Lydia Blood

Saturday, December 6, 2025

Speaker Events

Speaker Event #1

Mai Ueda Japanese Tea Ceremony

Speaker Event #2

Brandcenter at VCU "Please Don't Put That in Your Portfolio" Event

Fluxus Box

"All I Can Find Left"

cardboard, paper, clay, Mod Podge, paint, black fabric, mirror, wood, hot glue,

string

This Fluxus Box reflects the sadness and nakedness that it can feel like in your mind when you lose a person in your life, and the memories that you have left are few and far between. The choices I made with color mean a lot to the narrative of the work. The white on the outside of the box is to show the sleek unknowing part of the outside, but the inside of the box is dark, as though there is almost nothing left except the few objects that symbolize memories that you can remember of this person. The key that is hidden in the box is supposed to be used to open the box. This is a metaphor to say that the only way you can move on from the loss is to deal with it from within and move forward. You cannot get the answers from the person you lost, so you must get them from yourself.

In Process

Research

https://www.artlex.com/art-movements/fluxus/

Artist Inspiration

http://pinosy.com/media/335799715947685119/

The name of the movie that I chose was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I enjoyed letting my imagination play out while designing the box and what to put in it. It was hard to get it to look as clean as I had wanted because of the hot glue and fabric. If I could do more next time, I would explore how I could incorporate an actual light into the box.

Paper Cutting Sculpture

View #1

View #2

View #3

Details

Goat Village

7.5 in x 8 in

Inspiration

Winter Landscape

46.3 x 29.3 cm, Ink on Paper, Tokyo National Museum Collection

https://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en

Autumn Landscape

46.3 x 29.3 cm, Ink on Paper, Tokyo National Museum Collection

https://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en

This sculpture is a response to the pieces "Winter Landscape" and "Autumn Landscape" from the Tokyo Museum Collection. I liked the mountains in both of the paintings and how they brought the eyes up in the art to all the different elements. The mountains make the paintings feel cozy, and like there is a story to tell. I wanted to tell the story of a village that had a group of goats taken care of by shepherds.

In Process Photo

Secret Lives of Color

Color #1

"Isabelline"

cardboard, colored pencils, paper, Mod Podge

For this project, I knew I wanted to create something consistent with my art style. I love drawing birds in general, and when I was researching the color, I found an island with birds that all had the rare isabelline color in their feathers. Also, in my research, I learned that the color became popular when Queen Elizabeth wore it in her gowns. I wanted to illustrate the narrative that the queen was feeding her birds, as if she were a magical princess who coexisted with them on the island.

Color #2

"Ultramarine"

Adobe Illustrator

For this color, I chose to make a poster for it using Illustrator and also use the history in my art. The famous painting, The Virgin in Prayer, shocked viewers with her bright ultramarine cloak. From then on, the color was always related to Giovanni's work.

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Experimental Sculpture Collection

Experimental Sculpture Collection

All Three Sculptures, Full, View #1

Full View #2

Left: "Park City", Center: "Peacock", Right: "Through the Looking Glass"

Sculpture #1

Peacock

wood, watercolor paper, india ink, string, wire, hot glue

3 in x 12 in x 2 in

Sculpture #2

Park City

wood, glue, paint, wire, string

12 in x 12 in x 3 in

Sculpture #3

Through the Looking Glass

wood, hot glue, India ink, tissue paper, Mod Podge

12 in x 8 in x 3 in

In Process Images

Research A

Salem Barker

https://www.salembarker.com/

Research B

Andrea De Ranieri

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-MODSCU-7777/292268/10932333/view

Research C

Diego Rivera

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/69454019237436640/

The three sculptures that I constructed visually communicate something in this world, but instead of obviously portraying that, it hints at it subtly. Each sculpture is very different in what I was trying to take inspiration from, but in the end, they all cohesively came together. While exploring what materials to use for my sculptures I knew that I wanted to create something with wood because I had been really curious about getting in the wood shop and learning how to use the machines. After constructing the base of the sculptures I had felt they all needed some pops of color so I think the india ink was a very nice touch. Next time, I'd hope to spend more time on the sculptures and neaten them up a bit. Making this work made me want to try more work in the wood shop and have that in my tool box of skills I could use for next projects.