I double majored in English and sculpture in college, but my main focus and final thesis was in sculpture. While I developed my concept for the end of year studio art showcase, I was in crisis. What skills have I learned? How will this experience translate to real life jobs that will pay me enough to live comfortably in New York? I’d spin out during my mandatory sessions as woodshop monitor, sweeping sawdust and reminding underclassmen to turn on the vent and wear safety googles, yes you have to, no your glasses don’t count.
Then one day I was pushing a 4 by 6 foot plane of wood through the table saw — the kind that has moisture sensory tech so if the blade touches human flesh (or a hot dog) it stops but will still do some serious damage. I realized I gained the confidence to try and make things with care and precision using tools that could kill me, and I’d carry that experience with me for life.
Sculpture is the practice of pondering and establishing the relationship between objects — any type of object, including bodies — and figuring out how to implement form in 3D space, the space we live in and navigate every day, subject to gravity and the environment and the physical potential and limits of materials we can touch and see. (Don’t talk to me about the Metaverse.)
Recently I’ve been grappling with how I exist in space in relation to the shower curtain rod which has been in place since before we moved in, and the shower curtain liner which floats in and touches my arm while I shower.
I’ve dragged my feet but I’ve finally taken the matter into my own hands and installed a curved shower curtain rod (with some help). I’ve mastered the shower domain and now I have a few extra inches of elbow room.
Shoutout to JK and AN for the new toy which made all this possible!