Are you getting curious?

If you are a student at Le Moyne College, you’re probably wondering why the windows in Reilly Hall on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floor are covered in multiple layers of paper and have a link directing you to this blog. For those of you who are not part of the Le Moyne College community, here’s a look at this strange sight as we were in the process…

So now you’re probably all wondering why and what in the world are we trying to hide? Behind these windows, is Gifford Terrace Courtyard, and it is only accessible through a door on the 2nd floor, which is locked 24/7 and receives little attention. This seemingly insignificant space and often ignored courtyard is where we, Le Moyne College’s Independent Study in Art, are installing our collaborative based sculpture.

So what is it? It’s a SURPRISE! But, fear not, you have come to the right place for hints and sneak peeks of our work thus far. If you have read our previous posts, you will know that we have been collecting books, as many as we can get of any shape, size, color, and subject.  Ultimately, our goal is to create large scale books out of these much smaller books, but that’s not all! This past weekend, we began some HUGE construction on some of the other pieces that will be shown in the courtyard for ALL to enjoy and interact with.

Friday began at 9 A.M. with MASS amounts of lumber delivered to us, which then needed to be transported to the Courtyard. The lumber was heavy. Really heavy. Luckily, we were able to find some help from a couple of Le Moyne’s finest men, who were glad to help us move lumber. A few crunched feet and a little sweat later, all of the lumber made was moved to the Courtyard.

With the lumber in place, we were able to begin some serious construction on some of our pieces Saturday morning. Though we cannot give away the purpose and final product just yet for these pieces, here is a sneak peek of our very long, cold, wet, physically and mentally tiring, but FUN 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. day of construction…

As you can see, we got some serious work done, we were exhausted and most definitely SORE. We still have A LOT of work to be done this coming weekend as our  opening approaches, but we are ready! Check back for more sneak peeks, progress reports, and pictures throughout this next week! Also, be sure to check out our ABOUT section to read more on the artists and  And DON’T MISS OUR OPENING, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9TH, TO SEE THE FINAL PRODUCT!

Building a sculpture out of books is harder than it looks…

So, now we are getting into the structural planning process. Step 1: Measurements. Nicole, Alyssa, and myself (Sami), went out to the Gifford Terrace where our installation will be, tape measures in hand. We quickly came to realize that this space is much bigger when you’re standing inside of it than it looks as you’re passing by from the inside of Reilly Hall… Inside of our space stands a metal sculpture that is welded to a concrete pedestal. One of our goals is to stack books around the existing sculpture to create the look of a book shelf. After taking and reviewing our measurements, we are going to need 8-9 feet of books on all four sides to hide the structure… That’s A LOT of books! Here’s Alyssa measuring the existing sculpture… We may need more books than anticipated!

Step 2: How exactly do you build a book out of books? After measuring the space, we came up with a pretty good idea of what size we will be able to make the books. We began laying out books in the studio and trying different arrangements/techniques that will be able to best support our vision. Here’s some photos of our test run.

The next step will be figuring out how to get these books to stay together… Glue, liquid nails, screws? If you have experience with building giant books out of books or have input on what would work best to hold the sculpture together, leave some feedback! Til next time!

Hello book and art enthusiasts, alike!

We have created this blog to document our work throughout a collaborative sculpture independent study at Le Moyne College. The “we” includes 5 seniors from Le Moyne College, Alyssa, Kailee, Nicole, Maria, and Sami, and 1 all- inspiring professor, Zach. We are setting out to create, inspire, excite, and reinvent a space on our campus for our community to enjoy using books. Right now we are in the process of collecting books, THOUSANDS OF THEM, of any shape, size, and color, from any and every one we can. This photo is just a small portion of what we have collected from retiring professors on campus who are thrilled in their donations to our project. Ultimately, our goal is to create large scale books out of these much smaller books, but that is all I can give away until next time! For now, we will be sleeping, breathing, eating books and art…