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.