Tucson Artist: Made Bed Finished, Melinda Finds A Way

Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza It must be assembled As I was looking for something today with a dust cloth in hand, I found A Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. I opened it to the "Water Book." There were two things that jumped out at me and related to my sculpture project: 1)"The gaze should be large and broad. This is the twofold gaze, "Perception and Sight." Perception is strong. Sight is weak." 2) Knowing the Way of the long sword means we can wield with two fingers the sword we usually carry...try to wield the long sword quickly you will mistake the Way. 

I considered meditatively how this sand could speak in context, in 3D form. I thought of a basket, as in, "to hell in a hand basket." I thought of the countless birds photographed for the news, some being saved during the BP oil spill in 2010. There were old milk bottle wire baskets that I thought would hold the jar of sand and containers of oil, perhaps with feathers hanging off the edges. There were wire baskets for sale online with blue preserve jars just like mine! But, the cost was prohibitive. What about a bigger platform? Ah, "You've made your bed, and must lie in it" came to mind. Whoa! The prices of old beds were even more outrageous. The question became, How to take the large view, and moreover, wield the sword of my idea with two fingers? Clean the pool. Think some more. We have a 'no man's land' on our property sectioned off from view. As I went to get something for the pool in this section, I dared not hope that we still had the old 1920s/30s iron bed. Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza It was there. Could I find a way to use it? When I shared my new idea with my family, it had been three months of waiting for the ideas about the sand to mature. But, even though "it was an ambitious" project, I began. The iron bed was dragged out and placed in front of the red studio. I took paper towels and stuck them in the wire springs. I ordered white feathers and black feathers. The black feathers were iridescent, as though the birds had spent a lot of time drinking from pools of "gasoline rainbow" water. Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza The individual constructs developed quickly: white plastic grocery bags (The ones we're trying to avoid) were cut up and became the inner ball-like armatures. Inexpensive white feathers from a craft store were glued around the ball, followed by the larger white feathers. A pigmented encaustic held them together at the base. These feather constructs were then tacked to small balls of bubble wrap placed in each of the spring openings. Glue and tar bits held the black feathers in place around the edge of the bed--as a kind of bedskirt. A trip to Goodwill resulted in the purchase of glass dishes for the white platter on which the preserve jar would sit. Motor oil was poured around the base of the jar. Serendipity was everywhere For a year, I had boycotted Target for several reasons. However, I returned there in January for some household items. In the bedding isle, there were two pillows. Only two. They were turquoise blue (I later subdued the hue by hand sewing a gauzy, gray knit fabric over the centers.) They were lined with white feathers. The same white feathers I was using.

  Image © 2011 Melinda S. Esparza In addition, while writing the earlier post about this, I googled the BP Oil Spill and clicked on a wikipedia listing. There I learned that the flow of oil lasted for ninety days. I did not know this, or did not remember it. There are ninety iron bed spring openings. That was a major woo-woo moment for me. 

I once wrote a poem for a university class titled, I Am Not A Poet. I still maintain that and would add: 

I Am Not A Sculptor I am merely me, 

Merely Melinda middle aged 

Who sometimes forgets What time it is... 

© M. S. Esparza

Made Bed, Pensacola Preserve, Or What I Saved, What I Didn't (tar, feathers, bed, Pensacola beach sand, plastic bags, bubble wrap, pillows and glue) brought it all back to me.