Martin Hiedegger once asked, “Why are there essents [sic] rather than nothing?” Assuming this much is true, we can ask, what do we do with everything? How do we make meaning? The answer may be hidden in the question.
I love being alive in my human body. I love spending time in trees. The organic material that trees are made of fascinates me. What metaphorical and literal relationships begin to form from working with wood? This essay focuses on my embodied experience of being alive and making meaning with wood. I will explore my upbringing, the drive to further my perception, the human tendency to divide, and what is left once I have created an art object.
This piece is part of a semester long series of constructions. For each piece I used three actions or verbs (to pin, to join, to hang) to inform my interaction.
Photograph by Kaija Cornett PNCA '12
Fourth Construction in Series (Detail View)
Fifth Construction in Series
For me, this piece speaks to the ethics of deforestation. The large cutoff is from the Astoria Timber Festival which I attended in fall of 2012. The small lathed nail pierces the heartwood of the round.
Camphor burl block with re-articulated found alder branch balanced in loose notch.
The fifteen-pound stump and oak spike are suspended by a thin black wire from a steel hook on the ceiling. The spike is wedged into the stump about 3/8" by pressure alone.
The fifteen-pound stump and oak spike are suspended by a thin black wire from a steel hook on the ceiling. The spike is wedged into the stump about 3/8" by pressure alone.
Photograph by Kaija Cornett PNCA '12
Here is a view of the Manuel Izquierdo gallery (the other two pieces are around the corner). The floor piece shown here is a twisting vine maple branch that I found in Washington park.
Photograph by Kaija Cornett PNCA '12
Here is a shot from my presentation. My sculpture-objects are meant to be handled and examined. Thanks to Kaija Cornett (PNCA '12) for all of these amazing photos.
