To start with my Shadows Behind Climate Change project, I wandered around Highland Street in search of Coca-Cola cans and bottle with gloves and a plastic bag. After skipping over my third Bud Lite with no Coke cans found, I decided to lower my standards rethink my concept a little. I decided that I will use any aluminum cans but non-Coke cans will only use the back side while Coke cans will use their front sides and be used in the uppermost layer.
With new standards in mind, I began collecting cans. I didn’t collect too many because I’m still unsure how many I will be needing. All of the cans featured below were previously littering Highland Street. I also fished a Coke bottle from a gas station trashcan as someone had previously suggested using the label.
I used my recently purchased rubber gloves and cleaned every can and bottle individually with dish soap. I then laid out all the cans to admire my collection.
It was now time to experiment with sculpting the cans into my sculpture.
But first, I tested my recently purchased flashlights. I had looked for one that appeared to have only one bulb and a high amount of lumens to get a very distinct shadow. Unfortunately, there were more bulbs than I thought and it create a blurrier image than I wanted. I will have to purchase more lights.
I knew I had to recalibrate and I came up with a different plan. Using the excess Play-doh from my maquette, I’m going to create the internal structure of the polar bears. Play-doh is significantly easier to manipulate compared to soda cans and I can then cut and glue strips of aluminum to the structure. I will do this while the Play-doh isn’t completely dried so the strips will better be held in place so I can check with the flashlight that the sculpture is on the right track.
My biggest concern with this new plan is how much my Play-doh maquette has broken apart. Although the structure won’t be seen on the outside, I worry that it will affect the structural integrity of the whole piece. I will have to be careful about making the structure smooth to decrease the chances of it crumbling. Alternatively, I may just get actual clay to create something stronger than a children’s toy.
Because I want to add the aluminum strips before the clay is dry, I need a long stretch of time to work on it and haven’t had the opportunity to do so yet. I will be working and continuing to refine this idea over the next week.
If anyone has any suggestions or see other potential concerns, please share them!