Susan Williams

  Project 2 - String Art String Art dates back to the 1900's, it is art created by making designs with nails and colorful string. Mary Everest Boole is the first person to be given credit for making curves from straight lines contained within her art, which she used to explain math to her students. String Art later became the basis of the Bezier Curve. (String of The Art) Then John Eichinger was the first artist in the US to create what he called 'string mandalas' after the Hindu art form of circles within circles. (String Art Fun) For this project, I adapted this concept of mandalas that I previously used in Project 1, which was a mandala like wood sculpture but with a square base. For these designs I used frames that were found in the wood shop, small nails, and colorful string.  The basis for the designs were to show that even though a structure is created from a square, it can be turned into something else. My patterns were derived from squares but through the work of a...

Project 1 – Boxed Mind The box remains a central part of my art work, so I decided to look further into its meaning. The definition of a box is a container, which is an object that can be used to hold or transport something. Synonyms of a container are a vessel, a casket, and pottery. In this sense, one could consider the human mind a vessel that stores memories. This concept was intriguing and worthy of further development. Focusing on this concept, the human mind became a space comprised of various compartments. Each compartment ranged from a single level to multiple levels. The multi-level compartment were for the more complex thoughts and feelings; places that needed more space to breathe. As I planned the sculpture, I envisioned a mandala, made with various shaped boxes instead of circles. Originally thinking about using paper to sculpt, my vision began to change as I cut out each individual area. The piece needed to be more solid and sturdy, so I brought in the natural elem...