sarah pedry obuchowski

APEX

sgpedry — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:59:00 +0000

The following images are from the installation I did in the front window of MECA. It was up for 2 weeks, and received a lot of positive responses. The installation involved a jackrabbit attached to a line following robot, two vultures that flew in a circle powered by a fan, three wolf sculptures, a third standing vulture, and another rabbit. The “star” of the installation was the robotic jackrabbit, which also had a camera inside of its mouth that fed live to a television set, giving everyone the “bunny’s-eye” view of the installation and the people inside and outside of the school.

There are several themes within the sculpture, and one of the things I enjoyed about the response to the installation was all the different stories people came up with to explain what was happening, so I hesitate to give too much information. As in my other recent work, this installation was exploring the relationships between humans and animals, and humans and nature. I’m fascinated by the attraction we have to animals as both companions and as puppets on which we project human emotions and reactions. Our environment in America is completely controlled at all times. Even our National Parks are a kind of stage on which we control the balance of who/what can inhabit that space, and how they are allowed to interact. My work is not necessarily a critique of these things, but a recognition of the gap between humans and the rest of the natural world. John Berger talks about the loneliness of the human species in his essay, “Why Look at Animals?”, which discusses the idea that the more we know about animals the farther away from them we are. Our modern modes of communication, our knowledge, and our way of living in the world keeps humans isolated from other species, but the desire to have a relationship with animals and have them return our gaze is still and increasingly powerful instinct. I think the purpose of this installation was, in part, to begin a discussion about that very issue.

Please view the video to see the full installation with the jackrabbit and vultures moving…

Installation with Felt Animals and Shadows

sgpedry — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:20:48 +0000

This installation was done in a small kind of white-cube room at MECA. It’s a little hard to convey in pictures, but I think these give the general idea. Someone described it as feeling like you were walking into someone’s mind, which is a description I really liked. There was music playing that was a little eerie, but also cheerful somehow. As you walked through the room you would bump into the sculptures a bit, causing them to swing and the shadows to move. There were also two of the sculptures that had buttons you could push, and they would move. I think some people found it really creepy and uncomfortable to be in there, but for the most part people were oddly comforted by the space.

Here is a link to the video, where you can see how some of the sculptures move.

Group Felting Event

sgpedry — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:24:20 +0000

Our first week of the summer program at MECA we were lucky to have visiting artist Hope Ginsburg, who hosted one of her “Sponge” events. The week culminated with a group felting activity, where we made two large rugs. It was a great opportunity for me to learn another felting technique, and to make something on a much larger scale than I ever have before. Below are a few pictures…

Video Stills

sgpedry — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:10:18 +0000

Here are a few still from videos I’ve been working on. You can view all of them (and a few others) on my YouTube channel.

Update from grad school…

sgpedry — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:46:32 +0000

Here is an installation I’m working on around the themes of predator and prey. It’s in the school’s old library.

Thanks to Matt Tyson for the great photos!

Felt Sculptures

sgpedry — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:19:31 +0000

I recently had photographs taken of my felt sculptures, which turned out great. Waiting Man is the most recent of the sculptures.

NYS Sheep and Wool Festival

sgpedry — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:16:28 +0000

Two weekends ago we made the trip up to Rhinebeck, NY for the state Sheep and Wool Festival. We had a beautiful fall day with the leaves changing, crisp cold air, and blue skies. The festival was a fun an interesting experience; unfortunately severe overcrowding made it difficult to enjoy most of the vendors and demonstrations. If you could get to them, the vendors had a wide selection of raw wool, roving, and yarn for sale. I still have more wool to wash then I can handle, but it was pretty to see it all piled up.

After an frustrating attempt to see some vendors and buy a few spinning and carding tools, we gave up, grabbed a beer, and headed to the livestock barns. This was one of the best parts of the festival. I happen to love the smell of a barn, and we loved exploring all the varieties of sheep. We even watched a little of the sheep sheering; a process which I’ve been surprised to learn my city-dwelling friends expect to be painful for the sheep. In reality the sheep are carefully groomed (the contraption to hold them does seem a little uncomfortable, I admit) and end up free of several pounds of wool from their backs. Afterwards, they get a little custom fit jacket to keep them warm. After a hot summer it seems to me it must feel great.

