The evolution of Sleepwalker began, as all of my sculptures do, as a small exploratory sketch. This first phase can take up to 50 sketches to fully understand the character and the opportunities it creates to draw viewers into its space.
This piece didn't vary much from that first sketch to the finished work — a rare occurance. Most of the changes were structural tweaks, not conceptual.
Converting an image from two dimensions to three always creates surprises. This is an ongoing process of problem-creation/problem-solving. Here, the challenge was to create stability without making the figure unnaturally bulky.
Initially, I saw the hoop as connected only to the arms. Since the legs were to be semi-translucent paper and polymer, they would remain somewhat flexible. The wire armature needed a third point of contact to make everything rigid and able to support the weight of the upper body.
One surprise that came out of that structural work: the hoop is attached to the figure at three points. It's not immediately obvious where or how — which is exactly how I wanted it to appear. The connection is nearly invisible and feels natural, not engineered.
The figure was built up in layers. Opaque paper and polymer-coated surfaces above the hips followed by a final plaster-polymer skin.
Translucent, polymer-saturated mulberry paper created semi-translucent legs which contrast with the opaque upper body.
One recurring technique I use is inviting viewers into the spaces created by the form of the sculpture — a philosophy I learned studying Isamu Noguchi. The viewer becomes part of the space, and therefore part of the sculpture itself. It makes the unanswered question presented by the figure that much more personal and engaging. Read about the original concept behind this sculpture: Sleepwalker: A Journey of Forking Paths.