In the Grain of Sand

At the moment I’m working on 3 interesting projects. 

Producing 220 tiles for the large sculpture has a nice rhythm of making, drying and firing, and I don't want to think about the next step - making the frame.

The sculpture is/will be titled: In the Grain of Sand. 

I don't really like naming the work before it is made as it could possibly restrict the growth of the idea, but in this case it was necessary.

It continues my exploration of the infinitely small, microscopic and, in this case, fragmented; and at the same time evokes ideas of complexity of the universe, individuality, fragmentation, decomposition and questions of origin. All of it in the grain of sand.

With 220 tiles in the making, the space in the studio is becoming limited

finished tiles:

It will be interesting to see how it all comes together. 

Second project is connected to the first: the Grain of Sand Studies.

I am enlarging imaginary fragments - grains of sand and exploring the shapes and textures.

I'm using terracotta, stoneware and porcelain clays as well as sand. Needless to say that those materials all behave differently and I have no idea if they will stay together through the drying and firing process. First tests have just come out of the firing and I'm happy with the results: colour of terracotta is nice dark chocolate brown, and it stayed together with the other clay. Yay.

Now I have to be very patient and allow the works to dry thoroughly before firing them. Not being familiar with terracotta, I can't just judge by the colour.

Here are a few photos of the works in progress:

Evolving

I have been away from the studio for 6 weeks, or was it longer? It seems a long time ago that I was feverishly working towards the solo show, and then packing up a suitcase and travelling for a month.  

This week, I’m back and making.

It is “another big one”. Every big sculpture I make has some known elements and some new ones, and it takes me few steps further into the unknown. This sculpture is not based on the geodesic dome. It is based on geometric shape called rhombic triacontahedron. It consists of 30 rhomboids, and it looks something like this:

Why this particular shape? It feels right. Not too simple and not too complex. And although this particular shape is not found in nature (that I’m aware of) it resonates with the natural forms through the idea of faceted sphere.

Could it "feel right" because the lengths of the diagonals are in the golden ratio?

This is the concept drawing of the sculpture that I'm making:

It will be made from 220 identical 3d tessellated tiles. Although the sculpture's skeleton is a 3d geometric shape, I want the finished sculpture to be organic and intuitively accepted as natural.