"Every act of creation is the first act of destruction"
-Pablo Picasso
-Pablo Picasso
Ephemera
"Sand Lion"
Medium: Sand Sculpture
Size:4 ft x 2 ft
Date: November 2016
Exhibition Text |
Meaning Behind the Piece: |
Sand has a symbolic meaning for this piece that represents how life in itself is a temporary form of art. As sand is mold-able and can be shaped into absolutely anything, it serves as the medium for my ephemera as well as a key element that enhances the important meaning behind this piece.
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Death and destruction is an inevitable part of life. My piece is meant to exemplify that regative aspect in the after math of it's creation, it's destruction. Always following creation is destruction, it absolutely cannot be avoided. Some things fall appart and get destroyed easier than other things. Sand is a material that can fall appart very easily and at the same time it can create extraordinary sculptures that will eventually fall appart. That is why sand sculptures must be admired as much as possible while they still stand. Very similar to sand, living things, such as humans and animals will eventually "fall appart" when they meet their fate which is death. All living things die, that is a fact that also inspired my ephemera. My ephemera is a lion, one of the mightiest creatures on the face of the earth. Compared to a smaller, weaker creature such as an ant or mouse, a lion is perceived as much more important and valuable. But just like an ant or mouse, the lion will eventually die. In connection to overall life and humanity, although humans do not live by some sort of food chain or "circle of life", humans still live lives devided by wealth, race, and social class which can determine the importance and value of a human's life in a supericial manner. But a person's race, wealth, and social class won't matter when they meet their inevitable fate which is death. Whether poor or rich, all humans die as they are all made of flesh and bone. Much like all sand sculptures fall appart, whether they be a small, ugly sand castle or a large, majestic lion.
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Artistic Inspiration:
Anna Hyatt Huntington:
Jenny Rossen:
I was inspired by the many professional sand sculptors that created magnificent pieces. The artist that stood out to me most was a sculptor named Jenny Rossen, nicknamed "Jenny the Sand Castle Girl". She is an Australian artist that is most famous for her outstanding sand castles. She believes that she can make a sand sculpture of anything that the human mind can conceive. I really like that aspect about her because I too am a firm believer that the human's are capable of manifesting any idea that they can think of, and that is precisely what I proved to myself when creating my ephemera.
I was inspired by the many professional sand sculptors that created magnificent pieces. The artist that stood out to me most was a sculptor named Jenny Rossen, nicknamed "Jenny the Sand Castle Girl". She is an Australian artist that is most famous for her outstanding sand castles. She believes that she can make a sand sculpture of anything that the human mind can conceive. I really like that aspect about her because I too am a firm believer that the human's are capable of manifesting any idea that they can think of, and that is precisely what I proved to myself when creating my ephemera.
The Sand Child as Inspiration:
The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun, is a book that I read in my HL Literature Class in my junior year of high school. It was a very powerful book that addressed self-identity and how it is influenced by society and culture. It was during a class discussion regarding the meaning of the title, "The Sand Child", when I realized the artistic potential of sand sculptures breaking and falling appart.The story is about a Morroccan man named Mohammed Ahmed who was born biologically a female but was raised by his father to be a man in order to fulfill his wish of bearing a son. Ahmed soon learns that his role as a man and his actions are greatly influenced by his Moroccon society and he begins to feel inadequate as he is. He begins to fall appart, much like sand, and then becomes his own person and create an idetity that he is comfortable with. The allegory that sand holds in the title and in general is that no matter what the sand is molded into, it will evetually fall appart.
The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun, is a book that I read in my HL Literature Class in my junior year of high school. It was a very powerful book that addressed self-identity and how it is influenced by society and culture. It was during a class discussion regarding the meaning of the title, "The Sand Child", when I realized the artistic potential of sand sculptures breaking and falling appart.The story is about a Morroccan man named Mohammed Ahmed who was born biologically a female but was raised by his father to be a man in order to fulfill his wish of bearing a son. Ahmed soon learns that his role as a man and his actions are greatly influenced by his Moroccon society and he begins to feel inadequate as he is. He begins to fall appart, much like sand, and then becomes his own person and create an idetity that he is comfortable with. The allegory that sand holds in the title and in general is that no matter what the sand is molded into, it will evetually fall appart.
Additional Inspiration:
I really admired the different representations of lion that cartoons, movies and books had conveyed. Lion's have always been looked up to as mighty creatures being nicknamed "kings of the jungle". Throughout my childhood, I had developed an admiration as well as appraisal for lions and what they stood for in their different variations in childhood classics such as, The Lion King, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and The Wizard of Oz. In all of those movies, the lion was a creature that is expected to be powerful and courages, and in all of those movies, the lion character falls short of those expectations at some point but eventually realize their great potential.
I really admired the different representations of lion that cartoons, movies and books had conveyed. Lion's have always been looked up to as mighty creatures being nicknamed "kings of the jungle". Throughout my childhood, I had developed an admiration as well as appraisal for lions and what they stood for in their different variations in childhood classics such as, The Lion King, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and The Wizard of Oz. In all of those movies, the lion was a creature that is expected to be powerful and courages, and in all of those movies, the lion character falls short of those expectations at some point but eventually realize their great potential.
Journal
Planning Sketches:
This is the sketch I made of a lion that I would use to work off of to create the features of the lion's face in my sculpture.
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In this sketch, I had drawn the form of a lion created out of the basic shapes that outline the figure. I used this sketch to work off of when creating my sculpure.
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Here is a sketch of the side view of the lion with greater detail emphasizing the fur and muscles of the lion. This is what I aspired my sculpture to look like in the end.
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Process:
Materials:
- Sand- Obviously the most important element of this piece, sand has properties that make it mold-able when combined with water. Sand also has a symbolic meaning behind it that is vital to represent the artistic aspect of my piece.
