Paint To Match

The next step in my installation was painting the wooden grid frame to match the walls of the gallery.  This ensures that the frame will be less of a distraction.

To paint the frame I laid it on two tables.  I then used rollers and brushes to paint the first coat.  I painted the flat areas first and the corners last.

I had to leave space in between the two tables so that I could position myself beneath the frame to paint the middle squares.

After two coats of paint the finished product will camouflage much easier to the gallery walls.

Finishing a Frame

I needed to create a wooden frame from which to suspend my carvings.  

This frame is surprisingly 

lightweight for its size.  It needed to be as lightweight as possible because this 8 by 12 foot frame needs to be suspended 15 feet in the air.  It also must be very sturdy and strong as it needs to hold a couple hundred pounds of carvings.

Getting Organized

I have compiled a timeline of what i need to get done by what date.  I find this helps me to solve my problems before they arise.

April 30: Paint Frame to match the gallery walls

May 1, 3: Arrange Carved Blocks at label them

May 2: Artist Talk PowerPoint and speech outline

May 4 - 7: Attach strings to wood frame

May 7 - 12: Install frame and attach carvings

May 13: Take updated pictures, add pictures to Artist Talk Powerpoint, give artist talk

I have given myself plenty of time to do each task and check them off my list.  In this way I can be ready!

Art Card

I have recently designed the art card, poster, and table tents for the 2015 Thesis Show at Linfield College.  I am excited to say the finished product looks great, and that my colleagues love it!

Anagama

I was fortunate enough to have pieces in the Anagram kiln, formerly owned by the late Nils Lou.  I had two pieces in the kiln, which reaches 400 degrees higher than an erupting volcano.  The anagram needs to have wood dropped into it's doors in order to keep the fire going.  Below is a picture of me about to "stoke."  (Adding wood to the fire.)

Intertwined

I have recently realized that I will not be able to carve all of the wood I need for my installation. That being said I still wanted to dip them in beeswax and keep te shapes fairly similar.

I sanded the weathered surface of the wood off the shapes I had cut out. The wood appears darker due to harsh weather conditions but it is the same wood.  I then dipped them in beeswax.

The result is darker and looks a bit like drift wood. I plan on integrating these pieces with my carved lighter colored wood.

Carpenteress

My installation in the group show Invision will be a 12 foot long by 8 foot wide by 15 foot high installation.  I have started to make the frame for this installation.  The process for creating this was to first find the least warped beams as possible.  Beams this size can tend to be costly and also be bent slightly to make a curve.  I picked the least warped, 1 inch by four inch by 8 foot, or 12 foot depending, beams I could find.

I measured and cut the edges of the beams at a 45 degree angle.  I added wood glue and three sturdy screws per each corner of the frame. The difficult thing about working with this scale is that the super structure has to be incredibly sturdy in order to hold up 150 pounds of carvings.  Luckily, Totem, my mentor and carpenter expert, taught me and helped me build this super structure, as I needed it to be impeccably made.  I will add cross beams on Tuesday in order to make a grid that the carving may hang from.  I will paint the entire structure the same shade white as the gallery in order to make the carvings the focus point rather than the structure.

I will rest the giant frame up on a twelve foot beam that I will screw into the gallery wall and screw it into place.  I will then attach fifteen foot legs and screw those into place.  The end result will be very sturdy.  I will tie fifteen feet of clear filament to each of the carvings so that when I am in the gallery for the three days installing all I will have to do is tie them where I want them to go in order to create an interesting shadow on both the floor and the wall behind it.