Wavy, organic sculptures are created from thousands of drawing supplies Jessica Drinkis ongoing Implements series. Fascinated by the aesthetics and behavior of multiple mass-produced objects, the artist (formerly) chose pencils for their stackable shape and “the thought that if I sanded them, I could create a sculpture that built on itself as it making: Sandpaper smeared the graphite as the piece was shaped,” she tells Colossal.
Implements examines the relationship between inside and outside, the container and the contained. The inside of each work shows the finished objects, while the outside is cut and smoothed to reveal pieces of graphite and bare wood.
Drenk has been making sculptures with pencils for several years and the shapes continue to evolve. One of the challenges of working with the material is the difficulty of gluing together pre-painted, non-porous surfaces. “In response to this, I once ordered 30,000 unpainted pencils to create larger sculptures that could be glued into more dynamic shapes,” she says.
Over time, the Implements series has influenced further sculptures such as ‘Speleothem’ and ‘Formation’, in which the pencils compose larger dynamic forms. “In a way, both aspects of the pieces resemble nature,” says Drenk. “Even the hexagon occurs in nature, from beehives to columnar basalt rocks.”
Drenk is currently working on a geology-inspired series called Total in which junk mail is used, along with wall sculptures made from books. Discover more about the artist website And Instagram.
