
4th Quarter Challenge – Land Art
I didn’t think I’d ever find time to do the 4th Quarter Challenge. When I chose Land Art, I thought it had a really good scope for some interesting felt sculptures. I really liked the work of artists using twigs and branches, whether they were abstract, patterns, designed by colour, or like Tom Hare’s work in willow, sculptures of plants, leaves, seeds, or even a sliced apple. I really liked this lotus seed head: http://www.tomhare.net/files/cache/6241679806767b541ec85e7977677c16_f44.jpg
I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. Something sculptural based on the things I’d seen with holes and stems and curves. I even thought I might do a series. Well, time was running out and I hadn’t started, and I was thinking about what I could do to take part that wouldn’t take as much time. For a few weeks I’ve had a piece of felt with a balloon inside, hanging in my living room doorway, it was the result of me thinking I’d try felting a winter woolly hat, and it ended up looking more like the start of a balaclava or fetish mask! So, I thought I’d improvise and use that. It wasn’t far off the shape I’d pictured, and though I would have preferred to work with wet felt not fulled, I thought it was worth a try. So, I started cutting, wetting and shaping, and I was happy to see it was starting to look interesting! I rinsed it and put another balloon in to keep it’s shape while it dried. I thought it looked really good, it was nice and firm and kept its shape without the balloon. I attached some string to get a photo, and this is what I saw when it spun around:
A ribcage! My fancy felt sculpture was meant to look plant-like, but it looked like a carcass! I took the string off and put it on the table, but it sunk a bit and that didn’t look less dead either!:
I reshaped it, the way it was meant to be, and that looked much better! I know it doesn’t look like any plant or seed in particular, I wasn’t copying anything, I just had a vague idea of shape, lines and holes:
It does look much better hung up, less flat and more round. While I was messing around taking photos, I stood it upside down and squashed it, and that looked really interesting!:
24 thoughts on “4th Quarter Challenge – Land Art”
Well done Zed – it’s amazing what a bit of experimentation/exasperation can produce – I really like the last three images, especially the last. I could see that on a stand in an exhibition!
Thanks, Lyn 🙂
It does seem to force the brain cells to work a different way!
Hello Zed, I absolutely Love your very innovative experiment. All the photos are most unique but I love the squashed look the very best.. I agree with Lyn it could go in an art exhibition and be a highlight of the show… Smile.
Thanks, Judy 🙂
I’ll have to squash all my felt from now on 😉
It reminds me of a fossil. I think it would be very good in a show, especially in it final configuration. You will have to think up some sort of name for it that will baffle people. 🙂
Or some elaborate description about how it represents the battle between the different realms of nature and creativity and how they interact and interplay with each other on, in and between the plains 😉
This turned out well, Zed, although it’s not what I expected! It must be structurally very firm to allow for those angles. Yes, I would say exhibit worthy.
Thanks, Cathy 🙂
It’s only a couple of layers of merino, but it was worked and fulled a lot to get it firm.
Great sculpture – would like to see it staged on beautiful tree bark for an exhibit –
Thanks, Frances 🙂
Yeah that’d look good.
I agree squashed is best, although the metamorphosis to that stage is very intriguing as well. Perhaps that could be your series. Definitely exhibit worthy! Well done.
Thanks, Marilyn 🙂
That’s an interesting idea actually!
It doesn’t look anything like a bear trap now 🙂 I think limiting what you use sometimes makes you go in different directions than what you had originally planned. I agree that the last photo of your sculpture is the most interesting and it could still be a seed pod.
Thanks, Ruth 🙂
I probably would have been disappointed if I’d try to make it from scratch so it probably worked out for the best.
From hat, to ribcage, to exotic seed pod. I like it and can only agree with the above that it would be well suited at an art exhibit!
Thanks, Zara 🙂
Yeah it was a weird series of stages for it 🙂
Fantastic!!
Thanks, Alice 🙂
I think you were channeling Australian botanicals. Quite evocative of the Banksia seed pod. You did succeed 🙂
That’s not too far fetched, I like Australia, maybe it was stored away for reference 🙂
Great work, Zed! Although I have to confess I find the sculpture more interesting as a ribcage 😀
Thanks, Leonor 🙂
There is a strange appeal about it!
Nice work Zed! I could just imagine seeing this in a gallery along with your “elaborate” explanation as to what it represents!
Thanks, Karen 🙂
I think I’d want to turn down any gallery which liked that explanation!