Sacred Vessel
INSPIRATION
As I had said above, I am making this piece based on ideas of today's society. I wanted to do a sculpture to make it a lot more interactive, something to be seen from all angles.
For this piece, I wanted the idea of being trapped. I looked into artists who did sculptures for ideas, and I came across this piece. I ended up sculpting in a similar way, a change from my planning sketches.
I really like how the figure seems trapped and trying to escape, and I wanted to use that idea for my piece as well.
I also began to research ideas on how to piece everything together, some techniques other artists have used when enclosing a figure into a space, even any technique people in general use when they have worked with weaving wire, anything I could get, as I was doing something new, with many aspects I had never touched before. There were so many ideas I had, and had to decide which I should use in the project.
I really like how the figure seems trapped and trying to escape, and I wanted to use that idea for my piece as well.
I also began to research ideas on how to piece everything together, some techniques other artists have used when enclosing a figure into a space, even any technique people in general use when they have worked with weaving wire, anything I could get, as I was doing something new, with many aspects I had never touched before. There were so many ideas I had, and had to decide which I should use in the project.
PLANNING
This is where multiple ideas were coming in.
I have always hated how especially kids are supposed to be mindless extensions of an adult's will. While I am willing to fight until my last breath for my own identity and voice and right, others are not as strong. Most people have submitted, and have been the way their parents or peers wanted them to be, and they mindlessly followed orders, never standing up for themselves and who they are.
At first, I was going to focus on the seven deadly sins, since those are the biggest factors in the destruction of humanity and everything it touches.
But I do not hold the traits of humanity sacred, so that idea was scrapped.
Eventually, I was lead to the conclusion that I should focus on identity.
I hold sacred the idea that everyone has the right to choose who they are and who they should be.
In the beginning, I was going to make a design on an interactive box, but had another idea before even finishing that design, started to think of doing the seven deadly sins, but decided against that, too. Eventually, I arrived at identity. This included religion, gender, anything I could use with symbols, I used it, although the religion symbols are not in the planning sketch, as some of them were very intricate and would need to be seen in detail, not on the sketch.
The design took some trial and error. Then I also had to decide how to turn everything into the design I was looking for.
I have always hated how especially kids are supposed to be mindless extensions of an adult's will. While I am willing to fight until my last breath for my own identity and voice and right, others are not as strong. Most people have submitted, and have been the way their parents or peers wanted them to be, and they mindlessly followed orders, never standing up for themselves and who they are.
At first, I was going to focus on the seven deadly sins, since those are the biggest factors in the destruction of humanity and everything it touches.
But I do not hold the traits of humanity sacred, so that idea was scrapped.
Eventually, I was lead to the conclusion that I should focus on identity.
I hold sacred the idea that everyone has the right to choose who they are and who they should be.
In the beginning, I was going to make a design on an interactive box, but had another idea before even finishing that design, started to think of doing the seven deadly sins, but decided against that, too. Eventually, I arrived at identity. This included religion, gender, anything I could use with symbols, I used it, although the religion symbols are not in the planning sketch, as some of them were very intricate and would need to be seen in detail, not on the sketch.
The design took some trial and error. Then I also had to decide how to turn everything into the design I was looking for.
RESEARCH
Personally, I believe every factor should be considered in identity. I chose all the symbols I could find, for sexual preference, gender, religion, everything I could get. I looked up all the symbols I could get my hands on to put into the project.
I was also thinking about how I should be putting all of my materials and ideas into this piece, and kept researching techniques from today's crafting and past artists who use similar techniques.
EXPERIMENTATION
There were so many flaws...the clay kept falling apart. The limbs of the figure would NOT stay on. After so many attempts, I eventually gave up and worked the project around the limbs, and was also tempted to do something else with the project, a reference.
In the series Fullmetal Alchemist, the main character, Edward Elric, lost his right arm and left leg from a failed alchemy attempt, and has prosthesis in their place. When those specific limbs (right arm, left leg) fell off of my project, I was very tempted to carve in the iconic symbol for the series, but decided against it, even though it would have been fun to make the reference instead.
After 5 attempts at a WHOLE clay human figure, I decided to manipulate the entire project around the now lack of completed body. I worked the chains, the container, the positions, everything, around the broken person. As it should be when something can't be fixed.
That was one vital break. Then the original container broke in half, seemingly without reason, and my wire would not work with me at all whatsoever. I cut it, shaped it, tied it, everything. I just didn't have the right tools until much later.
I had to buy a new container, redo the sculpture, fail at shaping the wire, etc.
At first, the sculpture was working with me, but eventually, everything fell apart (figuratively AND literally, to add insult to injury)
In the series Fullmetal Alchemist, the main character, Edward Elric, lost his right arm and left leg from a failed alchemy attempt, and has prosthesis in their place. When those specific limbs (right arm, left leg) fell off of my project, I was very tempted to carve in the iconic symbol for the series, but decided against it, even though it would have been fun to make the reference instead.
