I decided to make a structure out of fabric and wood with the express intent of installing it outside so that the elements can wreak their havoc. Because of the time constraints I wanted to keep it fairly simple. I ended up building a cube frame.
Simple, and also has that man-made/did-not-come-from-nature feel to it.
I ended up painting it white. The paint helped hide some of the construction boo boos I had to fix with putty, and the whiteness will help show any wear and tear. I used muslin for the fabric. I wanted something simple that would show degradation, and, well, muslin's cheap and I had some already.
I used upholstery tacks to attach the fabric to the frame (also ended up throwing some finishing nails in between the tacks since it was gaping just a little too much and I was out of tacks). They didn't hammer in that well. They'd go in about halfway and after that I was really more bending what was left until the head was flush. One in particular wouldn't go where it needed to go and I kept having to reposition, until finally it decided it had had enough beatings for one day and jumped ship.
But a little 90 second epoxy from Walgreens took care of that.
I stretched 4 strips of fabric on the inside of the cube. I wanted something that at least vaguely referenced the source story, about the bridge that washed away. After they were on I soaked them with water so that they'll stretch tight (hopefully...it works with canvas, I'm just assuming it works with other fabric).
I'll need to touch up some of the paint. The corners are looking dingy from getting turned a million times, even though I cleaned off the table first. It's all going to get dirty eventually, but I want it clean to start off. I also have a length of rope that I still need to attach. It's supposed to be a hanging sculpture. But I have to look up good strong knots first. I want to make sure it's not going to fall on anyone.
My plan is to hang it somewhere (where exactly, I don't know yet, I haven't gotten that far) and photograph it at regular intervals. I haven't gotten any more specific than that yet, but for now I'll just settle for finishing it on time for crit Tuesday.
Sculpture wasn't the only thing I got done today, though. The paint was still drying when I was done sewing the muslin panels, so I went up to the painting studio and got my plastic and fabric nailed to the wall so I can start painting it on Tuesday right away.
Yes, that is a vagina cut out and embroidered. But that's a story for the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment