These pencil sculptures are so incredible and life-like! I half expect the sea urchin-inspired forms to stretch out and crawl away. Jennifer Maestre takes your average pencil and creates such a strong personal conflict–to touch or not to touch! The viewer is drawn in by the intricate detail and surprising choice of material, but at the same time, there is a desire to retreat from the sharp points. Maestre said, “There is true fragility to the sometimes brutal aspect of the sculptures, vulnerability that is belied by the fearsome texture.”
To form these incredible pieces, Maestre actually cuts sharpened pencils into 1-inch sections, drills holes in them, and threads them together like beads into the organized forms. When talking about the inspiration for her work, Maestre said that she is absolutely in love with the industrial qualities of manufactured objects in contrast with the organic, flexible forms of the sculptures that are, “Reminiscent of the organic shapes of animals and nature.”
