Afternoon materials study in a Park Slope backyard — sweet gum seeds transformed into sculptural objects through successive Rockite dips.
Using what the New York Times called "the Mean Seed of the Sweet Gum" as source material, one afternoon I embarked on a materials study in a Park Slope backyard.
With the gum tree providing the seeds, I maintained a natural materials theme by using found twigs as joining components. After the objects were assembled, I dipped them in Rockite several times, changing the viscosity with successive dips. Different forms emerged — some cubic, some sputnik, some trapezoidal. The final objects reminded me of chemistry model kits. Successive dips in Rockite would structurally reinforce them, but at the loss of seed texture definition.
The craft of casting: If the Rockite mixture was too thick, I lost definition of the gum ball spikes; if too thin, it would not properly coat the structure. The viscosity was everything.
Working from what's on hand: The whole study was about using found materials — seeds, twigs, Rockite — and seeing what they wanted to become. The process produced unforeseen connections between natural forms and sculptural outcomes.
Permission to make: These afternoon ad-hoc casting sessions satisfy the urge to create something tangible. They're not briefed, not billed, not polished — and that's the point. They engage the mind in a way that only unscripted making can.
