Balsa Wood and Japanese Tissue: New Sculpture by Terry Kreiter

For over forty years bronze has been my prefered media for making sculpture. I prefer it for its durability, capabilities and history. All of these qualities have their negative sides; heavy, unyielding, and requiring a complicated and demanding process. The finish requires welding, grinding and lots of noise and dangers.

I've decided to lighten my load temporarily and experiment with new materials; balsa and tissue. Both balsa and tissue are light, delicate, and the tissue is ephemeral and transparent. As a child, I made model airplanes from balsa and tissue, so I did have some familiarity. I returned to the model airplanes to familiarize myself with the materials and process, and to learn more about the engineering of the structures. The structures made from these materials are very light, and the titles used for the sculptures come from their weight.

Title: 18 Grams     2017

Artist: Terry Kreiter

Medium: Balsa and Japanese tissue.

Dims: 16 x 12 x 3 inches

Balsa and tissue model airplane.

Plans for above model. Most of these plans come from 1930's thru 1950's.

Using the elements from a model to explore my ideas, and to see 

what the sculpture could look like.

Model elements stacked out of order have an interesting

look due to their ambiguous forms.

Model elements stacked with the help of gravity.

Further experimentation using tissue to cover

 sections of the model parts.

Model airplane assemblies with some tissue used.

Title: 18 Grams    2017

Artist: Terry Kreiter

Medium: Balsa and Japanese tissue.

Dims: 16 x 12 x 3 inches