In Progress
Each section shows a project in progress. Use the arrows to step through process photos.
Greaseograph
Material exploration in automotive grease and movement documentation
Spring 2024 — The multi-year process started as a materials exploration with image transfer materials. I started the project with optimism and confidence with two years of graduate studies at the helm. The initial components included a small 8 x10 transparency print and an old can of axle grease from Uncle Rex that was dated 1941. I tried the image transfer with the alternative medium: Complete Failure.
Summer 2024 — Then I tried the axle grease medium with a concrete block as the vessel for the image transfer: Mostly Failure. Undeterred and willing to explore, next came the canvas image transfer and grease medium: More Failure than Success.
Fall 2024 — With the axle grease medium in limited supply, I stopped to reassess what I currently valued about the materials. I was fascinated that after 80 years, the axle grease functioned as intended with consistent results. The focus of the piece shifted to highlight the tenacity of this material as an archive of labor. Unexpectedly and excitingly, the piece pivoted from an image transfer to a sculpture: Some Success. New greases were researched and intrigue entered the conversation when the 15 color automotive grease spectrum entered the materials exploration. The small prototypes upgraded the transparency to plexiglass which provided an visible isolation of the labor moment documented by the grease: More Success. Light was added: Significant success.
Spring 2025 — The small prototypes stood on miniature c-clamps and created an intriguing visual: Success and confidence. Fueled with intensity, it was time to scale the project from 1 in x 4 in prototypes to 8x10 prototypes: Size success, Proportion failure. The new size limited the visual impacts as it felt too standard. Another prototype step this time 4 in x 12 in: Proportion success.
Summer 2025 — Sealant and coverage issues were addressed in dozens of prototypes at this stage: Failure and Process Development. It was time to be brave and to scale again to full size - 12 in x 48 in plexiglass panels and full tubes of grease. Color exploration traveled through components of translucency and viscosity until a palette included 8 finalized contenders: Visual Success.
Fall 2025 — Clamps, frames, and surface cleaning techniques were implemented during this phase to explore how to stabilize the seal of the grease without interfering with the material coverage: Repetitive Failures. Finally, a mixture of a liquid plastic adhesive and brake cleaner sealed and prepared the surface for sculptural construction: Significant Success.
Late Fall 2025 — Confidently, 8 inch black C-clamps were chosen as the base to support the full size panel. With nearly a pound of grease situated and sealed between the 48 inch tall panels, they were placed in the clamps: Immediate Failure. The panels could not support the weight of the grease and the balance point for the clamps offered an awkward arrangement. The sculpture sat in pieces on the floor. Frustrated to capacity, it was time to reassess again.
Winter 2025 — The size-Success. The materials-Success. Colors-Success. Purpose- Success. Delivery-Failure. The panels needed to be seen and traveled, that is where their impact resonated. After much critique, discussion, and reflection, the sculpture pivoted from a standing sculpture to a hanging sculpture. With acceptance and redirection, the C-Clamps were replaced with vice grips and hung from the rafters of the studio: Immediate success.
Spring 2026 — The initial 6 inch by 24 inch prototypes displayed intricate form with instantaneous access: Substantial Success. As coverage patterns were finalized and cleaning procedures detailed, the 5 large panels and 4 small panels came to a collective visual. In awe of the expansive visual, the final installation of Greaseograph spanned 16 feet with varying heights to add visual complexity all the while archiving the intricacies of labor: Final Success. Greasograph’s intensive working process wrought with contention and failure pushed my grit to the maximum capacity and caused extensive growth in both materials and process. I am forever changed by this working process.
Resilience
Process documentation exploring assembly, joinery, and surface preparation. Dozens of hours hammering thousands of nails, carefully watching structural integrity and pushing the material to its limits.
Impossible Solutions
Found Baling Wire and Coffee Can
Tapestry of Labor
Layering studies and compositional testing with transitions between reclaimed materials.
Untitled (dress)
Manure Spreader Webs canvas sinew