Concentration Sculpture #2

ARTIST STATEMENT:

The subject of my creation is the Portland Head Light. Located in a territory owned by the Town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The Portland Head Light is a historic lighthouse completed in 1791, and it is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine. The light station is automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are managed by the United States Coast Guard. To make this art piece I started by modeling a piece of clay into the shape of the lighthouse. I started from the bottom following some photos of the subject that I found online and I continued to build up to the base of the lighthouse adding the second part, the window-like part, the roof and at the end the little sphere at the top. Once I was done creating the clay lighthouse I made a whole onto the top sphere to allow the later add of the top of the artwork. I successively let it dry and I scratched it to make it smooth. Once I was done scratching I let it dry once again and I fired it in the kiln. Once the piece was fired I painted it with white and black paint and I added a glass-like coat to make it glossy. I then glued the lighthouse on a base and I glued, on the base around it, rocks and sea shells I picked up from the beach. I decided to create this specific artwork because it represent a place that I can now call my second home, Maine, a place where I spent a year, without my parents, without my friends, all on my own finding myself and growing up.

To create the artwork I used some of the techniques of clay modeling and I formed the lighthouse structure. I then painted the lighthouse and I also used a sponge to color the base. At first to color the lighthouse I used India Color but due to the fact that it was my first time using that kind of paint I think I made some kind of mistake and for that reason the paint started to peel and getting off the sculpture; to solve my problem I decided to take off all the paint and sandpaper the sculpture once again to get rid of the residues. Once the art piece was clean I re painted it with acrylic paint and what was left of the other paint I had used, gave an additional texture to the sculpture.

The Portland Head Light represents my journey here in Freeport, Maine. It represents my journey to this new country that I had never visited before; it represents my personal growth and the things I realized while I was here, away from home, from my routine, from all I used to know. The lighthouse was one of the first things I visited when I first came here and probably one of the things I will never forget about this journey. It was my first time spending time with my host-family, I was getting to know them and I was learning how to love them the way I do now, but when they brought me to the beautiful place I decided to recreate in my artwork, I felt somehow free of all my doubts and all my insecurities and I felt ready to live my exchange year as best as I could.