Nadia Meadows

I made this straightening comb because I was frustrated with the topic of what is an appropriate hair texture or curl pattern. I realized while making this that this is just another line of control that society has on people with tightly coiled hair.  The hot comb is a way of straightening  it is usually passed down through generations . I burned the wood representing the way it burns your scalp and damages your hair . I made the handle distressed for a nod to the age and use of the hot comb. Then the hair just before it is straighten to bring attention to the natural hair before it is manipulated.

In this project, I had to make a concrete self-portrait that couldn’t have any physical representation. In this situation, I used texture and pattern to construct parts of my identity. The first pillar represents my blackness in the world. I made a pattern for each side, none of them are the same. Each side represents different faces and personalities I use in different environments. All sides consist of the same shapes just in a different orientation. The next pillar is a salute to being a woman. This consists of a repetitive pattern that is smooth and silky to the touch but is more sharp-cornered and cinched at the waist. As a female sculptor, I like to build and make huge invasive displays. I also love to dress and be fashionable. The last one is the artist in me which is the smallest of the four. I made a pattern that doesn’t repeat because I never make the same thing twice. They are in these block shapes because with every project I work on I’m building and growing as an artist.

This is my first 3D print. It combines 3D scans from a British museum. It also involves 3D scans of objects discovered and created in Rhino. I constructed a crown for four queens of ancient history.  First is the Goddess Parvati. Next is the Egyptian woman . Then there is a nineteenth century wooden female figure. And lastly an African woman. There are descriptions of what they ruled over but sadly their names have been lost through the years. These figures are strong and show very little emotion. I put them all on my crown because they were never mentioned in any of my history classes and I think they needed to be acknowledged.

This was my first bronze cast. We were instructed to make a trophy about an unusual person that wouldn’t normally get a trophy. During this project I was working three jobs and going to school full time and it was a struggle every step of the way . I made a trophy for all the people who work so hard to activate their dream no matter the obstacle. I made a chassis because in the Roman times the winner was given a chassis filled will sacred olive oil as a token of success . I also wanted it to reflect the path that was taken which wasn’t easy. Barely holding together but still making it to the top. I believe that the effort and determination working towards a dream deserves a trophy.

I got the chance to experience glass blowing at the sculpture conference this past year. I learned that glass blowing kiln’s get so much hotter than any ceramic kiln I have ever seen. It requires two people to run the whole process. I loved every second of the processes. It was physical, hot and satisfying to say the least . The only thing that’s sad is  waiting for them to cool down in the warmer box so it doesn’t chatter or crack. I would love to work with glass farther along in my career. 

This project required me to make a net out of unconventional materials. I made a safety net, which is my family. I decided to take the idea of a family tree and make it into a net consisting of wooden boxes, resembling my family. The outside of the boxes were burned to resemble that my family is not perfect. The boxes were connected with table clothes, because those symbolize how we would usually only get together around a dinner table. The red table clothes represent blood lines, while the white table clothes represent cousins. My grandma was known for drinking coffee every day, so I decided to put a coffee cup in the center of the net to represent her being the heart of the family. This piece was quite emotional for me while constructing it, because my grandma passed away while I made it. Through this, it shows how much I miss her.

This project taught me how to cast with plaster. It began with taking reference pictures of myself from all angles. I used a wire armature and sculpted the bust around it with clay to build up the head. The texture and volume was achieved by using fresh clay to bring out the details. After the sculpting process was completed, I covered the entire sculpture with a thin layer of plaster to capture the detail. Thicker plaster was then applied to make the rest of the mold. Plastic strips were used to separate my mold into 3 parts. The cleaning was a long and hard process. I applied oil onto the mold and poured the plaster for the mold inside. After the plater inside set up I chiseled away at the plaster cast to reveal the mold.  The texture of the hair came out well compared to the smoothness of the skin. I am focused on my goals and that is the look I was giving in this sculpture

The project was to make an installation out of a single material with an amount of 1000. I wanted to bring awareness to the amount of plastic waste here on campus. I started by just looking around Rowe for plastic bottles in trash cans. I figured out quickly that was not going to be enough, so I went to the Recycling Center Office on campus and asked if I could go through the recycling, but was told no. Then I emailed the Recycling Center director and asked how I could get 1000 plastic bottles. They allowed me to collect the bottles out of the recycling dumpsters with the help of Ms. Munson. Once I collected all 1000 I washed every one of them by hand and peeled the paper off . The bottles made a sound just like rain when they hit one another. This project made me aware of the waste and now will I try my best to create less plastic waste.

Burning blocks is a project from my figure drawing class. I took panel wood of different sizes, attached them  together and burned them with a blow torch. I wanted the face to emerge out of the darkness. Usually when you burn something, something new grows in its place and  I feel as though I’m in a transitional period with my art. I wanted a confident look. Anytime that I need reassurance to better myself I look at this drawing.

The project was to make a social fence.  During Spring Break, I went to California on my own. I did a lot of walking and exploring and noticed the amount of homeless people on the streets and found it to be overwhelming. Through this project, I wanted to express the lack of reaction from people about homelessness. This project was my first welding experience. I welded the rods together to make the frame. I laid out the sheets of metal from the scrap yard and drew out the different shapes, such as the umbrella and figures, and cut them out with the plasma cutter. It allowed me to make drawings like cuts in the metal  The cut-outs were then hung onto the frame by hooks through holes I punched-out. Through this project, I wanted to symbolize the possibility of being homelessness is closer for people than they think.

This project correlates to the prior project. I decided to cut out the middle of this shopping cart to make the basket part smaller, limiting the amount a person can put in. Through this, individuals should consider buy their habits. I learned that surface treatment should be done after the welding process is complete. I made the mistake of spray painting the sculpture midway through the welding process. This made the sculpture catch on fire, since spray paint is flammable. I decided to show this project alone instead of with the homeless project, it became conceptually strong on its own.

The goal of this project was to create a memory space out of paper and cardboard. I chose a memory of when I was a child swinging on a swing set by myself, because I am an only child. I used five 12’ cardboard rolls I obtained for free from a carpet warehouse. I wanted the swing to be functional, so I worked through the issues of how much weight the strings and cardboard could take to hold my weight. One of the swings was purposefully made to look worn down to symbolize that I always swung alone.