Instant Sculpture [Art Explorer #2]

ART WORD OF THE WEEK:

Bal·ance [bal-uhns]:



Balance is the state of equilibrium, or harmony. It can be achieved in two ways:
1) Symmetrical (formal) - shapes are evenly or equally balanced around some point, eg., up or down, right or left, horizontally, vertically, radially, or diagonally (p.144)
2) Asymmetrical (informal) - objects are not evenly or equally balanced from a point (p.144)

        When we were first assigned this task I thought of all the unique supplies I could possibly use to build my sculpture and was prepared to go all out. But, I was blank; I didn't know where to start. After some thinking, I reevaluated what a sculpture means to me. Is it something that has to have a definite outcome? Does it have to portray something that people can recognize? While I was still contemplating what materials to use, I noticed a whole stash of pencil crayons sitting right infront of me. That sparked an idea; to use pencil crayons to construct my sculpture! As if coming up with what/how to make my scuplture wasn't difficult enough, I decided to complicate things by choosing to balance something that rolls.

        You could imagine how long this took me; no glue, no tape, just... stacking. It collapsed several times just when it started to take shape, thus testing my own patience, and fighting against my frustrations. I've rebuilt this so many times, I think I've mastered the art of...well, balancing rolling objects. haha

Coloured pencil sculpture

         When I first started constructing this abstract sculpture, I had no predetermined plan as to where I was going with it. I had no idea what I was going to do with the pencil crayons, or how I was going to utilize them. I didn't even know what I wanted to make, let alone what I wanted the finished product to look like. As a result, I just started playing with the pencil crayons rearranging them in different ways and ultimately, letting my creativity take over. In the end, this was the result. It doesn't matter that I didn't know how my sculpture was going to turn out; the product isn't what matters the most. The whole process of this construction was a learning experience in and of itself. Not only did it test my patience, but my determination to successfully build it as high as I could before it collapse gave me perseverance.


        As I take a step back to look at my sculpture, I realize that as a whole the structure can represent the difficulties of balancing all the big and small things in life (represented through the long & short pencil crayons). It's hard, but we must establish our foundation first because at any moment it can all come crashing down. The fall would represent the unequal balance of the things in our lives as people, and events become to take pecedent over more important things, thereby, causing imbalance. Once we've formed our foundation, we can then slowly try to balance and add in the momentary distractions and troubles in our daily life. If we lose sight of our focus and start mixing big and small together we become unstable.

        Children are always making and building structures of all shapes and sizes using anything they can find that is stackable. Even when materials are not stackable, some children will attempt to balance it ontop of another object. I've seen young children who continue to try balancing objects over and over again despite many failed attempts. Their perseverance is really inspiring and encouraging.

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & creative development for young children (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/Delmar Learning.