Maquette
Maquette
9"x9"x24", welded steel
Full sized sculpture (work in progress): Primal Contours (title), 34"x34"x8.5' (LxWxH), ~200-300 pounds, welded steel, a hard or soft flat surface is required for installation (bolted to or staked into the ground)
$5,000
Maquette
"I designed and welded the maquette for this sculpture as a junior at Cedar Ridge High School. Now a senior, I have been working on building it full-size, as it has always been me and my art teacher's favorite maquette that I have made. The piece is inspired by my research on Henry Moore, a famous British sculptor of the 20th century, and the Biomorphism movement, also of the 20th century. Similar to the sculptures of Moore and Biomorphism, my work is based on a hybridization of the human form with microscopic cellular structures."
NOTE: If the jury is looking for smaller sculptures, the maquette can stand alone as a finished art piece and could be modified to be attached to a pedestal or hard surface. However, I think the full sized work will be far more impressive once finished.
Ryan Rakouskas
"I learned to weld as a freshman at Cedar Ridge High School, where I am currently a senior. I quickly began experimenting with welding together small figurines and sculptures out of scrap steel that was laying around the shop. As I learned more about sculpting with steel, I continued to use recycled components as I increased the size and complexity of my pieces. I eventually enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Visual Arts program at Cedar Ridge. Currently, I mainly produce representational works depicting birds, insects, and dinosaurs, while I have been experimenting with abstract sculptures inspired by Anthony Caro and Henry Moore. My overall intention with my work is to capture the viewer's attention by depicting the natural world in fun and unexpected forms."