This is our 'Subtractive Sculpture' project using mortar. I colored mine, terra cotta. We mixed up the mortar and let it set for a couple of days in a 5 gallon bucket. When it is still wet, in the early stages, it can be manipulated a bit easier than when it has set up for a week. So in the pictures above I am dividing my mortar into 3 slices.
The Samara is a form I have always been interested in. A samara is the fruit, or seed, of a maple tree. They hang like red tassels from their branches in the spring time. It is just such an interesting shape... I thought I would study it through this sculpture.
This project was especially hard on my hands. The mortar does terrible things to your skin, and the tools and muscle required to sculpt these forms are just tough and awkward. We used rock hammers and chisels, files, and a threaded rod to slowly find our forms in the mortar. It was my intention to have three samaras hanging together but early in the process I knocked one in half.
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| Progress on the mortar forms |
Similar to working with clay I find it such a mystery that my hands can create what my mind sees. I'm not sure how exactly that happens... I am such a planner in my art typically. And there is little planning that goes into these forms. You just work and struggle to see and understand the piece, and slowly it appears.
I drilled a whole at the top of the form. I glued a wire loop, and then connected to two with a longer wrapped wire, so that they hang as a pair. I hope to hang them like yard ornaments from the dogwood tree that overhangs my deck. I like the way they came out and I wish I had time to make about 5 more, because I think it would be really cool to see them in aggregate.
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