rcoffmanart: 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.