- Water- Water was used a lot throughout the process of physically creating my piece and putting it together. It was used to make the sand mold-able and to keep the sand together to prevent it from falling apart.
- Bucket- The bucket was used to collect the water as well as to collect sand and dump it out onto a flat surface that would be utilized to create the sculpture.
- Shovel- The shovel was helpful in breaking down the sand, piling it, and smoothing out a surface that I could use to create the sculpture.
- Small carving tools- I used small sharp carving tools just like I used when carving clay, they worked effectively in carving sand and were used to create small details on the sculpture including the fur's texture, the mouth, paws and nose of the lion.
- Small rocks- As a last minute idea, I added to small rocks to the sculpture as the two eyes of the lion.
- Spray bottle- I lightly sprayed water onto the sand of my sculpture as I worked. I did this in order to maintain the structure of the sculpture and the dampness of the sand, because if it were to dry up, the sculpture would fall apart too soon.
Steps:
- The first step was to collect water into a bucket that would be used to maintain the sand moist, damp, and overall mold able. The water would first be poured onto the area that I would utilize to create my sand sculpture.
- The next step was to use the shovel to start digging up sand in large quantities in the designated area for the construction of my piece. I chose a flat area near the lake shore that had as little rocks as possible. Rocks were a major interference while I was creating my first version of the sculpture. It is also much easier to collect water and carry the heavy water-filled bucket to my work area since i had set up near the water source.
- The next task was the most arduous of all, requiring my physical strength along with patience. I was required to fill at least four whole buckets of sand and place the sand into a large pile that i could then use to mold into an outlining shape of the overall figure.
- After establishing the foundation of the piece that would reassure it's structure, I then proceeded to mold the snad into different shapes and sections. I used a spray bottle to make sure the sand remains damp so that the sculpture doesn't fall appart. I also smoothed out the sand with a soft sponge, and this was a technique that I decided to use because it had worked for me when I created my free-form clay sculpture during my sophomore year in my Art History class.
- The final step is to use the carving tools to outline the lion's figure and give it a sharper and more bold look to it as well as create details that enhance the lion's features and exterior.
This picture is from the beginning of the process, around the time that I started molding the sand into the overall shape of the lion.
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Here, I had somewhat smoothed out the sand and had started adding minor details to the lion's mane and face.
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In this picture, the lion sculpture is more smooth and I had added to rocks to the face to create eyes. This was questionably an enhancement, but it definitely demonstrated my creative process.
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Here is a picture of my finalized lion sculpture from a different angle. In the background is the bucket that I had used to create my piece.
Experimentation:
Although I lack documentation some of my experimentations, I did shoot for a few different results during the process which resulted in very interesting ideas of the different variations that would have enhanced the ephemeral qualities of my piece. Instead of using solely sand to create my sculpture, I was also planning on using long grass and leaves to adorn the lion's mane and tail fur. On my first attempt at creating my sculpture, I used utilized leaves by sticking them in the lion's mane. Admittedly, this was a very creative idea that I wish would have come together in the end, but unfortunately, my sculpture fell appart mid-way through the process of placing leaves into the lion's mane and I was unable to obtain any documentation.
Another key feature of this process, was my original plan which slowly evolved to what the final product is. What I had intended for the sculpture to be originally was a wolf. This was because I had had prior experience in sculpting wolves out of clay and because it would have called for a much simpler design. In the end, I went with the design of a lion instaed because it would make my piece more meaningful.
I also experimented with the construction of my sculpture itself. By this I mean that i took specific steps in making the first sculpture that I did not apply the second and final time. An example of this is shown in the images above where there is a small log located where the lion's head would have been. I did this so that I could maintain a sound structure to the head when I would have created it. Unfortunately, placing a log there was a mistake that proved faulty and ended up destroying my ephemera as it was too heavy.
Another key feature of this process, was my original plan which slowly evolved to what the final product is. What I had intended for the sculpture to be originally was a wolf. This was because I had had prior experience in sculpting wolves out of clay and because it would have called for a much simpler design. In the end, I went with the design of a lion instaed because it would make my piece more meaningful.
I also experimented with the construction of my sculpture itself. By this I mean that i took specific steps in making the first sculpture that I did not apply the second and final time. An example of this is shown in the images above where there is a small log located where the lion's head would have been. I did this so that I could maintain a sound structure to the head when I would have created it. Unfortunately, placing a log there was a mistake that proved faulty and ended up destroying my ephemera as it was too heavy.
Reflection:
Sculpting sand has always been one of my favorite pass times during the summer. In previous years, I had sculpted a life-size cat, a mermaid tail, multiple sand castles, and even a human bust. Sand sculpting wasn't new to me but it wasn't something that I took seriously as a form of art. I was inspired by the professional sand sculptures that I observed on the internet while I was searching for ideas as to what I wanted to do for ephemera. My mind was set on creating something grand like a wolf or a lion. I was very eager to hit the beach and start creating my "master piece". Of course, I set my expectations much too high as I usually do for art projects. On my first attempt at creating a sand sculpture, I quickly realized how difficult delivering this exquisite piece that I planned out in my mind would be.
Connecting to the ACT:
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
2.What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
3.What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
4.What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
5.What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
2.What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
3.What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
4.What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
5.What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Sources:
http://www.jennyrossen.com/current.html
http://collider.com/the-lion-king-reboot-jon-favreau-disney/
http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Cowardly_Lion
http://narnia.wikia.com/wiki/Edmund_Pevensie
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/destruction.html
http://collider.com/the-lion-king-reboot-jon-favreau-disney/
http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Cowardly_Lion
http://narnia.wikia.com/wiki/Edmund_Pevensie
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/destruction.html