Heidi Dinius' Portfolio: Working with Wood

WORKING WITH WOOD

The Staff
40.5 x 17.5 inches

When I did sketches I was looking for an interesting combination of shapes as well as something that felt achievable. I'm a believer in the power of simplicity, so I wanted to arrive at a design with a strong silhouette. I drew attached to two ideas from my sketches, one being a long piece sticking out from the main body and the other being a M shape with a diamond in the middle. Originally the M was facing down, but when figuring out on the mini model how to attach the rod, I felt compelled to flip it over for more of a W so the vertical lines would go both up and down (the W with it's lines going up and the Y going down).

In creating the piece, I decided on making it skinny and therefore easy to lift. The design began to remind me of some kind of ancient religious/ritual staff, so I leaned into that direction. If the piece was like a ceremonial piece though, I felt a need to capture the mysticism that powerful objects like that have in a thoughtful creation. I hand-sanded the piece as it added that handcrafted personal touch artifacts often have. I noted that with this approach my assembly should include no industrial elements, like nails or screws, which meant I wanted the connection points to be invisible as if held together with magic. This turned the focus on carefully drilling holes and inserting dowels to leave little to no trace once the pieces were connected. Once the whole thing was assembled I sanded the joined pieces so they were mostly flush with each other again.

I deliberately left the holes originally found in the wood visible and placed them to be somewhat even on both sides and on the lower points of the W. From there I strung through textured yarn to mimic plants that you often see growing from hermit's staves in media. Fortunately, my choice of lightweight yarn created a fluid movement when the staff is swung around, similarly to how Spanish moss flows on ancient trees. The final dilemma was in regards to my original plan and the inclusion of a base. In the end, I determined the staff was a staff, it's at peak power being held over any kind of base. You ARE the base!

This was the first time that a project I was doing really took on a life of it's own and I was merely only to follow it. Things I planned, such as the base, and things I didn't, such as the hanging elements, all contributed to an interesting process. In a way, the staff seeming to know it's own destiny almost adds to the mystical nature of it, something that I didn't expect at all. When photographing it, I decided to make it appear as though you just discovered it in the deep woods, as if it was waiting, to harken back to the ride that it took me on. Do you accept?

WORK IN PROGRESS