colors

As much as I love the raw wood forms, this commission requires color. Yesterday I selected the pieces for each cloud (see left) so that each one would have a mix of sizes and shapes. I also made the final color assignments for the twelve designated cloud locations and mixed the paint to match my palette. I'm working with the general colors officially approved by OSU for related projects, and added in black as a nod to their athletic team uniforms.

My proposal for this project was that each cloud would have a dominant color from the palette, with accents from the rest of the colors I'll work with. I also took the time to do some crude images that included color spots on the site photos I took a few months ago--just to make sure the combinations would work both with each other and with the bold carpet patterning in the room. The clouds will slightly wrap around corners in many locations, which is not always represented in these photos, but I make those final decisions as I install the work, letting my instincts guide me improvisationally on site. As you see in the diagram, the clouds will lead you down a hallway into the main study room. 

These three images show the clouds in the large study room. The ceilings are 12 feet high.

 And two more clouds will surround the drinking fountains in the center of the ground floor, very close to where the hallway leads to the study lounge.

Ever since I first conceived and created this idea eight years ago, I thought it would be perfect for a public setting. They are abstract, yet familiar. Their placement high on the walls will help keep them safe from curious hands, and will only require a periodic dusting to maintain them. 

Here's a shot I took of one of the orange clouds being painted. I will add the other color elements today to the raw parts, as described above, but made sure that the largest segment of each piece had the dominant color. 

tiny, beautiful things

As I listened to the closing credits of Cheryl Strayed's most recent book, I laid out my 400 small sculptures on my studio floor this afternoon to assess my progress on the OSU project. My calculations said I needed 440 pieces total, so tomorrow I will work on those based on what shapes I'm craving. Right now, it's looking like more of the larger shapes would be nice.

 It's hard to find a space that can accommodate this many pieces in my home/work space, and was glad I could tightly pack them in here. The final cloud clusters will not be so densely packed, giving each piece a little more room to breathe and be appreciated by the more attentive students.  Look like I'm on schedule to begin painting mid-week. Yip!

construction junction...what's your function?

Here's a small sampling of the newly constructed pieces....still awaiting paint, of course, but I'm about a third of the way through the quantity I need for the full 12 clouds for OSU. I fused two photos together for this, hence the blurriness in the center. Each cloud will have 30-40 forms within it.

I have been looking at images of the original cloud installation I made for Cumulate, and even pulled out a few images of past works to find the vocabulary for this project. Like with the Vertical Garden show that I reprised for a private home installation, it's really nice to return to these past ideas and see how much my skills have improved in the past decade and how I approach bringing this concept to a permanent location.

750 bits....ready to start assembling tomorrow!

forms amass

Still plugging away on shaping the basic forms for the Corvallis project. This part of a project involves a lot of counting just to make sure I'm on track with the quantity I'll need for the final installation. Better to make more than I need, but there's not really enough time to go overboard. By the beginning of next week I'll be able to start putting pieces together to construct the sculptural forms.

making a movie, one detail at a time.

Here's a really great behind-the-scenes view of just one of the small details that go into creating a top-tier stop action animation. This is from ParaNorman - the latest from Portland animation studio Laika, where many of my friends have been working hard for many years.

new project for Oregon State University

I've got a new project to blog about - a request from Oregon State University to create a series of 13 cloud forms to 'float' around their new Student Success Center, slated to open late next month!  The committee really liked my cumulate exhibition from years ago, so that will inform this body of work. Here's a few images from that original show:

All of the pieces for the OSU project will be completely original and be located mostly in the large student study lounge on the ground floor, with a few floating down the hall leading into the study space. Here's the architectural drawing of the space with all but two of my cloud sites highlighted in orange:

Making these is a very intuitive process, and I employ two different processes to create the work. Both are based on rapid design techniques, much like what I teach in my Playful Object workshop. Last night I attended one of the free concerts in the part, put on by the Portland  Festival Symphony, and brainstormed on designs in my sketchbook:

I need to construct around 450 individual pieces, so I'm starting to form the large shapes to give myself a selection of forms to combine and add to. I will spend the next week shaping these basic forms.