Hitomi's Lecture Notes & Sketches — Elements of Inspiration

Hitomi’s Lecture ONE Notes

Design One: ‘Autumnal Wood Sculpture’

Creating wood-focused Sculpture/Structure for Fall Season is an exciting design adventure to put our hands and mind to. Creating the wood sculpture…. Keeping in mind that the botanicals will bring the sculpture to life, living and vital with brilliant fall colors and tactile mixture of textures…. that you can see, feel and hear (crunchy fallen leaves).

The Sculpture

The beautiful naturally carved driftwood found awash on the beach has history…. It once was part of a living tree, which broke and got tossed out to sea…. It became eroded, tumbled and tossed into Nature’s Art. This FOUND beauty was securely mounted upright to showcase its best perspective on a heavy slab of milled oak. Threaded metal rod was secured into a drilled board with nut and washer.

A separate floating wood sculpture was created with hundreds of pieces of cut willow sticks (IKEA ‘Torka’) randomly bind-wired together. Curvaceous shape was crafted with multitude of crossing lines. The light and airy hand-crafted structure is larger in volume but much lighter in density in comparison to the driftwood, it is situated asymmetrically balanced horizontally.

The Botanicals

Manner of flowering will portray the fall season. To anchor the floating extension of the upper sculpture, the fall harvest fruits (apples and grapes) in combination with fall colored flowers (gold, red and orange) will occupy the upward column from half way up the driftwood, and waft across horizontally with heavier concentration of colors from left to right – thinning out to fade…

The rich fall colored flowers will thin out into the air via the senescent Floss stage of Clematis vitalba. While there is contrast story in the wood works…. There is a transitioning story of fall colors… Mature flowers to senescent seed stage…. Visual density, diaphanous something to nothing…

Contrasts

Natural sculpture crafted by HAND OF NATURE
Vertically oriented Dense wood VS Intricate sculpture crafted by HAND OF MAN
Horizontally oriented
Lightweight and transparent

Elements Utilized

LINE: Sticks, stems
FORM: Flower, Biomorphic shape of driftwood, Transparent cloud structure
COLOR: Fall colors
SPACE: Occupied spaces (positive) to negative space
TEXTURE: Wood, flower & floss

Principles Employed

Asymmetrical Balance
Botanicals to Structure Proportion
Horizontal over Vertical Proportion
Color Transition
Botanical Transition
Seasonal Transition
Contrast: Density to Transparency
Surface Texture
Color

Sketches

(click to enlarge)

Design Two: ‘Winter Solitude on Bowen’

Inspiration for winter wood composition consists of combination of wood material which remain past frost…. those that survive through the cold winter under snow and ice. Used found driftwood, bark, lichen branch and gnarly coniferous branch.

Assemblage

The lazy ‘V’ driftwood positioned on a metal stand is Nature’s Constantin Brancusi …. A minimalist sculpture, sleek and abstracted down to the pure essense of form. The smooth wave-tumbled wood is contrasted by the rugged Douglas Fir bark – a true opposite texturally. This stunning sculpture is complemented by lichen-covered dead Spruce branch and living Pine branch. These are sampling of materials collected at the Cape on Bowen Island…. This is a Botanical Assemblage.

The Botanicals

In addition to the lichen branch and pine in this constructed sculpture, minimal use of flowers create the winter white intrigue. White King Protea majestically floats forward to add visual and physical weight to balance this composition. Mini Callas bring your eyes from outside inward for introspection. Lage Tillandsia bulbosa creates interest for plant lovers.

Mechanics for Flowers

Chicken wire pillows and rolls in cavities covered with Bowen Island reindeer moss and water tubes into the double layer of chicken secures the moss.