Bamboo & Paper
We started using 1 or 2 split bamboo poles (2’ to 4’ long) as simple, elegant supports when composing just as we use wire, wood slats & foam board.
Later, we built some bamboo structures held together with cable ties. They’re meant to be used in any position whether it’s a freestanding one or not. They were starting points for composing. We thought of them as interactive clothes horses. We’ll add and arrange objects on the framework until we get a composition we like. Generally, it won’t be free-standing. So, we’ll rearrange the objects a bit more; add some abaca wrapped rocks; or take a strip of fabric and attach it from artwork to ground as a guy wire. Or, we’ll snip some cable ties and rearrange, extend, add or subtract some of the bamboo sticks.
Also, see our suspended bamboo & paper piece, Yours unless you stop that was up in the Arts building at Edgewood College, Madison WI this past school year.
Inspiration underfoot
2021 cast abaca and cotton papers, wood with papers, pastel and paste paper application, dowels, wire, fabric 5’ x 3’ x 2.5’
The blue conduit form is the main actor, being bent back as it is thrown up or pushed aside by forces underfoot.
From this angle the blue conduit is snared, entangled by the same elements that hold it off the ground.
The conduit is more an equal match to the obstacles from this side. Inspiration can be a clarion call, but it is often a struggle to see, accept and use.