Reflection:

The first step I did was playing with the reed and creating three starting designs to branch off from. Then I used what I liked in those designs and created a final one. I put paperclips in to save how I want it to look and then I let it dry for the day. The next day I took off the paper clips and put the glue in the spots where I wanted the reed to be stuck together, next I reapplied the paper clips and let the glue dry. In the next class, I added white and green papers to my sculpture. These were pieces of rice paper that I added to my design to create different points of emphasis. I then added a string and found that the best way to hang my sculpture was vertically so that the orbs hung down in a line. Once I got my sculpture in the perfect position I took my picture. While I was creating my final sculpture I wanted to make sure to create different shapes that were connected. I create a big orb that was attached to a smaller one by a giant open loop. I wanted to display that different art pieces can still be connected to each other. When I added the paper I chose my colors for a certain reason. On the bigger orb, I chose creams and whites for my emphasis paper. I did this to symbolize air. On the smaller orb, I chose a light and dark green to symbolize the earth. The empty space in the middle is the connection between earth and air. Even when I was creating the structure I was trying to find a way to show two opposites that are still connected. I see variety in my sculpture in the different shapes that are connected by the bare space in between them. I created big and small spaces in the sculpture and twisted the reed to create loops. The emphasis in my piece is the papers I glued in the open spaces, but also the giant loop that connects them and the openness and blankness of it. The thing I’ve learned during this sculpting project is that sculptures can be very different. They can be lots of different sizes, shapes, and materials. Before, I would only imagine sculptures as marble statues in museums, but now I know sculptures can be found all around. Like some of Mia Perlman’s art that can be found throughout New York City and not just an installation in a museum. I would never have thought that the reed art I made in class would be considered a sculpture just as much as a giant steel piece by Richard Serra or a small woven wire piece by Ruth Asawa. 

Banner photo credit: Final reed sculpture

 by Mattie Pierce, February 9 2022