Memento Sculpture

Medium: Balsa Wood, Straight Pins, Gauze.
In Process Video of Dremeling Balsa Wood.

For this project I decided to focus on a memory that is near and dear to my heart. Growing up in a family that is passionate about cars, racing and everything automobiles this enthusiasm begins to rub off onto you as a child. Throughout my childhood my dad took myself and my siblings to car shows, car events and races. The most memorable and iconic area to this date is the Daytona International speedway. Even to this day when attending a race at this speedway you can feel how grand and monumental the stadium is as a whole. I remember being little standing in the infield looking out to the grandstands in awe at how giant this speedway is. I wanted to depict in my memento how sleek and curved the track is and to do that I dremeled and sanded balsa wood to achieve a curvaceous and sleek design. The gauze symbolizes the fence guarding the fans in the grandstands. The straight pins work as both a design and structural element to this piece. The pins symbolize the metal on the fence but also hold the gauze into place. The thinner piece of wood represents the wall/guardrail that reads Daytona International Speedway on it. I wanted this piece to strongly represent the feeling I had when visiting this area but also depict it in an abstract way.