top of page
Writer's pictureFirst Floor Space Team

Lockdown Challenge 2: Sculpture

Updated: Apr 21, 2023

Although lockdown rules have eased and many of us are making our way back out into the world there is still a new way of being for us all to get used to. We think there is still an important place for creativity as part of this process and are very excited to launch our new challenge! First Floor Space would like to invite you to make sculptures with us and images of these to be shared with our creative community, here's how it works:

Description of Lockdown Challenge 2 Sculpture

We've put together a few sculpture starter packs that are available to pick up from the studio and if you're not able to get out we'd be happy to send one to you, all you need to do is register your interest using our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

The wonderful world of sculpture is made of endless possibilities, there are no limits to what you create! We've put together some inspiration to get you started; these collections of images are all different kinds of sculptures by an array of artists to highlight most importantly that sculpture really can be anything.


One place to start could be with the particular materials you'd like to explore; for example cardboard, newspaper, masking tape, salt dough, fabric, sponge, string, plastic, cans or other things that you'd be able to find or make from things around the your home. Even seemingly mundane items can be put together to create a new and interesting form.

Yasue Maetake | Specks of Green Rust Before the Wind I 2016

Marie Hermann | Bit by Bit | 2018

Natalie M Ball | I Heart Rez Boys | 2019

Naum Gabo | Linear Construction No.2 | 1970-1



Creating things over and over again can create a sculpture of many parts, each repetition being slightly different to the one before but coming together to make an exciting collection. In a similar way building up layers of a material can be a great experiment, this can be done with photography as well.

Eva Hesse | Repetition Nineteen III | 1968

Barbara Hepworth | Double exposure of Two Forms | 1937

Juliana Cerqueira Leite | A Potential Space | 2016


Most of us won't have giant gallery spaces to make installations but imagining a cardboard box is a miniature gallery is a great way to envision a larger piece. Gathering items or creating lots of small objects to put together in an assemblage is a fun and playful way to sculpt within a space. These sculptures could then be taken apart and put back together in lots of different ways.

Karla Black | Presumption Prevails | 2017

Louise Nevelson | Black Wall | 1959

Kris Lemsalu | Mysteriously Conceived and Deeply Felt | 2018

Marcel Duchamp | The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even | 1915–23



Collecting things from the natural environment like parks, woodland or beaches is a great way to inspire making. The items you collect to become the sculpture directly or could inspire the form it takes made from another material.

Louise Bourgeois | Femme Volage |1951

Anya Gallaccio | Under Starry Skies | 2008

Grayson Perry | Outsider Alan | 2017

Alfred Conteh | Build | 2015


And while we're thinking about being outdoors, your sculpture doesn't have to stay inside! You could take it out and see how the new environment affects it, or even make your sculpture from things that are around you while you're out.

Andy Goldworthy | Icicle stack about 8 inches in length Morecambe Bay, Lancashire | 1978

Maggi Hambling | Scallop | 2003

Anish Kapoor | S Curve | 2006


It's really important to remember that how you capture your piece for others to see becomes part of the artwork. Your records and documentation of the piece will actually be the only way most people come to experience it, which opens up an exciting opportunity for experimentation. You can play with scale, location, light, shadow and much more in your photography, then you will have created to artworks, the sculpture and the photograph could be equally interesting pieces of work.

Yayoi Kusama | All The Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins | 2016

Nnenna Okore | Nkata | 2015

Donald Rodney | In the House of My Father | 1996–7


Working in 3D can be intimidating if you've never done it before, if you do feel that way the best place to start could be just to gather a few items together and make different arrangements to see what you discover. We are very happy to work alongside you for this process and are available by email, messenger or by booking a video chat so if you’d like some help with getting started or if you have any questions please do get in touch. As always we’re really looking forward to seeing and sharing what you create!


Stay safe and keep creating <3


Disclaimer: All images of artwork featured in this blog are copyrighted to their respective artists, they are shown here purely for educational purposes.

Comments


bottom of page