Planning Sketches
(click to enlarge)
Inspiration
von Estorff, Lilly. Sunrise. June 17, 2016
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While making gradients (see experimentation) I began to be inspired by the scenery of sunrises. Photographing sunrises has always been a hobby of mine and honestly one of my favorite things to do. Watching sunrises evokes feelings of relaxation and peace for myself and I wanted my sculpture to help capture these emotions through the colors I included in it. Due to this connection to my love of nature this piece has a very strong meaning to me through the use of its color. |
Process
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The materials I used for constructing this sculpture were toothpicks, hot glue, paint, and a paintbrush.
The first thing I did was draw a circle template to construct the frame of my sculpture. Using this template, I proceeded to make a circle and semi circles out of toothpicks and hot glued them all together to create a spherical frame. In between the spaces of the sections of the sphere, I attached toothpicks horizontally to create more structural support. I then proceeded to make panels of toothpicks by hot gluing about 10 of them together, making sure they were fanned out and not all positioned to be the same length. After this, I began mixing paint to match the gradient I had created. I then proceeded to paint the toothpicks with the appropriate color. I then layered the toothpick panels on with hot glue- assorted by color. I then came to a decision I was not expecting- shortening the dimension of the sphere into a semicircle due to the fact that the panels of toothpicks began to curve upward making it nearly impossible to build more to my structure. |
Experimentation
(The gradient I chose to replicate it the last one pictured.)
the top one is the was the final choice
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Using the gradient tool in Photoshop, I experimented with the color scheme and gradient I wanted my sculpture to have. I started off by sampling a few of my favorite shades then choosing transitioning colors that complemented the original color well. I started off by choosing darker colors for the gradient but as I continue to play around with colors I decided that lighter and softer shades looked better. I also began with choosing 3-4 shades to comprise my gradients. I thought that the less colors I added the more cohesive it would look but however I preferred the gradients that seemed to fade and transition into different colors.
I also experimented with the type of glue I used. I began by choosing wood glue as my primary glue but despite it holding very well, it took a while to dry and I found that rather insufficient. I then switched to using hot glue which dried almost instantly. Prior to beginning my project, I had hypothesized hot glue would look messy and that it would be visible on the toothpicks. To prevent this, I piped a line of glue on the back of the the toothpick panels to counteract with the unsightly glue. Overall, hot glue was a much more efficient glue to use while constructing this sculpture.
Even though I had previously experimented with the gradients I would choose from, experimentation was also needed in the process of mixing together colors. What I found the most difficult about this process was matching the shades of paint with the gradient I had made. Through trial and error, I eventually was satisfied with a gradient and planned to use the colors in the final project to paint the toothpicks accordingly. |
Reflection
Toothpicks is similar to the work of Haygarth due to the fact that we both used many smaller objects to create a singular larger object. I also took inspiration from his work and made my sculpture incorporate a gradient. Tom Friedman and I have similarities in our work because we both used toothpicks to build our sculpture. Friedman's work differs from mine because his has no color and a different shape than mine. Overall, I wanted my piece's main purpose to be aesthetically pleasing through well obtained principals of color, unity, and texture. I think my planning for the construction of my project was very thorough and well thought out. However, when it came to execution I discovered I was overly ambitious with the size I had planned my project to be and found the work load rather overwhelming with over 20 hours of work. I also wish I had better executed the colors I planned to use. I planned to use softer colors to be in the gradient but the final result of the sculpture included darker colors which I view as dull and I think the sculpture would look better with bright colors as opposed to shaded colors. If I were to do this project again I would construct it to be smaller, more spherical, and include brighter colors.
ACT Questions
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Many of Stuart Haygarth's sculptures are focused on relationships of color and Tom Friedman's toothpick sculpture is constructed out of toothpicks. I took inspiration from the gradient in Tide Mark (2004) and made my piece contain a gradient and used toothpicks for making my sculpture like Friedman did.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author's point of view towards Haygarth's work was that he sought secondary uses for seemingly meaningless everyday items into a beautiful sculpture.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered through my research that anything can be turned into art as long as the artists correctly makes it to do so.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I was going into this project with the idea of incorporating as many principles as I could into my piece to make it as complex as it could be as well as pleasing to look at.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I concluded that making and constructing sculptures takes a great amount of meticulousness and attention to detail to create it them accuratetly.
Many of Stuart Haygarth's sculptures are focused on relationships of color and Tom Friedman's toothpick sculpture is constructed out of toothpicks. I took inspiration from the gradient in Tide Mark (2004) and made my piece contain a gradient and used toothpicks for making my sculpture like Friedman did.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author's point of view towards Haygarth's work was that he sought secondary uses for seemingly meaningless everyday items into a beautiful sculpture.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered through my research that anything can be turned into art as long as the artists correctly makes it to do so.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I was going into this project with the idea of incorporating as many principles as I could into my piece to make it as complex as it could be as well as pleasing to look at.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I concluded that making and constructing sculptures takes a great amount of meticulousness and attention to detail to create it them accuratetly.