I found so much inspiration in an excellent two-week workshop given by Grzegorz Gwiazda at the Barcelona Art Academy. We started off exploring the concept of abstract dynamic composition as applied to an abstract sculpture.
Important considerations:
- how is weight distributed throughout the form
- what are the transitions within the form – falling, touching, melting
- steer yourself away from rhythmic repetition; your mind expects this but it’s so much more satisfying to be surprised by the unpredictable
- Delight with changes in scale, contrast, asymmetry
I explored some ideas for the sculpture in my notebook. I had trouble visualizing the sculpture when rotated!
Sketching out some ideas
My idea was to have a hard fist at one end that transitioned to a round, soft form at the other end. Underneath the belly would be punctuated with small shards.
The sculpture came together without deviating much from the initial sketch although I wasn’t altogether satisfied with the round shape. I would definitely explore this shape more, maybe building it with connecting flat surfaces if I were to work on this idea again.
This sculpture had to be broken down and the clay re-purposed for my next sculpture, an interpretation of the iconic “walking figure” pose.