Map Relief

In process photo

Final

This sculpture is a map of my home. I have moved a few times in my life but no matter where I move to, the area is always very rural and my house is always in an area that most people consider to be "the middle of no where" which is what I was trying to create in this map. I wanted the map to represent a open space with a lot of greenery as that is what almost every where I have ever lived has been like. I incorporated the two small mountains to represent the area I live in now in northern Pennsylvania and the lake to represent my old house in Delaware. I used all organic shapes because I wanted the map to be very natural because it is representing a very natural space. I chose the colors and the shapes to be similar to the ones you see on a ariel view map, elevation is usually brightly colored while depth (such as lakes) are usually darker. The engravings create shapes similar to the ones you see when looking down on a rural area from above such as from a plane. The entire map is made of a thick wood that I cut and sanded into these organic shapes. I used a drill to engrave the shapes into the wood after I painted it with different shades of green. I then used nails to create the shape of the mountains and the lake then wrapped colored string around them.

My original inspiration for the string aspect came from artist Serene Ng. I found it interesting how she cut  shapes out of the paper and then filled the empty space with the string which is what inspired the lake on my map and then led to the creation of the mountains as well.

My inspiration for making the map look as if you were looking down on a rural area came from the way spaces look from a plane. Because I am not from Florida I fly quite often and I always found it very interesting and beautiful that the land was split into all of these unique but distinctive shapes that you could only see from a plane. 

My main inspiration was, of course, my house. This is the view from my house, the only thing within miles of us is one amish farm that is acres wide. The mass amounts of greenery in the area is what inspired me to use this color so heavily on my map. I have always loved how many different shades of green are seen in one area and how some grass grows greener than others.