I'm currently beavering away creating various pieces for a number of exhibitions-awards-shows. A couple of the pieces require many foldformed anodised aluminium leaves such as the stash in the photo below -about 20 'leaves' in an anodised cake pan below.
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| Barry Smith © Autumn leaves? |
For each piece I'm doing I require about 100-120 of the leaves. Well I now have over 120 leaves so I thought I'd use them in a leaf installation I have been holding in my head for some time. At the moment the work has the working title of
"After the storm" - a drift of leaves have been heaped in and around a rusted old milk bucket by the wind and rain. I took a few shots of the installation - a few are below. The installation is about 1m long, 500mm wide and 250mm high.
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| Barry Smith © After the storm - view 1 |
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| Barry Smith © After the storm - view 2 |
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| Barry Smith © After the storm - view 3 |
So that is what 120+ leaves looks like. Supporting the leaves is a heap of old metal offcuts - the bucket is normally one of the places I keep brass and copper offcuts - someday to be melted down.
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| Barry Smith © Leaves - cut, folded, hammered and unfolded |
The photo of my bench shows the leaves in their different stages: recycled anodised aluminium lids being cut up; the rectangles of metal before folding; the folded leaf forms ready for beating; and the formed and unfolded leaves in the cake pan (later to be cut up for more leaves).
this is how i always imagined these - not that they are not individual works of art to be contemplated alone... but because of your metal choices and colors that result, the variety calls to be brought together as a group... perhaps my living where the foliage changes in the autumn, seeing the ground blanketed with a variety of color, shape and size influenced the desire to see it... what you have accomplished is perfectly beautiful (and is, ever single time, since you are so gifted)... and a lot of work... like ai wei wei's sunflower seeds, but no walking through them!
ReplyDeleteso very very very well done - in vision and execution...
Just delightful Barry.....the collection of them, in and of itself, is pure joy!!
ReplyDelete~the thought manifesting in your mind could not have been more beautifully executed...
ReplyDeleteafter the storm...
if the aftermaths were colored leaves i'd be dancing in the rain and wind always creating as much wind and rain as i possibly could...just gorgeous my friend...be well and much love light and blessings~
~the thought manifesting in your mind could not have been more beautifully executed...
ReplyDeleteafter the storm...
if the aftermaths were colored leaves i'd be dancing in the rain and wind always creating as much wind and rain as i possibly could...just gorgeous my friend...be well and much love light and blessings~
B ... your mind is amazing! artistic and edgy ... i so love the concept of this installation. but omigosh! 120+ leaves!! you are a patient man indeed.
ReplyDeleteB ... your mind is amazing! artistic and edgy ... i so love the concept of this installation. but omigosh! 120+ leaves!! you are a patient man indeed.
ReplyDeleteWonderful colors, these leaves are delicious, the first photo has a lovely light. Greetings.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant - what a fantastic idea! Wonderfully executed with that great bucket. Hmmm, these leaves sort of 'grow' on us, don't they...
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what other installations you have planned with them.
Lush!!!! .... and I don't mean the drinking kind.
ReplyDeleteMD, P (MB), B, LT, L, S/R & JM - am chuffed that you all liked the installation and in particular the stash of leaves. Whilst they are beautiful individually there is something greater when they form a drift or litter of leaves. MD - if only one could do a Wei Wei - but I think I would be beating metal for a very long time - maybe if we we got all our blog leafs together for a week of making we could create an amazing installation or two. I have 'talked' to SZQ about doing a peace tree for peace day of 2013 - might be an idea to start on that. P - yep the number really work - as do the colours _I have had the word out to friends that I want autumn colours lids and containers. LT & B - I do have a bit of a strange creative mind - and the multiples do take a lot of patience.S/R had to laugh about the leaves growing on us - I'm afraid I will have boring posts for a while given my exhibition pieces have leaf theme - but that can't be all bad. All- go well and be well. B
ReplyDeleteStunning! That is truly a beautiful site - all the colors of the seasons amassed together. I think at the rate you can make those little lovelies that it wouldn't be long till the peace tree was in full bloom. I just love all of those in the display. Wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteThis was such an exciting post to view and read! I desperately want to see the finished idea in person, it will be incredible!
ReplyDeleteSZQ&MFM - Thanks for feedback and a gathering interest in creating the peace tree for 2013. SZQ - the stash for my current work is growing. MFM - given your metal work skills it would be good to have you along as part of the peace tree project - interested? Go well. B
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning installation!
ReplyDelete