2/19
I just painted the equator back on! I was going to tape around the equator as that’s what was there originally… a clear piece of tape with a blue line in it. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get it flat enough over the areas with texture. Any tips or ideas? I don’t want it to come apart if it’s shipped.
I just put it back on the stand and it’s too heavy and the stand can no longer support the globe. Ugh! I solved this by rummaging about my studio and finding a three pronged stand.
2/18
2/17
Yesterday in class David showed me how to splice a lamp cord so I could get it inside my globe I then thought I was going to not have the cord inside. Multiple trips to ace as I pondered a new way to light this all day. Then today I realized I needed the light source direction in a different area which led to more trouble shooting and yet another trip to Ace. It’s currently glued in place and if needed the bulb can be changed via the door/view point. I’m super happy with it and tomorrow I’ll touch up and paint the lamp cord to “hide” it and the splicing. And by hide, I mean make it less obvious. Then it will be time to glue it back together and paint the equator back in
2/15
The inside of the globe might be done. Going to leave it and look again in the am with fresh eyes before sealing it up. I have a tiny person I am considering placing inside too. I worked on making a boat out of sculpey, but the scale is too big. I might try one in wax. However I feel like I need to spend as much time working on sealing and painting the equator as I can the next few days/weekend.
View of the inside of the door.
2/8
Maybe a sign on the door that says "River for sale or For Sale: River"
Flashlight, how does it sit/hang next to the globe? Does it need a sign that tells the viewer to use it? Or a tag on the actual flashlight?
Tips on how to use tissue paper and paint to conceal the globe equator seam? Should I fill in the gaps with spackle before this?
2/7
River for sale.
Dried river bed texture, woohoo! It will get fired later this week or early next week. I may use a watercolor/gauche over it once it’s fired.
For the river itself, once it’s fired I plan to use acrylics to pain the river and then pour resin over the top to create the shine. I will glue the dam in place as it too needs some water elements as it’s holding back water forming the lake. Then I’ll glue on the cliffs and fine tune them and their attachment with more sand.
I am also planning to use a wee bit of flocking on the cliffs to hunt at plant life in the desert.
I will go to Walmart later today in hopes of finding some sort of light source to mimic the sun. No luck in finding a LED to go inside the globe. They only had packs of 3 with a remote. Made me realized that it wouldn't work anyway. Gonna glue the globe together, leaving no way to change a battery down the road. So, I am now in the market for an old/vintage flashlight. Old technology that isn't used much/at all anymore. Putting the dam in the spotlight. Outdated flashlight also equates to an outdated dam.
2/5 update:
The canyon walls are painted and sand added for texture. Wondering if I should use a clear sealer to hold the sand/rocks on or if the glue and water will hold them in place. They are currently wet so I haven’t tested them. I also re-made the dam as I placed it in a different place and it needed to be bigger. It looks the same as the pic down below, just bigger.
The glue and water will work- lets get you some today- I just bought glue. I will say if you have a sprayer- sprayers come to wyoming to die. I think because our water is so hard it clogs them up. Bring one.
2/4 update on the damn dam.
Questions
How can I light this so it appears to be lit by the sun? I don’t see the file on LED lighting…and I’d like it to mimic the sun, so a warm hue. I'll fix that when I get done here.
Do you have little tiny people I could use/cast? We can point you to what I have and we can order what we dont.
And flocking/tiny plants? some
I am also considering putting pins in the globe to show the dam(s) that are part of this issue/concept. Any suggestions other than regular sewing pins? Map pins? If not you could make colored sewing ball pins work
And while I expect the door will be about eye level, I have yet to figure out if this will hang or be on a pedestal. And, the equator seam is no longer a tight fit, so I also need to figure out how to tidy that up after glueing it back together.What will the inside of the globe look like? The walls that is?
I am testing slip to see if it cracks like a dry river bed . If it works I will need to adhere it to the cardboard so it doesn’t chip off- spray paint? It cracks and looks great, but doesn’t stick when I clear sprayed it. Other suggestions?Kait!
I like how the canyon walls are going using the blue foam Yay!and with a coat of tan spray paint as a base coat. I will glue on different colors of sand and do a wag over them to create depth and variation. You can also see I have one door cut out for the viewer to see inward. I am considering another door to view the dam from the downstream side of it. LOve it. I like the foam as is too- food for thought. Recycle crap into art lady!! Beautiful textures.
River:
I am thinking resin over acrylic (and maybe an old Mylar balloon) for the river.
Sky:
I am working on painting the sky today. I have always wanted to learn to paint a blue sky with clouds, so here goes!
Dam
This was made out of a thinner layer of blue foam when I spray painted it with the same type of spray paint, just a different color, it bubbled and “melted” the foam. It looks so much more like a crumbing dam as a result. Since it melted I’m needing to do some repairs where it got too thin and cracked.
Use plaster next time instead of glue and paper. We also have hydrocal which is great for this.
Round two (and all weekend) of thoughts:
The Damn Dam: this could be a stand alone piece taking up both halves of the globe. OR, it could be in one half, and leading into the Beaver Dam side of the globe. OR, the beaver dam could be a stand alone piece in itself.