The other activity that we loved was the sheep dog trials. I’ve seen this before in a small arena, but this competition took place in field the size of 2-3 football fields and had the dogs bringing the herd of sheep through obstacles from one end to the other. They were amazing to watch, and once again I feel fascinated as I watch nature and man work together so beautifully.

Over all we had a really great time. A lot of it was just the opportunity to get out of the city and experience some quiet for awhile. I think that part of my draw to sheep, felt, and all of the natural world is that I feel so completely isolated from the it here in New York City. While there are many wonderful things about living here, it also feels quite separate from reality. There are so many aspects of being a human that you simply cannot experience when you are surrounded by concrete, steel, and a population that walks through the streets only looking straight ahead.

Updated Deer and a Fox Engraving

sgpedry — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:21:03 +0000

Here are some updated images! I’m still working on some new dolls, and am planning to eventually have a small series of felt-doll sculptures. I also have several of these engravings of the fox, which I am hand painting now. It took some patience to learn, but I now love the hand engraving process almost as much as I love felt!

My birthday present from David was a trip to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival,which takes place in Rhinebeck, NY next weekend. You can be sure I’ll post some pictures and share some of the fun stuff I see!

New felt dolls

sgpedry — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:14:27 +0000

I’ve been making felt for well over a year now, and I still feel like I’m searching for just the right way to use it. After hours and months of work to create the fabric, it can be difficult to find the courage to cut it apart. I finally decided that I couldn’t put it off anymore, so a few months ago I started cutting into the fabric with only a rough idea in mind.

The dolls I’m making are small, and admittedly a little awkward feeling. I’ve cut them apart and reshaped them countless times, which has left them feeling quite patched and fragile. They are hollow on the inside, and have a nice textural quality when back lit. Pictured here is the most finished of the 2 dolls I have so far (it’s a deer, and not totally finished yet), and I imagine it as part of a larger scene when I’m finished.

Felting: part II

sgpedry — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:02:57 +0000

The wool has been gathered, washed, and carded… now it’s time for the felting. This is a practice that goes back thousands of years, and is a beautifully simple process. There is a long tradition of felting in central Asia, and from what I can gather, my process is essentially the same. Basically, all that is needed is warm water, and agitation. Wool will actually felt itself even while still on the sheep’s back, given the chance.

First, I lay a reed mat (purchased in China Town for about $3) on the floor with a piece of plastic tarp underneath to protect the wood floors. The carded pieces of wool are spread thin, and laid out in a single layer across half the mat in a 24″ square. I drizzle a gentle liquid soap over the wool, then lay a second layer going the opposite direction. The soap is repeated after each layer, and all of the wool pieces overlap slightly so there are no holes.

The number of layers depends on the desired thickness; for a solid, sturdy fabric I used 5 layers of wool.

Next, I fold the mat in half over the wool, and roll up tightly. I secure the roll using rubber bands.

I fill the bathtub with about 4″ of hot water, and submerse the wool until it’s soaked through. I like to begin the agitation in the tub by rolling the mat back and forth; I think of it as imitating the wash cycle in a washing machine.

After about 10-15 minutes of agitation in the tub, I drain the excess water and roll it back and forth on the floor using firm pressure.

The total agitation process takes about 30-40 minutes. When finished I unroll the mat, turn the fabric, and repeat the process. This needs to be done at least 4-6 times to make a tight fabric.

Finally, the fabric is finished. I hang it to dry for about 24 hours, and then it’s ready to use. Felt is especially nice to work with because it can be cut, stitched, and molded without having to hem the edges.

And there it is: The mysteries of felt unfolded!

Despite the long and tedious nature of felt-making, I really do love it – its natural process, and its ancient history. To me it represents the simplicity of the things we really need, all of which already exists in nature.