Concentration Statement #1
Many people have influenced my artwork. My concentration was inspired by artists such as Ron Nagle and Karen Swyler who focus on the relationship of forms to each other. Often artists focus on how a sculpture will interact with the viewer. I was more concerned with how the sculptures would interact with each other. By uniting two pieces together, I was able to show the harmony between them. Each piece stands alone as a unique sculpture, but when placed together they take on a new meaning.
Concentration Statement #2
At the beginning of my process I was making individual sculptures, but I quickly came to realize it was more interesting to see what happened if these pieces began to interact with each other. My first few pieces started out as vessels which were then manipulated into sculptural forms. As I continued, my forms became strictly sculptural. (1,2) started out as vessels that fit smoothly together. I used the edge of the table to bring out the dripping effect that was created in my piece (3,4). In other pieces, I manipulated the height of the sculptures or used certain colors to either make two sculptures stronger when brought together, or make an individual piece more unique (8-11). In #11, I decided to use string to try a new surface texture. Throughout my concentration, I challenged myself with different forms. In my final pieces (10-12), I pushed the clay to its max and made each piece tall and manipulated each of the forms in a creative way to be able to interact with each other. The most challenging part of the concentration was changing the height of my pieces and still being able to unite them together.