Monday, May 15, 2017

Circles ... an public installation-in-progress

(Above:  Fiber circles ... for my upcoming solo show at Waterworks Visual Arts in Salisbury, North Carolina.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

About a month ago, I blogged about an exciting in installation for my solo show at Waterworks Visual Center, a regional museum in Salisbury, North Carolina.  (CLICK HERE to read the earlier post.)  Anne Scott Clement, the executive director, challenged me to create new, unframed work using my usual materials and techniques.   

(Above:  The latest batch of circles ... on my living room floor.)

I was a little nervous about it but we corresponded and came up with the idea of CIRCLES.  (Generally, I cut squares and rectangles.)  The more I thought about it, the more excited I got ... especially since I relate to these orbs as part of a celestial sky ... especially since there will be a total solar eclipse on August 21st ... right before the exhibition opens.

Yet, I was still a little nervous.  Why?  Well, I committed to making this installation but really didn't have a big design wall on which to work.  A big design wall would help answer questions like:  How many circles will I need? Should some be larger?  Smaller? Hung closer together? Should I make one, big comet? How will they look in relationship to one another?  

 (Above:  The lobby at CMFA ... Columbia Music Festival Association ... before hanging the circles.)

Then I had a great idea!  If I secure a venue, I could invite the public to watch the installation-in-progress over the coming weeks, and I'd have a nice big wall on which to work.  I'd get feedback and new ideas from people viewing the work in exchange for blogging about the venue, sharing images to Facebook, and bringing new artwork into a public space.  This was envisioned as a "Win-Win" project for everyone.

 (Above:  Hanging the circles.)

Columbia Music Festival Association (know affectionately as CMFA) was actually EAGER to work with me! By the time I arrived as 10:30 AM this morning, temporary white walls were being moved into the lobby.  The width is 20 feet ... just four feet shy of the actual wall at Waterworks Visual Arts Center! 

(Above:  Wall hung with circles ... and also being secured together ... making a very, very nice exhibition space!)

Immediately I had some of the answers to my many questions.  I thought I would need at least eighty circles ... perhaps one-hundred.  I won't need that many!  I thought these circles might look too small; larger ones would be better.  Not true!  I think the sizes are excellent!  Plus, I wasn't sure about making a giant comet.  Now, I can't wait to do it!


 Best of all, I was able to see that the cast shadows are GREAT!  Originally, I thought it might not make a difference.  I was also unsure about the edges.  Would the thin, black lines radiating from some of the circles show up?  Yes, they do!

(Above:  Circles, an installation in progress.)

This is how the installation looks today!  I will be photographing, blogging, and sharing images to Facebook through the summer as the work progresses!  THANK YOU CMFA for partnering with me!

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