Sculpture Exploratory 3 Exploration of little boxes and construction. Preparing some assemblage.

Exploration of natural nest using fir tree leaves (pine needles). Representation of the ‘Evergreen’ trees ‘en route’ giving constant shelter and security. Connecting with Andy Goldsworthy ‘s use of natural foliage to form natural sculpture. The circular form allowing the circle of life to be visible as well as a functional integral part of life in the forest. The nest will provide a central focus in the top of my Assemblage.

I have been working on a poem that focuses on sleeping in the forest. I wanted to try an fill my little boxes that will sit within the Assemblage with a line of this poem that I have simplified. I have explored many different artist along the way trying to connect to each idea deeply – I hope you can follow my journey.

Exploring Henry Moore and bone form.

I have been looking at skulls to replicate the work that animals do in the darkness. I wanted to create a feeling of decay and death that comes within the circle of life. I looked at Henry Moore’s work on bones to try and understand the value and properties of the structure of bone, along with its immense strength and form.

Feathers – ‘May my heart always be open to the secrets of the birds’ I wanted to use this quote on my feathers, as they are taken from the poem I have used as my foundation – ‘the birds and the insects who do their work in the darkness’. The feathers are a reminder of the unseen work to survive in the winter forest at night. Moths and Butterflies – I experimented the same process on the moths and butterflies to represent the insects and the moths that frequent the area at night time in the poem. I looked at poetry to inspire, taking a powerful piece by Mary Angelou which I felt was a good theory in the life of the forest of a moth or butterfly. ‘You will face many defeats in your life but never let yourself be defeated’.

Around Me – I thought it was an interesting thought to lay down in the forest at night time and just listen to everything going on around me. I found inspiration from Cornelia Parkers ‘ The Maybe’, immediately reflecting and connecting with the ability to have the time and seclusion to listen to what’s going on around me – but incarcerated in a box or a nest gave protection and comfort. As I started to sketch out this idea, I found my drawings were looking like Moore's structures. I wanted to create a simple piece for this box that gave a feeling of stillness and sleep with one form.

The making of the figure laying in the bed of the forest – clay.

Breathing - wire leaves (currently working on small fuse wired leaves for this idea – hence no photo yet.) I wanted to continue earlier exploratory work with the leaf decay – symbolising the breath of the trees and the oxygen they give us to enable us to breath. I thought it would be interesting to show how the lack of breath from the slowing down process of winter, showing decay and lifelessness within the leaves. It also made me think about Cornelia Parkers deflated balloon, with life and every breath withdrawn.

Small Kingdoms – I have been looking different habitats for small underground kingdoms. I liked the shapes created in the underground bees nest. The clever formation of hexagonal shapes all woven together. I thought about how I could structure this giving it the strength and energy it deserved. I have used plaster and the natural wire pattern of the chicken wire; perfect for the underground nest I needed for this box. ‘ As I rose and fell’ – I was inspired by Joseph Cornell's use of maps. I wanted to try a symbolize a journey of time and travel – I used seed heads symbolising the drifting as they fall and pass through the air to pollinate – thus adding to the life cycle. I placed them on a map to show their journey. I caught the shadow of the sun creating a sun dial effect of the earth passing around the sun. With the long shadows of the winter sun in the afternoon.

‘ And fell...’ The thought process was to try and find something that emulated the ‘fall’. I had shown the seeds on the graph but needed something that incarcerated the force of nature ‘ the fall’ of the tree, the entrapment of time and life in the forest. Inspired by Goldsworthy's Hanging Tree I had previously researched I wanted to give my tree a feeling of trap, security and falling...I used bubble wrap to provide a safe haven for my tree that is solidly wedged, ‘trapped’ inside the box.

‘ In the darkness..’ Thinking about the process of hunting and survival in the night time forest. I looked at the way Richard Long portrayed his journeys. I spent some time researching words to form a simple rotational map of the night, the hunt and the end result. I love the feeling of energy and inevitability of the process. I wanted to continue to reflect on the life cycle, circular format and then using a seed, to create a centre that produces a long shadow in the moon light. I have placed it in darkness, on black to create the feeling of infinity of the night within this box.

‘ All night I heard...’ seeking inspiration I looked at Ian Hamilton Finlay. Connecting with the idea of Concrete poetry I wanted to convey the things I would hear and feel whilst laying on the forest floor. I made some clay stones to place in this box, each one engraved with a word to support this idea.

All night I heard around me small kingdoms

Breathing,the insectsand the birds... Wire leaves

Who do their Work in darkness.

All night I roseAnd fell.

I had vanished Into something better. Still in progress!