Borders Red & Green Sculpture

I developed this idea from a digital sketchbook I maintain and develop nightly. (About 1 in 30 of the sketches make it into production.) I started backward from the two-dimensional image, and developed a series of steps to create the various elements of the design. Each section of this design was filled with liquid green polymer clay. Red clay was rolled and cut into each shape and layered on top, with polymer clay extruded to form edging and detail. After firing, stripes were painted onto each tile. The background was cut from plywood, sealed, and painted. I then extruded black epoxy clay borders and pressed in black glass bugle beads. After assembling and firing, the whole project was fixed with varnish. Designed in 2020, this project was a visual expression of the molecular images of the disease in the news that year. I think it also captures the sense of being separated from each other by the “borders,” or the walls of our homes during lockdown. These borders can also evoke a sort of electoral map. I love to work in bold colors but I would say that the colors from the projects this particular year were especially bold. These are some of my favorite projects I have ever made.