Orogenesis

Geologically speaking, Orogenesis is the tectonic process which creates mountains.

This sculpture is made from reclaimed shipping pallet wood: oak, cedar, and pine. The circling pattern builds to the peaks, evoking topography and geologic superposition via strata.

It's about 7' long and 4' tall.

Process.

The structure was built modularly; it is designed to break down into three parts for transport and reassembly. The two halves push together like tectonic plates. 

 Completion.

It is set on wheels, allowing it to move freely around the gallery. It is a moving mountain, a transforming landscape.

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And once the show was over, this is what it looks like in my car.

opening night

21g Gallery, Baltimore

 Eduardo Rodriguez, the gallery director

"Rift" alongside "You Are Here" 16mm film samples

"Orogenesis" 7'x4' 

"M/Otherland"

Back to back monitors playing films "Tectonic" and "You Are Here"

Explaining concept and execution

My mom came all the way from Dallas <3

It was a great show. It'll be up till May 3rd, so if you haven't had a chance to see it, 

stop by and check it out!

SOLO SHOW

M/Otherland, my senior thesis BFA honors show,

opens TOMORROW NIGHT (Thursday the 7th) at 21g Gallery!!!!

6-10pm

782 Washington Blvd.

Baltimore, MD

Two semesters of research and work have developed into the sculptures, drawings, paintings, and films that are included in this show. It is now the eve of the opening, and I would like to say thank you to all the people who helped me make this possible. This wasn't a one-woman show, there were so many important people who made this into what it is.

Thank you to Jan Baum, my thesis advisor, for making me reach my potential. Rachel Timmins, for always being  honest and encouraging. David Knopp and John Shea for thier generous in-kind donations, which allowed me to construct all my sculptures from reclaimed materials. Shelly Blake-Plock for the use of his song in my film, and for getting me into art in the first place. Kate Gilman and Jessica Schimpf for the wonderful poster design and for their unconditional support. My parents, for understanding my need to create. Eduardo Rodriguez for his promotion and for allowing me the space to make this event happen. Paul Harne and Drew Bassin for their help with installation. To everyone at my office for letting me work crazy hours so I could get everything done. Thanks to everyone else who ever gave me a critique, offered a hand or a shoulder, and inspired me.

Thank you.

tectonic

Several weeks ago (long before March 11^th) I made this animation, “Tectonic,” by tracing landscape photographs my father took while we were living in Colorado. The simple black lines were animated at 60fps, blurring the landscapes into one morphing entity.  I wanted to show the impermanent nature of landscape, and how memories of a specific place can be easily morphed and forgotten. The audio* is original geologic recording from the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami- You’re hearing the crust of the earth moving. This is a part of my moving landscape series for my upcoming show, “M/Otherland.”

I thought it was a pretty successful piece on its own- then the Tsunami hit Japan. Suddenly, the context of this film was altered; now the power of the Earth is very fresh in the collective memory, and we are suddenly very aware of the effect it has over first world countries. This expands the meaning of “Tectonic” beyond my personal experience and memory- it is now something we can all relate to when we read the news.  The anxiety I tried to convey in this animation is now very real as the world watches Japan’s delicate nuclear status.

Tectonic from Savanna Leigh on Vimeo.

Please take a little of your time to donate to a Japanese Tsunami relief fund. Google has several easy to use donation widgets for the Japanese Red Cross, International Medical Corps, Unicef, and Save the Children. Please do what you can.

*Note: The audio is a very low frequency. If you're having trouble hearing it, please use headphones. If you have a subwoofer, crank it up till your windows shake!

love and risk

This is my piece "MacGuffin" currently hanging in the City Arts Gallery as part of the show "Love and Risk." All these images can be rearranged to form a new narrative based on the Kuleshov Effect. When an image is juxtaposed with another, the meaning of both of them changes. The images on the wall change their context depending on what images are surrounding. The viewer is invited to change the narrative.

All the images are from Hitchcock films including North by Northwest, Vertigo, Rope, The Trouble with Harry, and Rear Window. A "MacGuffin" is a plot device constantly used by Hitchcock to catch his viewers off guard. 

On view at City Arts

elsewhere

my work has been recently featured in a few other spots. check em out!

kate gilman graphic design posted a nice little shout out for my upcoming show!

my short video documentary featured on glassblowing tv

ehow used my previous blog post on fiberglassing as its reference!

and here too!

Let me know if you find anything else on the internets!

postcard

My solo show opening is coming up fast. I'm getting excited. I need to build a shit ton of pedestals.

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 Excellent design by Kate Gilman. She gave me about 15 proofs to pick from! If you are interested in using her as well, contact me and I'll send along her info.

guts

This is what the inside of a build looks like for rapid prototyping (3D printing). This is just a test piece with five moveable parts to find the clearences and tolerences of the material I'll be using for a later project.