I've changed the size of the pictures, so I don't run out of bandwidth. Look at the sculptures first and then read my comments. I would prefer you first find your own interpretations, and I would greatly enjoy reading your musing on the subject. . . good fodder for future works [email protected] .
But first, a few pictures of ME. ;)
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/chriskat.jpg
the professional photo
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/ChrisKittell.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/bing-n-andrew.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/giant-bing-n-andrew.jpg
Couple Dancing
This piece was unusually difficult to make. First of all, the metal used is heavier than my other pieces, and much harder to bend. I didn’t know that when I started, but it does mean that nobody will ever need to worry about mis-handling this. If I did ship this piece, the only reason I’d pack stuffing around it, is to protect other people’s luggage…this thing is indestructible. Second, the characters had to fit in each other's space. Also, I tried to get the inner dancer to look more backward towards the partner. The only thing I forgot was to twist and curve of their backs. I think of all the pieces, this is the one that will benefit the most from a detailed painting, in order to give each character a distinctness from the other. This is a wedding gift for my friends in Barcelona. I'll use some airline points next year and drop it off. I figure it will be a lot of fun for them to paint this together…perhaps painting each other’s figures,,,just because.
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/caterpiller.jpg
The Caterpillar
This was my first piece designed to move with the wind. You'd be surprised how long it took to make. Lots of cutting with the chop saw, then polishing to remove the razor sharp edges. The spine was a late addition which works visually and mechanically keeps the legs from banging into each other. The backbone's rod is relatively weak, but it does give a nice wiggly aspect. The head was a wall mount for candles. The middle candle holder burned right off, which is just as well, since I remounted it below as a mouth. This probably should be painted also, bright insect colors.
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/motorcycle.jpg
The Cycle
If I had to do this again, I'd make is much larger, and I'd use a different technique for making the wheels. Originally I was going to make two motorcycles with riders. Yea, right. One cycle, no rider,,,,six hours to make. Uggh! But the reward was worth the effort. This piece is off to my wonderful friends in Buffalo, so we're enjoying while we can!
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/dancer.jpg
The Dancer
This is a piece of my mom's. Medusa hair, female accoutrements, skirt and the posed leg. I'm not sure what the cup-holder thing might be. . . another mystery. ;)
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/eggman.jpg
The Eggman
I often struggle for topics which are representable in metal, which speak to me on a number of levels, hopefully to describe my thoughts, emotions or current events. For this one, on the way up to my mom's metal shop, "The Beatles" (?) Eggman song came on the radio. It got me thinking about a "new start", "the beginner's mind", family, and society. The “Eggman” is supposed to represent us as individuals, continuously in a state of beginning, looking forward to the future possibilities. Many things on this were pleasant surprises. If you look closely, you'll see three pieces of metal (again, unplanned), aside from the base. The left side of the tree trunk, represents the mother or host. I don't feel a need to force the pieces into being in any way human, since I'm into the whole sci-fi thing anyway. That is welded to the fetus, and the weld therefore must be the placenta. The mother is welded to the father/provider/protector,,,take your pick. This wraps around the fetus and mother, protecting and loving them. The branches, I have less emotional attachments too, so imagine away! Sometimes I think they're just for show, other times they represent the input of society, perhaps they represent the effect we have on the outside world. Also, since the piece is pretty much two dimensional, it fits nicely against a wall. :)
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/happyface.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/happyface2.jpg
The Happy Face
Once again, scratching my head for ideas, I let my fingers shape the clay. . . this was the result. I decided not to ruin the individual pieces by fixing them in a unchanging orientation. Rather the strength of the pieces is in their changability. . . sort of like Mr PotatoHead. Having the fruit next to the tongue adds a sensual dimension. This piece is dying for some bright colors! Any artists want to collaborate?
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/liontamer.JPG
The Lion Tamer and Lion
Well, I always think of "The Lion" as "The Tiger", but I've never heard of a "Tiger Tamer", so the names stay. These are my first metal sculpture pieces, done in one day. Originally I wanted to make some armatures (metal skeletons) for clay sculptures, but I liked the shapes so much I was hooked! So I added the chair and the whip. I like that the pieces are separate. Again, with the sci-fi aspect of me, sometimes I enjoy placing the characters fighting together against a common foe. I can imagine the lion just being lion-like and not necessarily confrontational, but I think the lion-tamer is by its very nature confronting someone. I could see him moving the chair, but I can't figure why he'd need a whip to do it. ;)
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/ogre.jpg
The Ogre
Again, no ideas on what to make, so I went with the role playing game idea. Since there is no underlying skeleton, I needed to have the arms and legs well-connected to the core. So the arms are folded, giving this person the feeling of being a guard showing his displeasure at having his clearly superior intellect wasting away doing useless work. A lot of meaning came from a purely mechanically based decision! Everybody likes the feet, I don’t know why, so do I. The painting isn’t done yet, it’s a lot of fine brush work and I’m not that controlled. Anybody could help with this one.
