Monday, November 28, 2011

Studio Bits Part 1

My first semester at SCAD was full of studio exploration, and while I didn't finish a single thing that I'd be ready to exhibit I'm really excited about a couple of the directions I'm going in.

 

I started out with these felted cup forms, which some of you that know my work will recognize. Ever since I made Cold Comfort and it started to rust uncontrollably I've been wanting to use the rusting process in my work, especially recently as I've been thinking about natural cycles of growth and decay.  So I blended steel wool in with my wool roving and allowed them to rust over the course of several weeks.
I'm also excited about the marks the rust left on the surface of the fabric they were sitting on.

I ended up setting these aside after I got the rust action I wanted.  I have the tendency to go into production mode and just geek out on a single action, like making felted cup forms for weeks on end.  Probably not the best use of my time during what was supposed to be an exploratory quarter.  But I'm sure they will be back soon, I have ideas to cover entire walls with these things and document the rusting in time lapse video.


I've also been doing some knitting, inspired by my studio mate Amelia, who taught me the random lace pattern I used below.  I had been looking at electron scanning microscope images of plants from Kew Gardens and then went into the studio that night to see some of Amelia's swatches and got really excited about the similarity.  Not sure what this might turn into but I like it.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Enveloped

I think I'll start this blog with a few posts to catch everyone up on what I've been doing for the past 6 months or so.  The last big project I completed was Enveloped, which was shown as part of ArtPrize at GreenLion Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I had been looking at cocoons and gypsy moth nests for a while as part of my interest in biology and life cycles. I had made these little samples a while back out of actual branches and various fibers, but I knew I wanted to make larger cocoons that would have more of an impact by bringing it closer to human scale.

So this summer I had the opportunity to hang out with my friend Gabriel and use his newly formed forge and finally got a chance to make the larger version I had been thinking of.

Here is an image of the branch in progress, which is made of forged and welded mild steel.
















I then covered it with a felted blend of wool and raw silk, which made a delicate, translucent covering. Below are some images of the finished piece installed.  I moved to Savannah before ArtPrize opened so I couldn't be there for the event, but I was excited for my piece to be part of it and be seen by so many people in such a short period of time.

Blog Time

I've decided to finally start a blog!  I've been working my bum off at SCAD, making lots of little things that aren't finished enough for the website but need a place to be shared.  This blog will be a place I'll post studio explorations, work in progress, inspiration and other general life stuff. Thanks for visiting and feel free to let me know what you think about anything I've got going on!

And you can check out my slower-to-be-updated website here: www.jenniferemoss.com