The image above comes from the installation "Soften" in the final exhibition. Materials hung behind the window in motion as a film projected over them. This form was one of several considered; ultimately it grew directly out of previous impulsive experiments in the studio. I was working through emotions, making forms in order to ask people for understanding. As the weeks progressed, so my perception and method broadened. The making of this installation and other drawings required asking questions that brought me resolve I would not have otherwise found.

Final Project Pictures

<- This is how my project looked for the exhibition

<-This was my project for critique

Final Project

My final project was a refinement and a progression from my midterm project. I continued with the ideas of drapery and movement and absence of body. I was excited with the way my ideas developed throughout the semester to culminate in the three different pieces of my final project.

One of the pieces consisted of three individual, free standing sculptures made out of plaster and fabric. I made them by draping fabric soaked in plaster over human bodies until they hardened and then I took the forms off of the people and they left a trace of a body but the body was absent. I connected the three pieces with fishing wire and they were all tied to a weight and elastic. When the weight was moved, the weight and elastic would move all of the different sculptures in different and strange ways. I was inspired by dancing, and I wanted to suggest a sort of dancing movement with stiff objects that suggest an absence of a human body.

The drawing part of my project was made by pouring plaster over color drawings in blob-like shapes that look like footprints or fragments of something that was once whole. This was the only part of my project that I was able to explore my interests in color and fragments. These plaster drawings compliment my third part of my project which was fabric draped over fans. The fan pieces were the most sophisticated and complete part of my project. I used white satin fabric and sewed it so it would cover the fan and collect the wind to create an illusion of a form underneath the fabric. There was one covering a floor fan and one over a taller fan. My final project really brought together and refined all of my interests throughout the semester and I was extremely happy with the way it turned out. I learned a lot about different materials and movement that I will be able to incorporate into my work in the future.

The Cooking Class

Here is a long overdue copy of my notes from the cooking class :)

TIRAMISU!!:
250g mascarpone
3 eggs (fresh)
150g sugar
buy a coffee maker (decaf) and just fill it up it costs like 10 euros
in bowl A) mix yolks and sugar till it gets kinda frothy/bubbly-appx 5 min. then mix in mascarpone
in bowl B) whisk the whites till they have peaks
bowl A) put in 70% chocolate chips
put bowl B in bowl A ("in a friendly way") add some more chocolate chips
then soak lady fingers in coffee... and then layer it all up.
then put 100% cocoa on top and some more chocolate chips on that

Bruschetta!!!!:
rub raw garlic on bread, then toast.
chop up some tomatoes, put them on the toasted bread with dry oregano and sea salt

Tagliatelle!:

for each 100g flour, use 1 egg (100g flour and 1 egg= good for 2 people)
make a circle in the pile of flour and break eggs into that crevice.
add about 1 tsp salt
squeeze/mix ingredients together by hand
wrap in saran wrap rest 30 min

bolognese meat sauce (each region has its own) in large flat pan: red onions, 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic, red win reduction, pork, beef
-meat mashed w/ fork and add 1 cup red wine
let wine evaporate, pour a can of boiled tomatoes in -chopped
1 cup water in after the tomatoes
medium heat for 10 minutes, at some point throw in a handful of basil leaves

making the noodles after 30 minutes have past....
roll out the dough in parts with lots of flour. really flat, as big as a pizza. then cut in half, fold over, then roll into 2 inch section. cut in 1/2 inch pieces from there (sorry... dont know how to explain!)
put flour on top and toss. fluff and break up pasta till it breaks into individual noodles
in pot- 2 tbsp salt plenty of water

I hope this can be helpful in attempting to replicate the recipes! :)
Sorry that it is so jumbled and incomplete but its all i managed to pick up!

yummm.... tagliatelle alla bolognese...

Final Project: Openings

This work is nothing I could have imagined creating before coming to Florence, but simply going through life and doing the exercises for class, the forms just naturally developed. I can see, looking back, how strongly I was influenced by the Bobali gardens, Anthropology Museum and La Speccola (even if I wasn’t aware of it at the time). I became interested in framing and seeing through one thing to another at the Bobali, an interest that did appear in my midterm work, but much less intentionally. And looking at the final form of my project, I can now see similarities with the objects I was attracted to at the Anthropology Museum and the forms of presentation that interested me at La Speccola. The experience of these places in Florence combined with more specific, personal events led me to think about dualities and how two separate things may combine.

The final form of my work this semester combines these interests. When the viewer approaches the wood form intimately, the two holes combine in their vision to become a single opening. The lower wood form with a silt carved down its center also relates to the pair of photographs. These images combine to form a personal significance for me, but can be interpreted in multiple ways.

Some more photos from the opening

Me with five of my artworks!

Gabby's installation and one of Rachel's drawings.

Genevieve speaking with some guests about her artworks.

Amelia's installation.

Installation and Final Show

Prior to this past week, my opinion was that the process of installing was simply a matter of time. However, it proved to be a serious of frustrating road bumps that reminded me that perfect isn't always possible, and thats can be ok.

My final work was the pairing of a photo with a time progression video of bleach working on fabric. My original idea was to display the video along with a slide projection of the picture. Unfortunately, for the final exhibition the slide had not yet been created from the photo. As a substitute, I used a spotlit photo because I still wanted to maintain the presence of real light.

This past semester has really allowed me to explore where my tendencies and interests lead me and to learn how to make my personal experiences and emotions something that can have a universal impact. I can only hope that my piece in the final exhibition did just that.