Through globalization; Western consumer economies, design trends, and lifestyles have made their way to the remotest corners of humanity where they coexist with still-surviving handmade folk artifacts. In addition to engaging with the theme of globalization, this still life juxtaposes anti-decoration, austere, minimalist Modernism-inspired objects with craft products that contain ample decoration and rhythmic organic patterning.

Neon is usually connected with midcentury signage along major thoroughfares in cities like Las Vegas, and with the hedonism present in the spaces it marked. The “neon poppy” sculpture emerges from a bed of rocks, suggestive of temple rock gardens in Japan. This sculpture is the still life’s centerpiece, the embodiment of this juxtaposition between tradition and industrialization, between frugality and excess, and between the modern world and timeless natural elements like rocks.

This sign belongs to a derelict tiki-themed building in Surfside (Huntington Beach) that fascinates me every time I drive by. Most recently it was a Don the Beachcomber, but for many years before it was called Sam’s Seafood. This sign has obviously seen many decades, and, to me, is absolutely overflowing with character. I hope it never goes away.

UPDATE: The sign has gone away.

Great article about the history of the property: https://ocweekly.com/revisiting-the-legacy-of-sams-seafood-seal-beachs-original-polynesian-palace-2/

For this final project in my Life Sculpture class, I decided to talk about depression and mental illness. I wanted to embody a state of withdrawal and self pity. The legs and feet were modeled with fabric starch from my own legs and feet.

The prompt for this project was to find three objects and sculpt perfect copies of them with the appropriate materials. I chose a piece of peppermint bark, three Lifesavers, and a fortune cookie. On left and top middle are the original objects. On bottom middle and right are my copies of them. I sculpted the peppermint bark and Lifesavers with simple clay molds and carved the fortune cookie out of a block of foam.