Norman Sherfield | Knot This Way, Waxed Linen Fiber Sculptures
July 26th – 30th, 2010
Norman starts at the beginning with instructions and demonstrations on knotting. We will start with a small Styrofoam object as our first form to knot around. I will be providing these first forms ready to knot however; you will also learn how to prepare the Styrofoam form so that you can continue knotting around a larger form later in the class or after class. Once most students are comfortable with the process, I will show examples of my work and guidance in more advanced techniques. Information covered will include thread preparation, starting the knotting, increasing and decreasing the core, adding colors and methods to finish edges. Create textures and add embellishments creatively with materials you bring such as additional threads, beads, charms, buttons, shells, as you can see in the images of my work, anything goes. Also, I will show how I use found objects to create my Knotted Waxed Linen Sculptures. These may include any objects found in nature, your closet at home, special objects you have collected and man-made objects all of which I have used in my work. You may want to work on the Styrofoam for the entire class and you will still learn to carve, gesso and prepare your form for knotting. The object of the class is to learn the technique and finish the small Styrofoam object and thereby learning how to create a sculpture from beginning to end. Class will most likely require time after class to complete your first sculpture.
Statement:
I create small sculptures using a basketry technique known as knotting. It is a simple overhand knot which is knotted around a core of waxed linen threads. With variations of this simple knot, which is repeated over and over, I am able to create a variety of shapes, textures and color patterning. The simplicity of the basic knot, combined with the repetitive nature of knotting, is meditative and allows me to immerse myself in the work. As each knot is tied, it is as though a pulse is added to the form, as though I am breathing life into the weave. The sculptures grow as I work on them, forming baskets or containers of potential life in symbolic form.
Two major influences running through my work are that of biological science and the automatism of surrealism. Natural biological form is alluring and fascinating to me, and defines the basis for my exploration of form. Building on the forms of the natural world, I combine instinctual and imaginative impulses with dream imagery to explore the boundaries where mind and nature meet. I feel my work is most successful when the viewer finds understanding of the piece in being intrigued with the unknowable. The content of the work is for the viewer to contemplate and complete, only becoming whole with the intellectual and spiritual contribution of the viewer.
