MARY OROS

I begin my sculpture by drawing in space with my armature material and each line is an emotional response to the previous one drawn. I usually have a general concept and formal consideration in mind that is a carryover from my previous sculpture, but no specific plan for the final result. I am an observer as the sculpture evolves. While building, my main concern is for the piece to work well in the round so that there is a continuum of form anywhere I pause. Only after I’ve completed the sculpture am I able to articulate its meaning according to what was going on in or around my life at the time, so I title the works based on the movement of how the piece unfolds.

From start to finish my medium-sized pieces take at least three months to create with the majority of time spent building the armature. Once completed, the armature is very close to the final form. I coat and pack the armature with my mix of concrete - a recipe given to me by an engineer involved in bridge building. It is structural, stronger than I need, has some flexural as well as tensile strength, and allows me to work fairly thin keeping the weight down. When the base coat has set I topcoat it with decorative concrete with integral color, or most recently I have started painting the surface. All of my sculptures are intended for indoors. However, with a commission, they could be replicated, scaled to a determined size, and fabricated to be more suitable for outdoors using current technology and methods.