After 5 attempts at a WHOLE clay human figure, I decided to manipulate the entire project around the now lack of completed body. I worked the chains, the container, the positions, everything, around the broken person. As it should be when something can't be fixed.
That was one vital break. Then the original container broke in half, seemingly without reason, and my wire would not work with me at all whatsoever. I cut it, shaped it, tied it, everything. I just didn't have the right tools until much later.
I had to buy a new container, redo the sculpture, fail at shaping the wire, etc.
At first, the sculpture was working with me, but eventually, everything fell apart (figuratively AND literally, to add insult to injury)
PROCESS
I first started with my materials. I planned to sculpt the figure inside. The vessel it's in, I had planned to use my old 1 gallon fish tank. But it was already gone, so I started to think of other vessels to use, and went for those materials.
I planned to shape the chain of symbols with a wire and wrap those in different color threads when I weave them together.
The project was not meant to be large. I planned on the figure being about 6 inches tall, in its little vessel, with a chain of tiny symbols hanging throughout the entire project, with the scattered symbols of the deadly sins and religion tattooed on the walls of the vessel, while the gender and sexual preference symbols are trapped inside of the vessel, restraining the figure inside.
This took some careful planning and nimble fingers. The project is easy, just complicated. It requires tiny weaving of wires, twisting and turning, and wrapping through. It's easy, just complicated. It's not simple and difficult. It has many steps, which means it's not simple, and it is not something that few people can do. It has many steps, but each step is very basic, and it's merely complicated to complete.
So the materials were the first step, and I decided to start with carving. That way, the clay has time to dry while I do the weaving.
I planned to shape the chain of symbols with a wire and wrap those in different color threads when I weave them together.
The project was not meant to be large. I planned on the figure being about 6 inches tall, in its little vessel, with a chain of tiny symbols hanging throughout the entire project, with the scattered symbols of the deadly sins and religion tattooed on the walls of the vessel, while the gender and sexual preference symbols are trapped inside of the vessel, restraining the figure inside.
This took some careful planning and nimble fingers. The project is easy, just complicated. It requires tiny weaving of wires, twisting and turning, and wrapping through. It's easy, just complicated. It's not simple and difficult. It has many steps, which means it's not simple, and it is not something that few people can do. It has many steps, but each step is very basic, and it's merely complicated to complete.
So the materials were the first step, and I decided to start with carving. That way, the clay has time to dry while I do the weaving.
For my materials, I chose a thin wire, embroidery floss, clay, a clear plastic container, and a small amount of paint and ink.
In the middle of the process, long before the limbs kept falling off, I was starting to become proud of the work I had done so far, for someone with little experience with sculpting. When it came to small details (under arms, under chest, between legs, neck, chin, wrists, etc), where I couldn't use my hands, without harming the sculpture, I used a bunch of cotton swabs and water instead, to make the edges smoother, rounder, cut them down a bit, etc. It wasn't until the very last spot that needed water that it began to fall apart.
Due to major setbacks (namely, the limbs falling off the first sculpture and all following sculptures), I didn't finish in the time period I had originally set for myself, to give myself the reward of time to relax over the last days of spring break. Instead, the entire break was spent trying to get the sculpture right, which fell apart (oddly, always moments after I get proud of how well it started to come out, all 5 attempts had that timing, too). I still struggled to get everything done. They were new materials in a project that took a bit for me to comprehend what the goal/objective was. It's also a topic I like to focus on. As a result, I likely aimed to high in the process and that may have been the mistake.
I then started to cut and create each symbol from the wire, and make a groove in the container for the remaining symbols to be engraved.
In the middle of the process, long before the limbs kept falling off, I was starting to become proud of the work I had done so far, for someone with little experience with sculpting. When it came to small details (under arms, under chest, between legs, neck, chin, wrists, etc), where I couldn't use my hands, without harming the sculpture, I used a bunch of cotton swabs and water instead, to make the edges smoother, rounder, cut them down a bit, etc. It wasn't until the very last spot that needed water that it began to fall apart.
Due to major setbacks (namely, the limbs falling off the first sculpture and all following sculptures), I didn't finish in the time period I had originally set for myself, to give myself the reward of time to relax over the last days of spring break. Instead, the entire break was spent trying to get the sculpture right, which fell apart (oddly, always moments after I get proud of how well it started to come out, all 5 attempts had that timing, too). I still struggled to get everything done. They were new materials in a project that took a bit for me to comprehend what the goal/objective was. It's also a topic I like to focus on. As a result, I likely aimed to high in the process and that may have been the mistake.
I then started to cut and create each symbol from the wire, and make a groove in the container for the remaining symbols to be engraved.