Artist Statement

Raegan Stewart

Ujiie

Design II

 Midterm Artist Statement

            The first project we worked on was a modular relief; this was our first project in which we worked in pairs. I partnered up with a very talented Student Shannon S. whom I found incredibly easy to work with. We both understood our need to compromise at time and to respect each other’s artistic integrity. We decided to do a window hanging, reminiscent of a cherry blossom tree. The most challenging part of this was keeping a balance of interaction and stability- we wanted the flowers to be able to have motion while still being sturdily connected to the tree. We tested many different materials for this including, Bristol board, wire, metal O-rings, but eventually decided on a simple white string which allowed a lot of movement in the flowers. We decided the piece should be a-symmetrical which would allow it to feel to have a sense of both order and freedom. Order since the flowers are in columns but freedom since there was a lack of specific pattern within their placements. Though they did gradually become smaller and shift in color as one moves down the column. Originally the project was meant to be quite large 2 yards by 2 yards so Shannon and I had made nearly 200 flowers to compensate for the size of the project, we then found though that we were allowed to significantly scale back the project to 3 foot by 3 foot; though this excited us we were also upset about all the extra flowers we now had. We solved this problem by adding a backing to our flowers making them not only more aesthetically pleasing but also more stable. Over all the project was in my opinion a success, Shannon was a wonderful partner who I would love to work with in the future, and the piece turned out to be a very delicate beauty.

            Our second assignment was to experiment with different materials for our upcoming project. We were instructed to cut foam core in a variety of ways to transform in into a more 3 dimensional sculpture. We accomplished this by either stacking them as serial planes or scoring them to create curvilinear forms. It was very challenging to keep the planes in a rhythmic gradation, this meaning that each plane was only slightly different from the rest tricking the eye into seeing a singular form instead of perceiving it as a collection of planes. The transitions between each plane had to be subtle, meaning a similar volume and shape for each plane. The foam core was also known to chip easily as well creating a tension for the workmanship of the over all piece. This assignment though did help with the final project since it allowed me to get familiar with my material and to begin planning what would be most probable and successful for my final piece.

            This final piece being my architectonic sculpture, along with this challenge of creating an architectural form we also had to incorporate recycled materials.  To create unity the repurposed materials had to remain in the same color palette as the white foam core. We also were expected to incorporate all of our knowledge from the previous plane studies to add to the overall success of the sculpture. I decided to draw my inspiration from India artwork; I began to cut out shapes inspired by different India paintings I had found online. As I continued working though I began to relate to layers and the different shades of white and cream that I was working with to wedding cakes. So I began incorporating this, I used an eggshell white ribbon to wrap around the buildings and topped each off with a clear form resembling a flower. Also using recycled corks to incorporate the presence of fine wines at weddings. I found that the airiness, colors, and delicacy of each piece incorporated create a great sense of unity through out the sculpture. I fell in love with the simplicity and cleanness of it all. My biggest challenge for the sculpture was keeping the foam core smooth since I didn’t want it to conflict with the cleanness of the piece. I solved this by adding layers of matt paint to the planes and sanding them creating a smoother edge.