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Tipping Point
36” X 24” X 36”
Bronze, Rebar and Concrete.
Our past actions formed the precarious state of our environment. What we do today shapes our future. This piece suggests a caring and protective relationship between natural systems and urban development has extraordinary potential. I believe the human species has the creative capability to make our cities lush and diverse carbon sinks. My work investigates these possibilities.
7 days left to rip and wrangle rusted wire cloth, then delicately stitch the wire fragments into biospheres of frail and vulnerable abstract wild bees and organic shapes. Then coat hydro stone and cast shadows, to kinetically unveil the unintended consequences of forcing natural processes into an industrial model. Then pack, transport, unpack, install for 21 days, and open........ find more locations to install......... rinse and repeat.
These bronze pieces are bronze with a liver of sulfur patina under a gold leaf. The problem with gold leaf is it looks gaudy until it ages. When it rains I put them outside to speed the process.
I found an old scrap of screen used for windows.
The piece is sewn together with wire thread.
Material detail
The project is to experiment with a new material every week. I am keeping the subject simple to focus on the material.
When lit properly he looks like he is made of smoke.
S. Erickson was one of the thousands who died at the Oregon state mental hospital whose ashes were abandoned inside one of 3500 copper urns. I saw his picture in the newspaper and could not forget him. He has a quiet presence about him that stayed with me. I tore out his picture and put on my bulletin board. S. Erickson's file stated he was a laborer and suffered from senility, he came to New York in 1883 from Norway. Mr. Erickson was one of the forgotten souls but I could not forget him.
Picture from the newspaper
Fyi- "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed at Oregon state mental hospital.
forgotten soul - S. Erickson
Armature and wax
I made the armature so that with a pull of the cord I could remove it from the wax. This way I can cast my sculpture without making a mold. You could never mold the beard I sculpted.
Building up the facial features.
Hay makes an awesome matted beard and hair.
Sprue system for building a mold.
The next step is to dip the piece creating a ceramic shell. The wax and hay will then be burnt out in a furnace. Then the bronze will be poured into the cavity of the shell.
After the bronze cools I begin breaking off the shell. The beard is very difficult.
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It is a very slow process to remove the shell from a heavily textured surface. This is why almost a bronze is smooth-ish. But I love texture so I have to do the work to get it.
The shell is removed.
The next step is to patina the surface.
forgotten soul - S. Erickson
11"X 12" X 9" 2014
