-whiting-and-davis-black-sequins/

Romance for Roses, James Himsworth

https://www.ecrater.com/p/2417664/romance-for-roses-designed-by-james?gps=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwuqiiBhBtEiwATgvixGrA-TPt0PQsuBN1GnWFAORt3ptlzp2UGiXzxGF_D_U27cIL4R53mhoCY-0QAvD_BwE

Visual Symbols

Business Fish

Air dry clay, Winsor and Newton inks

Approx. 5" x 3" x 2"

Center of Attention

Air dry clay and Winsor and Newton inks

Approx. 5" x 2" x 3"

The sculpture entitled Business Fish was inspired by my feelings towards capitalism and hustle culture. My intention in this piece is to visually communicate the dehumanizing nature of the corporate world. The little fish guy represents how individuals are packed into offices like sardines and his little suit communicates the business setting. The skull signifies that this type of lifestyle is poison to us all. It also serves as a reminder that our time is limited- we should strive to truly live our lives instead of acting as machines in a monotonous cycle of work and sleep. While I did try to keep the tone lighter with the actual art style of the fish, I wanted to focus on the poison aspect because I feel strongly that 9-5 jobs are not what humans are meant to do. I want to keep exploring this theme in the future with other mediums.

The sculpture entitled Center of Attention was inspired by my own struggles with self-consciousness and the fear of others perceiving me. My intent is to visually communicate the anxiety of feeling watched and judged. The eyes surrounding the figure represent the inescapable nature of imagined perception. The figure lies on the ground, folding in on herself with nowhere to go. The most difficult aspect of this piece was the color choice, but I settled on a gradient of shadow overtaking the figure to represent all-consuming insecurity. This piece allowed me to explore my own anxiety more deeply and I intend to continue this theme in my work as well.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EyeMotifs

"When eyes turn up in a symbolic role, they are normally linked to themes of perception, vigilance, and, occasionally, psychic powers. On a more ominous level, eyes can be linked to deception, illusion, secret societies holding forbidden eye-opening knowledge, and/or being under constant surveillance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skull_symbolism

"Humans typically note the skull and crossbones sign as the almost universal symbol for toxicity."

https://learnenglishwithdemi.wordpress.com/2015/06/12/packed-like-sardines/

"In English it’s called as “packed like sardines” (also “packed in like sardines”). This idiom is used to describe an extremely crowded place; to be in a crowded space. It comes from the way that sardines – the small cured fish – are tightly packed and sealed in tin cans. Example: I always use subway to work and it’s packed in like sardines during rush hour."