{Process Shot}

And back again.

Ideas really do move in circles.

For my first thesis project, initially, I had wanted to make a hollow sphere form that would crack and shift along certain designated points. After consultation, I decided the idea would take too long to develop and so I began to concentrate on using foam on the inside for structure. Very quickly the idea became very complicated. Foam, upholstery, leather, bungee cord...and the list goes on. While trying to ignore the difficulties I stumbled upon something even better.


I took the leather pieces from the model I had previously made and began experimenting with ways of attaching them together. When connected only at the points, the pieces had room to shift and bend creating really interesting shapes. So I have left the foam and the complication behind and am moving towards the interesting. I am not sure how the final product will "work" but I know I will have a lot more fun making it. As I mentioned in my last post, this project has provided a nice basis for starting to think about color. I have some different leather dyes arriving tomorrow and the leather cord comes in tons of colors.

Going Full-Scale

I just realized how long it has been since I have posted on the development of the rawhide project. After many quarter-scale models I settled on a design a couple of weeks ago and went ahead and ordered my final hide. My models were made of deer skin but for the final version I purchased a buffalo skin to increase the strength.

The hide shipped from Washington state and and arrived last Friday. It took four or so days to completely soak the huge skin as I had to wait for each part to get soft for the next part to sink down into the water.

Once it was good and soaked I could cut out the shape and drape it over a form. A fellow classmate helped throughout the process with an extra set of hands and after we were done we wished we had taken more process shots. In the moment we were just focused on getting it right.



The beauty of the rawhide is that I can always re-wet portions of the hide and make changes to the form. Once I get that settled I will add a delicate ring of color around the base. Here are some color samples:

The Thesis Begins

All second years are now working solely on pieces which will be included in our thesis exhibition in the spring. There are no hard and fast rules on how many pieces we have to make and we are free to include any relevant work from the first year of study. As a way of planning out my time and ideas, I mapped out the exhibition space, putting work I know I want to include into position and then attempting to fill the holes. For my thesis research, I am looking at systems that are activated and influenced by physical human interaction, along with ideas of absence and presence, and thinking about low-tech solutions.

For my first hole-filler, I am making a big, ball chair. The idea began with thinking about the earth's systems and how they are often in conflict with man-made systems. The form of the chair references the shape of the earth and an internal network of strings allows the user to mold the form to their wishes.

I have gone through numerous design and material solutions and after a small panic attack yesterday evening am finally more settled on a course of action. The interior of the ball will be made of two different densities of upholstery foam to help control the flex of the shape. This foam shape will be covered in fabric with the base and back of the ball receiving an extra structure of boiled leather for stability and aesthetics.



The leather pieces will be laid out to reference the cracked mud common in areas of severe drought. I am still working on the proportions of all the elements and this cardboard and tape study was an exercise is line reduction. I don't typically use a lot of color in my work but am looking forward to finding ways to communicate the use of the object through various points of color in the composition.

The Wait is Over

Well, it has been almost a year since I started this project and tonight marks its debut.

For those who need a bit of a refresher, it all began when I started weaving the vinyl tubing into the loom. From there I just made each decision as they presented themselves - no big plan or end goal. Towards the end of the project a friend of mine was in the process of submitting a proposal for a gallery show at the new student gallery in the RISD museum (wow, that is a lot of prepositional phrases in one sentence) and he thought this piece would work with the theme (see below).

The proposal was accepted and the show officially opened this evening. This was my first gallery show and it was an honor to be included. There were quite a few interesting pieces alongside my own.


One artist commissioned three Chinese oil-painting companies to paint the same piece for him and the resulting work was hung together along with their respective prices. Another created a structure of pine 2x4s and drywall and then physically hurled his body through the drywall like a human cannonball. Anything in the name of art, right!