Danielle Wood

By Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

Danielle Wood’s sculptures relate to abstraction, marine biology and ideas dealing with the subconscious. Her pieces are reflective most of abstraction, psychology, marine biology, and ideas pertaining specifically to the subconscious. “It has been said all artwork is autobiographical and I would have to agree with that statement to a certain extent. My work is definitely inspired by the subjects and aesthetics I find most interesting and beautiful,” noted Wood.

German artists Ernst Haeckel and Karl Blossfeldt influence Wood’s artistic work. Haeckel was a biologist, but also an artist who created beautiful, intricate drawings of Radiolarian, which is a microscopic organism found in ocean water. Blossfeldt was a photographer that made photogravures of thistles, moss, and other organic forms magnified.

Her wall composition is individually hung with 1,540 individual pieces on the potter’s wheel for this installation piece, symbolizing the letters of the alphabet. “I threw 26 forms forty times to equal 1,040 and threw 500 forms on the potter’s wheel over the summer. This project took me 5 months to complete and install,” stated Danielle.

The message she wants to communicate is that the ocean can be a metaphor for the subconscious due to its infinite mystery and that the ocean is a space to protect due to its immense beauty and biodiversity.

When asked whether she felt art was a therapeutic element, she responded, “I have been told art should not be therapy, and I understand it is important to have a basis for what one’s work is about. I also believe that one should enjoy the process of art making and

I think it is close to impossible to not find some sort of emotional reward for working in the arts.”

By using clay, she felt it was a material that completely involves the participant. Unlike, drawing where the artist is making a mark, with clay, she says, you are in the material.

Photographed by Peter Svarzbein