Getting distracted in a good way

Cynthia, the coordinator for the Artist's Studio Program at the de Young Museum, asked me a few weeks ago if I needed pedestals for my Artist in Residence exhibit in January
This made me stop to think about how much I love to see art on pedestals and what work might benefit from being on one. On Thanksgiving, I had a flash of inspiration that drove me to distraction. Distraction is not all that bad sometimes. I was on a roll working with other sculpture and details for the show but got excited by the challenge of fitting in a couple more new pieces. There was just enough time to pull it off.

Having just finished listening to “The Preservationist” by David Maine on audio books in my studio, my mind was full of ideas about Noah’s journey. I started to sketch arks and found this to be a lot of fun. The ark is a powerful icon of a boat and I knew my residency would be even stronger with one or two in the mix of boats.

So I set to work and loved how the various parts came together. Using some of my favorite materials, tracing paper stained with coffee and applied with gel medium over a modified form of a basket with cardboard and twine gave the work the qualities I was hoping for.
Other things took a back seat because of this ark building but I was happy to be able to make the most of my distraction.