A rocky outcropping, a moss and an organism

I had a great day in my studio yesterday choosing the colours and shapes that I will use in the final sculpture. I use relief ink on sculptures such as theses because the colour is very intense with lots of pigment. It is a bit of an experiment using printing ink on a sculpture that will be outside, but I will just have to wait and see how the colour reacts over the 12 months it will be on display. Using ink also gives me the option of creating a print from the sculpture. I am interested in how my sculptures can also be tools for making other images. The idea that I can create a second two dimensional object of this work in the form of a print is very interesting to me as I often think about how creating objects that represent creatures or structures in nature can also be a form of collecting specimens. The specimens being characters from a world that I am creating in the work.

As well as working on the metal structure I have also been drawing out and cutting the wooden forms that will be attached to the metal body. These wooden shapes will represent an organism and a rocky outcropping. I worked out the shapes by looking at the grain of the wood reacting to any interesting inconsistencies in the surface of the marine ply as well as trying to find a satisfying form.

I have spent two intensive days in the metal workshop this week, working on the main steel body of the sculpture. I have mainly been working on the joints that will allow the sculpture to be taken apart for transport, but be very strong for when the sculpture is up.

Printmaking is a very important part of my practice and I have been making books and collections of woodblock and relief prints in my studio while planning my work for the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize 2015. I am going to incorporate two giant wooden print blocks into my sculpture for Broomhill. I am interested the idea that one work can exist in two different spaces, the three dimensional space of a sculpture and the two dimensional space of a print.