Saturday 14 January 2017

Art Nouveau Inspired Sculpture

As I wait to birth it has felt very important to finish unfinished projects. This is in part to do with following the Artists Way these last months and revisiting some of my artistic U Turns. And so I finally finished off this piece which has sat on the shelf next to my desk waiting to be cast for over a year.

Having spent many of my formative years living in Glasgow it is impossible not to be influenced by Art Nouveau and Rennie Mackintosh. However the artist I have always particularity admired was the lesser known Frances MacDonald, sister of Mackintosh's wife and part of the Glasgow School, The Four. Her work is beautiful. This sculptural work was greatly  inspired by her work, in particular - 

 
Spring - Frances MacDonald

 

The Sleeping Princess, 1910

I have been drawing 'floating ladies' for some time and have felt they have a certain Art Nouveau style to them. So I decided to use my penchant for floating ladies and be quite methodical in creating an Art Nouveau inspired piece. I  borrowed motifs and elements of style from artists across the movement, Frances MacDonald as earlier mentioned and artists such as Mucha. I originally sculpted the piece in clay and then made a plaster cast of the the clay original. Using this plaster cast I made a more durable final piece from white cement. I think my original plan had been too place the finished piece in a whimsical garden grove surrounded by greenery, which I have yet to create.