This year I have experienced and discovered a huge variety of art which I was unaware of before. Some of this art I found on my own, through sources like Instagram, others, I was shown by friends or in class. Art like this included sculpture made from bone, recycled material, and even light. For this project, I strove to create something alike this new art I had discovered.

For my project, I wanted to make something weird and “out there”. I was especially inspired by the artist Argama Arts, who paints the skeletons of naturally deceased animals, and adorns them with gold and crystals. From her art, and research I did as part of the Light Art class, I decided I wanted to make a full dog skeleton sculpture which would be lit up with LED strings and LED crystals.

I created my skeleton out of wire, tape, wooden sticks and hot glue. I covered it with air dry clay and wrapped it with washi tape. Creating the skeleton was incredibly frustrating and definitely the most difficult part of the project. Finally I completed the skeleton, and I could begin adding the lights. Using hot glue, clamps, and immeasurable patience, I slowly glued and clamped an LED string along the inside of each rib and down the back of the spine. Then, I picked locations for my crystals on the back of the dog. I used the wire skeleton of the dog as the ground, and wired the Arduino up to each LED. I wrote a simple code which gave the LEDs a slight flicker.

Finally, I created the environment for the skeleton. I wanted a reflective environment that the light could bounce and play off of. For this, I got reflective, starry wrapping paper, which I lined a cardboard box with. For the floor, I ripped up foil and laid down glass drops. I took a cheap shattered mirror and pulled pieces from it, which I used to make mirror stalactites. From the ceiling I used some glass beads I had, which I hung down in strings.

Overall, this project was incredibly time consuming and completely frustrating. However, I wouldn’t undo my actions if given the chance. I feel like I learned a lot about failure and coming back from failure, and how to deal with anger and burnout. I thank everyone for their support, encouragement, and feedback during this project.