Over the past four months, my pile of cardboard tubes has grown. Now, it's time to move from the collection to the creation phase. This project has required me to take a different approach to art making. In previous works, the concept and object develop in tandem around a material, form, or other source of inspiration. For Reef Cycle, I proposed an installation without having any real idea how that would manifest in a physical form. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to best use the materials to create the reef. In the past, my installations have developed more organically. The pieces would grow and evolve without the necessity to stay true to the referent. This project is different in that I must retain that imagery throughout the entire process. While the objective is very straight forward, I still feel the potential to be creative, experimental and somewhat abstract in how I ultimately construct the reef.
One little detail I did include in the proposal was that EVERYTHING must be recyclable. I had no idea that finding an adhesive that broke down would be so difficult. Thanks to my previous years as a sculpture and object conservator, I remembered the conservation motto, "Everything must be reversible".
One little detail I did include in the proposal was that EVERYTHING must be recyclable. I had no idea that finding an adhesive that broke down would be so difficult. Thanks to my previous years as a sculpture and object conservator, I remembered the conservation motto, "Everything must be reversible".
More often than not, I use non-traditional materials to create art, and this project was no exception. To attach my cardboard tubes, I found a water-soluble glue, similar to Elmer's for art conservation: Jade-R (R meaning reversible). No one had heard of this product, but it was all I had found that fulfilled my requirements so I ordered a couple quarts. It would take a week attached to a snail's back to arrive at my door, but I had found my recyclable adhesive! Now, onto the next problem...
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