Using sketches to help ME decide

Since the sculptures will be flat cutout images of buildings inspired by the style of Stacks in Celebration byCharles Sheeler making a cutout sketch of ONE of them helped me figure out the design of an individual panel. But I needed to imagine several of them in context to know if they would create the environment that I imagined for the reading terrace. 

I didn't want to make cutout sketches of all of them. I didn't have the time before the proposal deadline and I didn't even know what all the subjects would be at that time. Plus if I did them as cutout sketches I'd need to make a bigger environment sketch to put them in to see if they "worked" in the space. Overkill. I didn't need finished pieces, just rough approximations would help me. Plus I wanted the art commission board to see what several of them would look like in the context of the fence.

I did rough sketches of buildings with Sheeler-like sky backgrounds based on the architectural drawings that were part of the ReImagining Works RFP. I included these sketches in my proposal accompanying my explanations of what I proposed to sculpt.

Sketch 2: view from terrace 

This sketch shows how the sculptures will be seen from inside the reading terrace just as you step from the library out onto the terrace. There will be eight panels. Not all the panels are depicted in this sketch. Having panels surrounding the patio creates a gallery atmosphere to the enclosure.

Sketch 3: View of South terrace from Edmund Street

This sketch shows how three of the panels will be visible from the side street. They will be visible to pedestrians and to customers from the parking lot of the business across Edmund Street.

It may seem really simple to have used just these basic sketches to support my imagination. It probably took me longer to scan these sketches in and write this blog post than it did to do the sketches. But doing the sketches was critical for me to solidify my impression and confirm that my plan for the multiple sculptures would work for the space. It gave me confidence I was on the right track.