Commissioned Art: Transit

This summer I was commissioned to create two art pieces for a new medical building. The first piece, shown here after installation, is titled “Transit”.

“Transit” Mixed Media installation © Lynne Medsker

Created with a series of six bicycle wheels, paint and wire each piece leads to the next, both with color and motion. Here is some of the process that I used during it’s creation:

Unpainted wheels, lined up and waiting

Tiny wood pieces, used to attach the wires to the wheels

Wire attaching devices, tucked into the wheels

Painting the wheels

Paint on the saw horses…they’re beautiful now!

Freshly painting wheels

Attachments for hanging

Twisting wire to attach to the wheels

After painting and fully assembling each of the six pieces, they were ready for the installation date! As they ended up being installed in a stairwell getting them up on the walls and arranged was quite a challenge. One that I left to someone with more experience and expertise on ladders and scaffolding! The arrangement was changed a few times, the top image is the final result. Five pieces run up the stairwell with a sixth piece hanging at the top on the landing. Here are some more pictures of the finished artwork:

Original configuration

Close up details

Another detail image

Single piece on the landing at the top of the stairwell

Next blog post I’ll share the other commissioned artwork for this facility. Plus some other new artwork created with the same material…once I got into it, I just kept going!

Lynne

The Story Dome Project

This past year my artist friend Sofyia Inger has been working on her project, “The Story Dome”.  I’ve kept tabs on her progress and even had a chance to see her a few times this month but I was still not prepared for my visit this afternoon at the Indianapolis Art Center, to see the actual work. This evening is the official opening and reception, which I know will be fabulous, but since I wasn’t able to attend I snuck over early this afternoon to see it. As it turned out I was the only one in the dome during my entire visit. It was liking having my own imaginary world to wander and explore! Just entering the space I could feel the smile spreading across my face and lighting up both my imagination and my heart. It felt magical in there, completely surrounded by sounds of nature, words written from the heart and artistically displayed from ceiling to floor.  There were also listening stations where you could put on earphones and listen to music created specifically for this project. I felt like I had entered a different world, a world that was honest and hopeful and full of wonder. I wanted to live there! Or at least close the doors and keep it to myself for a few hours, to lay on the floor and gaze at the walls…humming to the music and writing my own stories. The images I’ve posted here don’t do justice to the experience, you really need to go and experience it yourself. Although it’s a large enough space to accomodate several people I recommend giving yourself the gift of time alone there! I’m already looking at my calendar, planning how many times I can re-visit the installation in the next two months and wondering how different each visit will be. I left today feeling introspective, invigorated and happy. Very, very happy!

Smiles,

Lynne