Month: January 2022

Iteration 5.

Currently, it does not seem possible that I will achieve 7 full iterations, due to technical difficulties and the steep learning curve involved in my chosen medium. I am, however, happy with the progress I have made in a week. Moving forward, I will improve on this iteration; sharpening it and learning to add texture. I hope to 3D print the end result.

Iteration 3.

For my next iteration, I pursued a modular approach using separate shapes for the models distinctive details with the intention of combining them to create an approximate form. This form I would then refine further using Cinema 4D’s sculpting tools. This approach yielded the best results thus far, and the finished iteration begun to take a recognisable shape.

Already, however, it was becoming evident that my goal of 7 iterations would be very hard to achieve in any meaningful way (given the labour-intensive nature of my chosen process).

Iteration 2.

A tentative iteration that was (mercifully) cut short when Cinema 4D crashed. Starting out I took a traditional sculptural approach, carving my figure from a larger shape.

Iteration 1.

Starting out I focused on using basic parametric shapes and deformers to approximate the form of a Silé na Gig. This was a slow and painstaking process, but not altogether unintuitive. I was pleased with my the results, which provided me with a solid template to iterate upon moving forwards.

For my Methods of Iteration Project, I have chosen to explore digital sculpting using 3D software. Primarily using Cinema 4D, I plan to take a traditional iterative approach with a focus on improving my making skills and learning a new process by repetition.

Over a series of iterations I hope to produce a digital 3D rendering of a Silé na Gig. Though present in a variety of cultures, these carvings are closely associated with Ireland where they are often found over the doorways of ancient churches and other such buildings. Suggested meanings ascribed to Silé na Gig range from protection against evil spirits to fertility totems. In recent years, the carvings have seen a resurgence in the island’s cultural conscious as an emblem associated with Irish feminism.

I recreating this poem, I am drawn to the contrast between the ancient dimensions of my chosen subject and the throughly modern method by which I am interpreting it.

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1 – Available at http://www.jameskitto.co.uk/photo_1827786.html (Accessed: 17 January 2021).

2- Available at http://tripfreakz.com/offthebeatenpath/sile-na-gig-sheela-ireland (Accessed: 17 Jan 2021).

3 -Available athttps://parabola.org/2020/01/21/sheela-na-gig/ (Accessed: 17 Jan 2021)