Theresa Keefe

 

Theresa Keefe

The Dancer 

2021

steel and paint

36" x 16" x 16"

This piece was inspired by a video of my friend dancing. The way the pleats of her dress moved around in the wind influenced the way the petal shaped steel plates rotated around the central steel rods. I wanted to create a piece in motion attached to two rods that represent falling pieces of ribbon. The purple paint on the edges of the steel softens the hardness of the material, which adds to the sense of gentleness of dancing. The lighting added to the aspect of a stage because the light reflected off of the sanded steel plates, like the twinkling from a dancer's costume. I encountered many struggles along the way because this was the first piece I made from steel and the first time welding. I realized that every time I was experimenting and making mistakes, it took more time to fix the mistakes than to create them. No matter the struggles I encountered, I enjoyed the process of new materials through a dynamic idea.