tabletop objects

pillows

rug

sculptures and gravestones

My new series of sculptures is inspired by gravestone renderings of 
pillows and books. In the Victorian era, gravestones, through their shapes and carved embellishments, symbolized ideas about death that words could not convey. For Victorians, gravestones shaped like pillows were a symbol of eternal sleep. Closed books 
represented the fact that the story of this life is over and open books were used to record a short biography of the deceased.

I love the way that these tactile, familiar objects become hard and permanent markers, removed from the mortal world and placed in the realm of eternity. A tangible object becomes a connection to the intangible.

My sculptures are made from papier-mâché and, as with gravestones, the weight of the pillows and books is changed. Organic forms often move through the sculptures, reminding one of the grass, worms, or roots that pass through the ground beneath the stone.

ever after install

my sculpture installed at the chapel of the chimes in oakland as part of the ever after show.

photos copyright 2011, scott mayoral

rug sculpture

new sculpture...

untitled

a new sculpture

made from papier-mache and rope

work in progress :: pillows

I'm currently working on a series of papier-mâché sculptures that are based on objects found in bedrooms. I've made 13 pillows so far and just started making a book. I'm interested in the process of re-creating familiar objects in my own way- I love things that are handmade and imperfect. There are also natural forms creeping into the sculptures and I imagine the finished body of work placed on a bed of sod.