Sue Taves
Artist’s Statement for June 2011 Show “Imagine Summer”
When I first thought about this series, I pictured stacked stones that could be moved individually by the viewer. Figuring out the mechanics of how to achieve this proved to be a challenging discovery process. Go ahead, ask me anything about steel thrust ball bearings or flanged bronze bearings, and I could bore you for hours.
For me, these sculptures are all about wind and movement. Finding a way to depict wind in stone led me to create sculptural versions of objects that are intimately related to wind: sailboats, clouds, and flags.
Wind is a powerful moving force in nature and creates energy and change. This theme is a natural fit for sculptures that have moveable components. Rotating individual parts of the stacked forms alters their relationship with each other and creates a new sculpture each time.
Working with different stone to create interesting forms in multiple positions was the fun part; working a stone, then stacking it, moving it, taking it apart again and working it some more. I invite you to not just touch the sculpture, but to play with the shapes, moving them to your liking.
These stone and metal sculptures are made of materials that can be outside.
Artist’s Statement
Sculpting for me is about trying to express my ideas, thoughts and feelings in stone. I am more used to expressing these things verbally so creating sculpture has been like learning another language. It’s a visual language. I ask myself “what would this feeling look like?” or “how do I represent this concept in a physical form”? It’s an opportunity to look at the world differently or explore a relationship.
What makes a mountain recognizable? Is it still a mountain when it is small? What does a promise look like? How do these things change or stay the same when you put them into stone?
My process for sculpting varies, sometimes I have an image in mind and I find the stone to match and work until the image appears. Other times, I find a stone and I work directly with it with no preconceived idea of what it will be. There are times that I work out an idea by using models in clay before I ever find the stone. But in all of these cases, I am trying to create a visual picture for something that is different than how we have seen or imagined it before.
The more I practice this new language, the more discoveries I make. Words come more easily now and conversations flow. This process is like a journey into a new land. I hope you enjoy the results of these conversations and I invite you to have a dialog of your own.