Various shapes, specifically geometric ones, have always captured my attention visually and prompted my sense of touch. During my trip this past summer to Bolivia, South America, I had the privilege to visit the ancient ruins of Tiahuanaco where I saw recently excavated stone pieces of hand built temples and huge arenas surrounded by thick stone walls used for games and sacrifices. I remember walking through these ruins and feeling the different texture patterns on the stone walls while being captivated by the various vivid colors against the wide blue sky. As I ran my fingers through the small bumps and finely cut stone squares I grasped a better sense of how these shapes were built.

Like Gabriel Orozco I want to create an interactive sculpture that is both visually appealing and also contains qualities that invites the viewer to use their sense of touch. By working from memory of my own sense of touch and incorporating those textures I felt against the Tiahuanaco stone walls, I want my work to represent the idea that what something looks like is not always what it feels like and that there is always a deeper story behind its creation. Like Giuseppe Penone I will create an organic-looking texture by bringing attention to the synthetic ground or material, in this case the wax. In the words of Susanna Starr, I want my work to “embrace a general feel and understanding of the natural organic form and then to create and modify this in an appropriate way through space and texture”.