Progress update, new sculpture

A second piece with a second chance

Artmaking is a dialogue between one’s internal landscape and the external, actualized world.

However, a dialogue also exists between the work you just finished and the one you’re making next. This new sculpture wouldn’t be taking this form if I hadn’t just created Steps Repeat.

I actually started this sculpture before I started Steps Repeat. Similarly, I’m on my third iteration of this concept.

Round one, lost but not forgotten

I’ve found that it’s worth iterating, sitting with a concept in the sketch-phase, convincing yourself it’s the best way to proceed, before physically jumping in (especially with a material as concrete as steel).

I actually got far enough with this sculpture over the summer that I recorded a process video and shared it on Substack. Looking back at this post, I was convinced this piece was destined to The Land of the Unfinished because it felt “too corporate, designed, masculine even. The chevron is too iconic, recognizable, fraught with its own connotations.”

Learning the hard way, making it look easy

The renewal

I let this piece sit for months and months as I worked on Steps Repeat. All the while these two large chevrons stood propped against the wall beside me. When I needed a break, I’d sit and stare at them.

Initially, the chevron was supposed to be the final surface pattern. But working on Steps Repeat got me questioning what “filling in” the chevron shape could mean.

I’ve turned back to the sketchbook (this time proceeding more intentionally before committing to an idea). I’ve sketched out at least six different patterns ideas.

As I begin physically working on this piece, I’ve taken the time to bend the “V’s” to all the various degrees of sharp-to-roundness that my bender offers. Testing things out before committing has let me proceed with more confidence.

Continuity and evolution

New shapes

I explored many different shapes in my last piece. It gave me permission to continue questioning: What new shapes could I make with the same old tools?

Enter the squiggle, or as I’m referring to it, “the curl”.

Patterning

A previous artwork can inform new work through similarity — it might inspire you to continue exploring a process or shape language in different iterations. Maybe that thread results in a series, where multiple pieces create a family and tell a bigger story.

But influence can also look like a “push against,” an intentional contrast. Either way, it’s inevitable for a body of work to build on its own history, and continue the story of the brothers and sisters that came before.

There was a sense of chaos or randomness in the many patterns that formed Steps Repeat. It is pushing me to explore pattern with a sense of repetition and uniformity. I’m realizing I have never fully explored pattern in three-dimensions, and it feels like something I now need to do.

I’m not sure I would’ve gotten here if not for the need to contrast the freeform nature of my last piece.

Looking at artmaking as this ongoing story or dialogue imbues a sense of grandeur, magic, and purpose that keeps me eager to continue exploring.

I don’t know about you, but I feel cutest with a skull cap, ear protection, face shield, 3M mask, and 5 shirts on.

Stay curious <3