Soap Carving

Janine Antoni: This is not the first time I have heard about Janine Antoni, so it was nice to have some background knowledge of her work. My opinion of her art is that it is very abstract but quite brilliant. The "umbilical cord rope" is a really interesting concept. I enjoy that she thinks outside of the artist box. The intertwining of different fabrics might not have a large meaning unless the fabrics were considered important. The fact that an old family jacket was used in this piece gave it significance. The audiences connection to the piece is probably one of the hardest things to achieve. Her work goes beyond that because she is not only inviting the audience to connect with her artwork, but she is having the audience connect with herself. She poses for nude photographs, walks a tightrope and creates molds of her body. Her ambitions is very clear in all of her work and her ideas express meaning. I enjoy seeing her art and learning the meaning behind it, and even constructing my own meaning from it.

Process Photos

Final

Documentation  of Changes
Modification 1: Subtractive

For this subtractive measure, I sprayed my soap with the garden hose and rubbed it against the concrete.

Modification 2: Subtractive 

For this subtractive measure, I graded the soap with a cheese grader.

Modification 3: Additive

In this additive measure, I dripped candle wax on top of my soap shavings.

Modification 4: Subtractive

In this subtractive measure, I baked my soap and wax mixture in the oven and then compressed the goop into a lump.

Modification 5: Subtractive

Once the lump hardened I began to carve the soap into forms.

Modification 6: Additive

I added various pins in the soap at different angles to achieve different effects and angles.

Modification 7: Additive 

By adding the string, I accented the angles and proportions of the figure.

Modification 8: Additive

The last thing that I did to this piece was to add a translucent element. 

Final piece: 

Final:

Artist Statement: 
This project was creates using a subtractive measure. It is made completely of soap. By utilizing the carving tools, I was able to create a figure. I chose to carve a dog because of my golden retriever Levi. He is something that brings me joy and happiness so incorporating him into the piece gave it meaning. The changes that were made to the piece had no specific meaning. But, surprisingly by the time the second piece was finished it had a purpose. The second piece represents a precious stone. It is mounted in a way that resembles the nature of something valuable. This project proved to be extremely difficult. I had no background experience with carving, but overall I find the technique useful for my repertoire.

Architecture Relief

The time periods I used for this piece are Medieval and Romanesque. I was inspired by Trinity Church, Orveito Cathedral and St. George in the East for the Romanesque period. For the Medieval period, I was inspired by Osterlars Church, The Alcarzar, and Lavenham Houses.

Romanesque

Trinity Church- Henrey Hobson Richardson. Found here

Orvieto Cathedral. Found here

St George in the East. Found here

Medieval

Osterlars Church. Found here

The Alcazar. Found here

Lavenham Houses. Found here

My Project:

Final

The architecture relief was constructed to hang on the wall and to be approximately 24 inches long. Each side of the relief has a large pillar to unify the overall structure. The accents of balsa wood complement the middle section of this piece. The windows are covered in tracing paper and have string strung across each one. The highlights of balsa wood give the piece a sense of unity and the black accents give the relief some variety. The time periods I chose to represent throughout this piece gave me a lot of inspiration. The pillars on either side of the piece represent the historical time period of Romanesque architecture. The windows and upper portion of the piece show medieval architecture in that, the accents hold true to Lavenham houses. Another inspiration used in this piece is a large wall clock. When I began to create the architecture relief I wanted something that was timeless. Both grandfather clocks and cuckoo clocks share this type of theme. By mimicking the clock shape, I was able to effectively use both time periods and complete the projects successfully. 

Paper City

Final

Each of these pieces is created from paper and has a moving element. The first piece is meant to resemble a castle. Its edges are trimmed to create a delicate border that mimics the rest of the piece. All of the details in this piece are soft and subtle. The filigree on the front walls is duplicated in the piece that hangs above the gate. The gate is the element that can move. By pulling a tab, the gate can be raised or lowered. I created this piece by using very heavy paper and rubber cement. I cut the paper with an exacto knife to get clean edges. It rests on a piece of cedar that have been sanded down and rubbed with wax to make it shine. I was inspired by the castles that are found in fairy tale books and children's stories. I wanted this work to reflect how we never truly grow up.

The second piece is a bit more whimsical than the first. This piece is much smaller and stands on a block of that is supported with a brace in the middle. The little house sits on the edge of the cliff and has a windy rope ladder leading down to the lowest section. I created this piece by building a small box from paper and gluing a pinwheel and roof on top. The house in this piece was inspired by a Doctor Suess book and all the fantastic imagery he uses within his stories