Artist statement for skeleton skin

Branch Suspended over Calm Waters

Although this piece is nonrepresentational, it is suggestive and visually has aspects of a birch tree branch that has just fallen towards a pond in midsummer. The sculpture consists of two identical forms that are suspended horizontally with fishing line which gives the impression of a mirror image, maybe even a reflection of the upper form to the bottom form on a surface of calm water. The skeleton is constructed out of thin copper wire and the skin is made from latex that is pigmented with acrylic paint. The color and shape of the skin has a concept of leaves on a birch tree. Birch trees have circular, tear drop shaped leaves and in midsummer have a yellowish green color to them. The sculpture has balance from these identical forms that are suspended because the visual weight is evened out proportionally on a horizontal axis. There is repetition through out the piece with the curvilinear copper wire and the shape and color of the skin. This repetition also creates a harmony or balance because the lines are evenly distributed. The piece is also symmetrical which gives it a unity.
I had some concerns about the project in the beginning which, in the end, benefited my creation. I was unsure that the gauge of copper wire was going to support itself, but after adding more of the circular copper structures it was able to support itself and it gave the structure a simple, fragile, weightless look to it. I wanted the look of simplicity because to me it shows good craftsmanship and it has less visual distractions, for this piece the weightlessness also works because it is suspended and it gives the impression of forms floating in space. I was also going to have the latex skin placed on the rectangular planes of the sculpture, but found that it made it look too heavy and was not as visually pleasing as the circular frames. This is a piece that is supposed to create a sense of weightless floating, like a picture has just been snapped of the forms before they gradually meet together. That is why when I studied my final project I visualized a branch floating downwards towards a pond.