Week 15 30 April 2018

Final blog post ever! Well, at least of my undergrad career.

Here is my thesis installation. I learned a lot during this process. I’m am very happy to have gone modular. That gave me exactly what I needed in both uniqueness and pre-prep. I look forward to being able to rearrange these pannels into different configurations in the future, as well as seeing how to evolve from here.

The future is a bit up in the air for me, at the moment. But no matter where I end up next, I am extremely grateful for the past 5.5 years. Each professor had something to teach me, whether it was what they were planning on or not. I am extremely grateful for the entire Fine Arts department at IUS. You all may not have understood me at times, but most of you only tried to push me to be better. And better is what I strive for everyday. So thank you all!

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Week 14 16 April 2018

So many pictures this week. From Thursday until today is a blur. I’m not sure what was done when. But I learned quite a bit with this installation, just as I have with each one I have done. I’m glad I went with walls this time, but the possibilities for structure is endless. Why did I just envision myself making my own version of string and wood Legos? But really, these are basically building blocks, with endless potential. With as dynamic as the frames are on their own, stacking them and letting the patterns build up…well words are failing me, but I am excited just thinking about it.

Week 13 10 April 2018

Alot had happened in a week. I have half a frame left to do and I am done with both walls. I had wanted to be done yesterday, but one of them was hiding on me, and I had to spend some time looking for it.

I have really learned a lot during this process. To be able to do so many in such a short amount of time has allowed me to experiment with many of the different factors that make up each piece. Some I will adopt for furture use, others that have taught me to never do that ever again.

Next up, putting the walls together!!!

Week 12 2 April 2018

Color finally! Coming up with new patterns and combinations is both fun and horrible. I made a pattern that crossed it’s self. What I thought was going to be a few hours of work turned into 9.

As of writing this, I have five finished. This includes the biggest piece, 7′ x 3′. I’m getting excited. I cannot wait to see them all put together.

Week 11 Spring Break 26 March 2018

Both walls worth of puzzle pieces are constructed. I tried to switch up how I put the hooks in to give some variation. We shall see what that does once I start stringing.

I had a few construction issues. Nothing horrible. I just had to switch up how I constructed a few of the puzzle pieces. Luckily I didn’t have to recut anything, like last time. I would really like to take some wood working classes. I am sure there are some little tricks that I just don’t know.

Week 10 19 March 2018

One wall ready to string, and one almost ready to start drilling and inserting the hooks. I am about 20 feet short in wood. So a trip to Lowe’s is in order for the morning.

I also redid the plans for wall #2. After putting together the pieces for wall #1, I realized those weird shapes look good on paper, but don’t work so well in action.

I had wanted to be ready to string by today. Unfortunately, I have been sick and wasn’t able to do as much over the past few days as originally planned. I’m not behind schedule, just not as far ahead as I wanted. Next week there should be lots of color!!!

Week 9 12 March 2018

This week has been about breaking things, it seems. I bent two screws and broke a drill bit trying to put these pieces together. In the end, I was once again thankful for the nail gun. It saved the day.

As you can see, these require a lot of planning. This is only for the build, and not the string. I’m sure there is a better way to do this, but it makes sense and works for me, and that is all that matters.

While I am going to miss the fun at NCECA this year, I am glad for the mostly constant time to work. Not having to deal with class is going to be so helpful towards finishing up.

Here’s to hoping both structures go together fairly smoothly from here!

Week 8 5 March 2018

Not much to talk about this week. Just neck deep into process. Cutting each section, carefully marking each hole, and then drilling the holes and putting in the hooks. Then rinse and repeat. It is a lot of tediousness right now, but having all this done will allow me to get going on the string and not stop once I start.

This next week consists of pretty much the same as above. After I get 4 to 6 sections done, I plan to start putting it together. Slow process, but it will be worth it once it is done.

Week 7 26 February 2018

It has been a busy week. Bought and stained the 2x4s. Still waiting on some of them to dry. The humid weather isn’t helping me there. I believe I have my final plan laid out. There are some changes that can be made, like the size of the “window”, and the sizes and shapes of the other frames. But I like it… on paper at least. We will see how it does in practice.

Cutting tried to start tonight. I thought I had it all ready to go. Then I realized our new freezer had messed up my garage space and I spent most of the afternoon trying to fix that. Who knew garage management was such a big thing in art creation.

This week consists of my BFA crit, and lots of splinters as I cut and create the shapes. I’m at least on the road towards my thesis show.

Week 6 19 February 2018

I am currently visiting a place where I hope to spend the next leg of my educational journey. Seeing Hungwei Li work was amazing. His way of creating his forms is eye opening. And his glaze work is amazing. I look forward to the artist talk this evening.

Lots of planning still happening on my thesis show work. Also a lot of organization at home to make room to build the walls. I think I have a handle on what I want to do. I just need to nail down the sketch so that I can go buy he wood and nails.