Concentration Commentary

The central idea of my concentration is the balance between delicate, flowing trees and rough, angular structures. I am also exploring space: negative space, contained space, and open space. These spaces become little worlds bordered with shapes that are angular and stiff contrasting the paper itself which is organic and flowing.

For my concentration I have limited myself to two materials (paper/wood) and have kept the forms monochromatic in order to focus formally on unity, texture, and structure. As I create these 3-D compositions I hope to capture a visual tension or contrast between the delicate white paper and rough white wood. My concentration began with a contained box (image 1) and expanded to include more free forms that are unconstrained (like images 3 and 8). As my concentration progressed I also began to focus even more on the trees themselves and whether you see a whole tree or just part of it (see image 3 compared to 7). I explored different ways to stylize the trees from small to big, delicate to rough, intricate to simple. I focused on the wood forms, silhouettes of trees, and the shadows of the trees (which gives the work a rather haunted, elegant look) rather than on surface design. The trees placed amid man made structures explore life and growth in unexpected places: like an old abandoned apartment reclaimed by nature, these sculptures contain an echo of what once was and what can be.