Phase III

ok, so, I have been thinking about that video we saw on andy goldsworthy, and ever since then I have been staking sites outside where I could go "play". I have decided that I want to work in this style of environmental art for the last phase. I really have been yearning to do this type of art for a while and seeing that video and seeing him just having the time of his life just playing outside really hit a chord with me. I remember feeling that freedom, of just going outside to play. You would think , hmm, ok, now Im outside, no TV, what do I do now? I liked going exploring. I liked to go to the beach with friends and carve the marble vains out of the boulders, I liked making forts in the woods, I liked searching for pretty(complete) shells and sea glass, I liked making face paint with rock powders that I had crushed myself. I remember being able to do those things, having the time to do those things. It made me happy, the cold didnt bother me, and time seemed wholly well spent and purposeful. I remember having to stop doing those things, not altogether, but there wasnt time anymore. school was too busy, boys took up mind space, and soon enough, none of my friends wanted to join in with me and so I abandoned "playing outside". this was probably the start of who I have become, and i came to massart to get away from that person who does those things which are too grown up to make any real sense, and to get back to who I am doing the things that I want to do. so I feel I must go play outside.

some SERIOUS influences by Andy Goldsworthy are:

nonwestern

I am on a huge standstill on my project. I really took some advice to heart after the first "peer critic" last Tuesday, and decided to stear away from the obvious Day of the Dead symbol (the skeletons) and make the celebration more my own.
In the past my family has researched dragonflies being represented in Native American culture as souls of the dead. It has now become an ongoing symbol for my brother and many more loved ones lost. I thought dragonflies would be a perfect skeleton to my altar. So, I bought some really nice paper and wire, and brought all of the materials to my parents house to get started. I failed miserably, because the glue I used was very unnattractive, and the sculptures stuck to the newspaper I left them on! I went for a second round and came up with some decent little wire and paper sculptures. I just can't really figure out how to put everything together.
I can't exactly decide out how to paint the ground of the tunnel either...I keep going back and forth between making it look like sand with footprints (sort of like the prayer), or making look like water. This project is becoming more of a chore now than it was in the beginning, but I feel as if I haven't finished one full, enticing project yet this semester and I would love to do that with this one because I felt so good about the first step.

progress- 2nd phase

My progress on my project has been great. I decided to represent everything between the Buddhist and the Olmec/Aztec through abstract form, but not solely through patterns I have been using. It is a 3D piece, whose measurements and content of construction symbolize the piece. I decided to use coco bolo Rosewood from the Oaxaca can area, Southern Mexico, and Pad auk wood as well as Lignum Vitae, both trees from Asia, Fruit trees. When I chose these woods to work with, it was mostly based on looks. the Cocobolo wood is a masterpiece by itself, the grain is amazing, but I quickly found out how hard of a wood it is, as well as the Lingum Vitae, fruit trees are the hardest woods there are. so working with the material has been harder than I thought. I have the pieces cut out, but now that I have gotten to this point I realize that I made a mistake by not beveling my edges first, now it will be hard to cut each individual piece. I need some help from the wood shop, maybe they can recommend something. I could use the band saw. It will take a while, but thats ok. So Im thinking that I might need more time.