Inspirations

"Cast Away"- paper, string & gel medium casting from a palm pod

Working in education at the deYoung Museum gives me lots of opportunities to admire the work of artist, Ruth Asawa. A collection of her sculptures hang in the ground floor gallery you pass through before reaching the elevators.
The sculptures are lit in a dramatic way.  Because there are multiple light sources, sets of shadows play on the walls behind the hanging wire work. It is like an x-ray effect in that you can see the way her forms are constructed by studying the shadows.
 http://www.ruthasawa.com/crochetwire.html

Asawa's art has been influential in my own sculptural approach to my boats. I like to keep my work light, so that it is easy to hang and handle. I like transparency when I can get it.  And I like the way  the boat can look like a three dimensional drawing in the air.
Noted from her website, "Asawa considers her wire sculptures three-dimensional drawings. Instead of the lines moving across the paper, the lines move through three-dimensional space."

This Spirit Kayak, "Cast Away" was cast from a palm pod that I used as the base form. I laid tracing paper down on the pod and used many coats of gel medium that caused the paper to form to the shape of the pod that was very boat like.I did two castings of the pointed pod, one for the right side then again for the left and joined the sections together in the middle. There is not much support but I don't need much structure because it is meant to be hanging in space.