PROJECT

The goal of this project was to create a creature living in a post-human world and design this creature to be specially adapted to address an environmental issue.

CONCEPT

My concept for this project was to create a creature that was adapted to collect light bulbs in order to keep itself warm and light up its way in a world consumed by nuclear winter.  I designed the piece to be composed of curves that would echo the round shape of the light bulbs. The curves create movement throughout the piece and activate the sculpture from multiple angles. The crescent moon shapes for the legs are staggered to add dimension to the piece. I also designed the tail to pick up bulbs carefully and hold them without breaking them. The sculpture shows Scorpius Electric in action about to add a light bulb to itself. This creates tension and visual interest within the piece. I also used wire wrapping to create a body texture that gives the piece depth. Each section of the body texture is arched to add continuity with the curves that are shown throughout the piece.

REFLECTION

This was the final capstone project and the culmination of all the lessons I learned in sculpture throughout the semester. In working with metal, I learned how to weld and use various power tools such as a metal grinder and the torch. It was rewarding to see myself improve and gain confidence with welding the more I practiced it. I was able to apply the lessons about base construction in the wood project to this sculpture. I started by using metal rod to construct a sturdy base with four supports as the legs. I also planned out the sculpture to have a center of gravity more towards the back so that it would eventually be balanced out by the light bulbs I placed at the front.  Additionally, I applied the lessons I learned about texture continuity in the paper project to come up with the idea to continue the body pattern throughout the whole piece. I love working with metal because it holds form very well which makes it possible to create an anti-gravity effect and build pieces that arch and curve in really interesting ways. Furthermore, I was able to pick up techniques for wire wrapping such as using as object to wrap the wire around to achieve a uniform shape throughout the piece. I used this specifically for the tail grips and the body pattern respectively to add continuity to those elements. Throughout the project I came a long way from trying to make a literal scorpion to simplifying my concept to the most vital parts of a scorpion and creating a creature that was entirely new. Overall, I'm very proud of how this project came out and how I was able to apply lessons from previous projects to better my work.