On Longing by: Susan Stewart-- Personal Response

Personal Response

I chose to visually respond to the five impactful quotes by: Susan Stewart

(1) "The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale."

(2) "The capacity of objects is to serve as traces of authentic experience."

3. "The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the 
3-Dementional into the miniature that which 
can be developed by the body."

4. "Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss."

5. "To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess 
both a specimen and a trophy."

Soap Squirrels I & II

Soap Squirrels I & II

Carving miniatures from large soap blocks required me to think 3-Dementionally and work much slower than my normal pace. Smaller areas, such as the ears and feet, were the most fragile to carve. I used two different brands of soap; one that proved to be a more creamy texture and one that was more flaky. Treating the soap with caution as it continued to get smaller was a challenge in itself. After the project was done I recycled my shavings into a ball of soap so large that I have been using it for weeks. 

Final (1) Soap squirrel I

Wooden base

9 Changes to a squirrel

The first "trial" squirrel was later used to make drastic changes that could reflect a transformation. The requirements focused on at least 4 changes that were additive and 4 changes that were subtractive. 

1. (+) Gold leaf

2. (+) Red Paint

3. (+) Wire wrap

4. (+) Tail feathers

5. (+) Septum piercing

6. (-) Holes in tail

7. (-) Shaved tail and back legs

8. (-) Blown dry

9. (-) Microwaved

Final (1) Soap squirrel II

Glass vase

Final (2) Soap squirrel II

Changes (1) Gold Leaf (+)

Changes (2) Red Paint (+)

Changes (3)  Holes in tail (-)

(4) Shaved back legs (-)

Changes (5) Wire Wrap (+)

(6) Septum Piercing (+)

(7) Tail Feathers (+)

Changes (8) Blown dry (-)

(9) Mircrowaved (-)

Comparison: Model & Soap

In process (1) Multitasking

(Surprisingly, nothing started to melt)

In process (2) Creamy soap

Architecture Relief: Angular Mandala

Architecture and Installation

Angular Mandala

I expected that blending together Modernist and mosque inspired architecture would create an abstract installation, but what I did not foresee was working a 3-Dementional mandala-- or rather having it work me. Mandalas carry powerful symmetry that has been known to heal through the reflection of radial balance. 

Final (1) Installed Diamond 

Final (2) Mandala installation 

with string and pin boarder

In process (1) Xacto and foam core

(I may have bled)