Zenith

At Freestyle Academy, the Zenith project gives Seniors a chance to work on an enterprise of their own choosing. This assignments spans over multiple months and it largely self-directed. My Zenith is based on the concept of environmental and sustainable art. You can read more about that in my research paper. I was inspired by this topic because I believe that in order to promote environmental awareness, art must be involved. I was largely inspired by this New York Times article, which opened my eyes to the art form. I also became interested in sculpture work through my Stone Carving class which I began in October of 2017.

For my Zenith I chose to create 3D sculpture that had environmental themes. I made 5 separate sculptures, each out of different materials: wood, wax, stone, clay, and assorted recycled materials.

Chopped tree

Materials: birch wood, balsa wood disks, armature wire, and wood glue

This piece is representative of how the environment has been effected by human kind. The layers of wood depict a tree being cut down, then trying to put it back together. But that damage can never be undone.

Melting earth

Materials: crystalline wax, birthday candles, candle wick

This earth is made with wax to symbolize how the earth has been "melted" by global warming and climate change.

Stone Globe

Materials: alabaster, stone polish

This Stone depicts how the earth has been carved and chipped away, by humans for their own use, without much forethought or care.

Candle Holder

Materials: natural clay

We rely on a few essential elements to exist. Two of these are earth and fire. In this candle holder I brought the idea of these two needs together.

Flower boy

Materials: PVC Pipe, mesh wiring, recycled materials

This piece represents how every single person is effected by the amount waste we create. If we continue this pattern, future generations will only know a world of garbage. By offering a flower to the audience, this piece gives hope for the future.

Film

Watch the video to see more of the pieces

3D Model

As a part of my Zenith, I a created 3D model of a tree in Google Blocs, which is a VR program. I experimented with many different 3D modeling applications such as Fusion 360 and Tinkercad, however I found Blocs to be the most efficient. I found difficulty in printing my designs as there were support beams any way I printed it. I hope to experiment more in the future with 3D modeling and printing.