Mainer Project

The assignment for this project was to create a sculpture based on a Maine icon. I chose the Maine license plate as my icon and created a three dimensional representation of it.

To make this piece I first made the chickadee using newspaper and plaster for the armature and colored paper for the feather coloration. I next used sculpey to make the miniature trees which serve as the background on the license plate. For the letters, I traced the license plate design and cut them out of foamboard. I painted them black, as they were white initially. The last step was using wire to attach the letters and to attach the chickadee and pine cone to the pine needles—all held up by wire. The whole piece is mounted on wood. Space was the most important element of design for me to consider while I was putting the project together. This is because the real license plate has a specific size and specific dimensions which I tried to stay true to. This project evolved in that the first time I tried to cut the word "vacationland" out of foamboard, it was too small and fell apart. I had to do it a second time and made it larger, even though it is too big in comparison to the rest of the sculpture.

I chose to recreate the Maine license plate because it's a Maine icon which, although unique, is often overlooked despite its frequent appearance. This piece and assignment relate to my life because I live in Maine and am surrounded by the icons that are known to make Maine unique, such as chickadees and pine trees—as depicted on our license plate. I think that this piece could be stronger if it had more accurate proportions. If I were to do the project again I would make the trees and the lettering for the word "MAINE" larger to fit the size of the chickadee and pine cone. The most challenging part of this project was fitting the chickadee and pine needles to the wire stand and balancing them. Making the trees was very time consuming but not very difficult. In this piece I am most proud of the way the chickadee, pine cone, and pine needles came out. I think they match the real license plate well. This work illustrates my strength as an artist in my attention to detail, such as in the miniature trees and the chickadee. This piece shows my weakness in the misjudged proportions and scarcity of trees.