My outside influences were a flower, hand signing the letter h to stand for hope, and a red apple amongst many black and white apples. I created an abstract object in the shape of an apple, but there were flower petals on the top with two fingers reaching out symbolizing hope.
Develop Craft ~ Engage and Persist
I pushed myself to gain a better understanding of the physical properties of plaster such as brittle and hard by experimenting with multiple tools in order to find the shapes I wanted. At first I was going to have my object be cylinder shaped, but while I was in the process I changed the structure and had the base go in towards the center. I was able to adapt to the difficulties of the plaster by simplifying my once detailed idea. I came to better control the tools by practice. At first it was difficult to find the shape I wanted. Throughout time as I chipped away, the process became easier. I also was able to use different sand papers in order to get the smooth texture I wanted.
Stretch and Explore
My intentions changed over the course of my project multiple times. Before I felt the plaster, I thought it would be easier to manipulate to the shape I wanted. I simplified my idea in order to make my project successful. Later on, I had a cylinder shaped flower with vines coiling at the bottom. This shape did not express hope in the way I wanted, so I chipped away at the plaster at the bottom at an angle. My final piece is top heavy; this shows the hope I wanted to portray. I focused on texture and shape to realize my piece. The texture was smooth at the bottom, and rougher towards the top to show struggle. The shape and form being top heavy and two fingers coming out showed hope reaching up. My piece had a gesture being tense, but reaching up for better times through hope. Overall, many formal elements influenced my piece.
