Subtractive carving from a poured HydroCal blank (bucket mold, slightly conic section)
Name Origin
Discovered by turning piece on edge; one view among many possible readings
Naming Note
Cobra is a working common name, not a final title. The piece holds multiple readings simultaneously (cobra, seed, others) and abstraction is the point — naming would collapse those possibilities.
Intentionality
unplanned — form emerged through solving sculptural problems
Type
hydrocal sculpture
Date Created
January-February 2026
Finish
Mop n Glo sealant, then matte white wall primer. No color — shadows tell the story.
Origin Story
Emerged from process, not preconceived. The cobra hood feature came from a practical decision—an indentation at the high point of the blank to pull the form together. The name came after turning the piece on edge and seeing a cobra, though it is not intentionally representational. Also reads as a seed form from other orientations.
Surface Intent
Abstraction through uniform matte white; form communicates entirely through light and shadow
Dimensions
~8 x 6 x 4 inches
Status
Form complete; awaiting final matte white primer finish
Materials
hydrocal Gypsum cement. Sealed with Mop n Glo.hydrocalpoured
Formal Elements
closed formSelf-contained form that doesn't need anything externalself-sufficiency, autonomy, completeness
Enacts
material-against-expectation Working opposite to what the material wants. Wood becomes spherical, stone becomes soft, HydroCal becomes organic, clay gets carved like stone.
