Nichole Bybee
3D Emphasis
3D Emphasis
When
making art, I can always envision what I want the piece to look like, but I can
never anticipate what it will really become. If I have expectations of the end
result, I may be very disappointed. My work often takes unexpected turns; I
will either be pleased or create something I despise. This range of
possibilities both intrigues me and gives me pause.
Plugged In is one such piece. The goal
was to re-create an object not typically made of wood, using wood. I chose to
make a pair of headphones using both additive and subtractive processes. To
make the headband, I bent three 1/8 inch pieces of wood by steaming and
laminating them together. I then shaped the piece through sanding. This
process, when combined with staining, gave the headband a leathery look I was
not anticipating.
Books, nature
documentaries, and everyday excursions often inspire me. As I was reading The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R
Carey, I began envisioning how to incorporate the fungus from the story into a
piece. The basis of the book is a zombie apocalypse caused by cordyceps, a fungus
that naturally occurs in nature. This fungus was also mentioned in a nature
documentary I later saw, which showed how cordyceps affects living organisms
such as moths, ants, and other insects. My wood cut Cordycep Moth (Brown) was created from this intersection of fiction
and reality.
Over the summer I
experimented with sgraffito on ceramic pieces, which is the process of putting a color slip on clay when it is
leather hard and scratching away at the slip to create a contrasting image or
design. I wanted to practice and explore this
process because it reminded me of printmaking. I started off by just scratching
out lines, and then started to expand from there to create different designs
you can see this in Examples of
Sgraffito. As I continue to learn this process, I will create larger sculptural pieces with this as an element of my surfacing.
As I move forward, I am aware that of my work that I find most engaging is derived from my exploration with technique. I will be combining different mediums together, like printmaking, ceramics and sculpture, to learn different processes and methods of making art. This will allow me to grow as an artist and become more aware of the things I create in the future.
As I move forward, I am aware that of my work that I find most engaging is derived from my exploration with technique. I will be combining different mediums together, like printmaking, ceramics and sculpture, to learn different processes and methods of making art. This will allow me to grow as an artist and become more aware of the things I create in the future.