The world is falling apart at the seams
Dam construction: 18 men lost their lives...The dam I see creating is one that is falling apart, one that no longer serves its purpose. I am not wanting to create something that is true to life. My current thoughts on how to make this dam are to cast paper and then paint it (how, I don't know, or what paper to use) like concrete. I would do that by making a dam out of clay and shape men (or find tiny ones (Ash might have?) and mold them) so they appear trapped in the dam, and/or be the dam itself. There is also at least one endangered fish species that is a direct result of building the dam, (possibly others) these would also appear to be trapped in the dam. I also considered using actual concrete "chunks" to create the dam, but I worry about the scale seeming out of proportion with this concept. I've also thought about getting help with the laser printer/cutter (?) to create a dam that has images burned in and if cut out, rendering the dam useless overall. I don't know what is possible with this tool so I'm making it up as I go..
Things I found on my last river trip down the Grand that I'd like to incorporate somehow are, a mylar balloon that I envision using the silver side as water reflections. I have also considered using resin over paint to achieve a look of water. A metal scrubby could be part of the dam and a sardine can lid could be???
From my studio stash I have: a fishing net - maybe part of the dam... And for the area above the dam, tiny vertebrae, a bullet shell, part of an old toy truck - these, if used would represent the crimes (as well general trash being found) attributed the Las Vegas Mafia as a result of the low water of Lake Powell.
My concern is that NONE of these items are to scale from one item to another. make them then?
I will bring them all to class. This is very much a sticking point for me as the trash and demise both are an important part of the story for me. After working on these ideas all weekend, I am stumped (beaver pun intended). I feel so strongly about the shit show that has ensued from the concrete dams around the world. While I feel the story is one to be shared, I don't see that I have a very strong concept of the actual art work to create...
Options for globe placement: the 2 halves of the globe being at different levels, maybe a trickle of the river joining them together? Or, if they were adjoining, a hole cut between the two to allow water to flow from one globe half to the other.
Lighting would be gallery lighting if the halves are viewed as open.
The Beaver Dam
A beaver skull woven among willow branches. Life and death are one. The globe would be initially seen as closed, with maybe a peep hole and/or a hinge that opens the globe, showing off the piece. In this piece I could also use the balloon from my last Grand trip as a way to get water looking reflections, likely along with the use of resin as described above. When the globe is closed, I could see having light somehow mimicking the sun (how I don't know) so the viewer could see inside. When it is open, the viewer could see more details of the dam. We as Laramie residents have beavers living in our community. You can see them regularly on the green belt. I am also considering creating a version of their lodge in one half of a globe too. With this piece I feel like it could become an etherial other worldly experience when viewed and that very much appeals to me, vs. the darker and heavier concept of the damn dam. Yet, they are both connected. Both a part of our lives as humans on this planet.
Interesting facts I clipped from the web about beavers from this site:
https://www.britannica.com/animal/beaver
Massive chisel-shaped incisor teeth have orange outer enamel because iron has replaced calcium, and this makes them stronger.
Beavers often construct a dam a short distance downstream from the lodge to deter predators. The dam impedes the flow of the stream and increases the depth of the water that surrounds the lodge. Dams also create additional wetland habitat for fish and waterfowl and contain or impede the downstream movement of oil spilled into rivers.
I have a book on hold I learned this weekend called "Eager" by Ben Goldfarb. The title alone makes me want to read it!
The more I learn about beavers, the more I want to be one in my next life. They have an incredible lodge and get to sleep on the river every night!
Round one of thoughts
It's a small world after all. The song and reality both...
Growing up in Wyoming, a small country or a big city...all in one.
A world divided, literally - (litter-alley) Politically. Ecologically. Black/white. Blue/red.
Reality isn't that simple.
Falling apart at the seams.
Damn dams.
Glen canyon dam. Ugh.
The Colorado River no longer makes its journey to the sea.
More water evaporates from Lake Powell (aka Lake Foul) than is used daily.
Bathtub rings around Lake Powell from the salts that accumulate, permanently marring the canyon walls.
The music of Katie Lee and her books about Glen Canyon and how beautiful it was before it was flooded to create Lake Powell. The things that are surfacing due to the drought and low water: trash, tires. sunken boats, guns/murder weapons (David Jones what article was that?)
River reflections on canyon walls... The sound of a drum beating when there is no drum in site as I pass by petroglyphs near Deer Creek.
All of that, and more.
Nature. Water.
Blue Gold the documentary. As well as the one, Kiss the Ground.
Soil vs. Dirt. Water contamination.
Endangered species.
Humpback chub, a fish that struggles to survive below Glen Canyon Dam due to the drastic change in water temperature as the water is released from the bottom of the dam, rendering it much colder than a free flowing river.
The art that comes out of this..
A beaver skull. They build dams with willow. I have both a skull and willow.
A world globe, split in half. A world divided.
A dam made by a nature. A beaver, vs a dam made from concrete.
Habitat, I've always wanted to swim inside a beaver dam....
Things I am considering...
A coating of encaustic wax over the beaver skull, I like the sheen that comes from this process.
One side/half of the globe with the beaver skull, weaving the willow in and about the skull, nature taking over after death and incorporating it into the fold to create more life.
The other half of the globe, a man made dam and the stagnant water that is Lake Powell. Perhaps things like a bathtub ring on the canyon walls, tires and trash incorporated into this part of the globe. Make it look like the sh*t hole it is.
Maybe a hinge between the two half of the globe, so the viewer has to open/close it for a more intimate experience.
A door. A door at the bottom of the dam, opening into a more natural world vs. a man made and controlled environment. A river coming out of the door from the bottom of the dam...
Hey Jodie,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, the beginning of this blog post was absolutely beautiful. It gave so much insight into your thought process and how you approach your art. The globe is a very powerful object considering your concept. Lighting will have an effect on the tone of this piece, have you considered how you want to light it and which color?