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/sadmask.jpg
The Sad Face
Originally this was supposed to be a plain old mask, where the meaning would come out in the paint. Instead as I was shaping it, the metal mesh didn’t shape well, making this unsuitable for a real human to wear. Also, as I was making the upper lip, I paused to reflect on the progress, and decided that the face seemed to be chewing on the lower lip in a plaintive sort of way. A few quick changes to eyes, and “The Sad Face” was complete. I never did make a lower lip. I feel like this is my best work to date. I don’t think I will ever paint this, the energy seems to come from the shape and texture.
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/sangremaxie.JPG
Sangre
I think this was my first real sculpture. I think it took two days to finish. The metal mesh is almost all one piece for strength. Sangre (Blood) was his nickname, since Daisy would’ve gotten him unwanted attention in prison. He was my favorite role playing character in part because of the length of time I played him, but also the fun we all had. Sangre is a dwarf Mayan hermetic (uses equations and/or symbols for spells) mage who escaped from the organized crime government that used to be Mexico, but is the re-incarnated culture of the bloody Aztecs. The Aztecs having used the Mayans as sacrificial victims for centuries. So, needless to say, Sangre has some powerful enemies and some unique experiences giving him boundless repressed energy from which to draw, a powerful phobia of the Aztecs, and a serious chip on his shoulder. I could go into details but some things are not appropriate for little ones. :) This one time, though, we did meet some powerful characters who seemed pleased to hear Sangre’s nickname. Of course they turned out to be vampires. Another one…bad guys holding un-pinned neurostun grenades tend to get surprised when a eleven foot tall witch-doctor-looking apparition appears in their midst commanding the release of the devil rats. Dropping neurostun grenades at one’s own feet isn’t the best way to accomplish your objectives. Oh, the cat is Maxie, one of the Tonkenese sisters we have.
http://www.geocities.com/isatcjk/squird.jpg
The Squird
The Squird (squirrel – bird) was named by Renee. I can’t think of a better name, since it’s origins were largely a result of many failed attempts at making another type of moving sculpture. It is essentially what was left over. The piece is designed to have the wind catch the tail to give a slow rocking motion. Also, the upper body tends to flip backwards, almost like a back flip, when the weather is especially gusty. It’s nice to have sculpture which re-arranges itself. I like how the Squird is off-centered, as if to allow future additions, and it alsogives a visual separation from the stand. I learned many things from this piece. Metal doesn’t like to move easily, unless you have ball bearings. And if you can get it to move easily, it tends to be easy to dismantle (not such a good thing for outside sculptures). Also, good luck trying to get the balancing right, and still make it look good!
Future projects
I have a request from my brother for a gargoyle. This will be especially challenging, since it would have resist the elements, catch and funnel water, and look nice enough to add-to rather than detract from the house.
I am trying to get away from static sculptures. The wind sensitive sculptures are a start, but I also want to show transformation. That could be done symbolically by showing movement, perhaps, but implying movement is very difficult for me right now, and has been done by so many others so much more skillfully. I don’t remember the path I traveled mentally to form this idea, which is sad, I seem to remember it was pretty interesting. In anycase, The Idea: Create a large leafy outdoor sculpture, attach to it a cocoon of mud or ice formed from a egg-shaped bucket. As the elements wear away the cocoon, a sculpture, hidden from view for months, is revealed and unfolds into its final form, hanging from the plant, swaying in the wind. Detach sculpture, fold up into egg-bucket and re-encase in mud or freeze in ice. The cycle is complete. The tricky part in construction is getting the sculpture to unfold after having been encased. I plan on experimenting with the idea of a “mobile”, which is a series of shapes suspended from each other by cables. The only concern is trying to find cables which won’t corrode. There is a suggestion to wax the metal, and perhaps that will be good enough. In any case, the sculpture doesn’t have to last forever!
Techniques and ideas to use might be hammer and torch shaped sheets of metal. I hesitate to attempt this since acetylene isn’t cheap. I’m also tempted to use a forge-type setup…great for heating the barn in the winter. ;) I’d also like to work more with mixed-media, perhaps something as simple as a metal figure wrapped by a clay scarf or blanket. I’d like to toy with a rain powered device. My brother and I have some ideas how I might do this without providing a breeding ground for mosquitos, but I have other concerns about the small amount of energy that pooled rain water provides. I’d like to design in a backup plan such that a hose could be connected to a more potent water source.
As always, I do my best to avoid analysis paralysis. The fun part is actually doing the work. I am running out of ideas which I can do with the chop saw, grinder and MIG welder. Doing a clean cut with the plasma torch is difficult, and I already mentioned some other difficulties.
My welding is getting better, but there are limits to how thin the metal can be without suffering from burn-through. The good news is that only one of my ideas has failed utterly without any usable results, other that some good lessons learned.
