Getting my initial epiphany of forms for Nocturne of the Limax maximus, which will be installed in MoMA’s lobby on November 17,  into its physical manifestation was a multilayered process, with each step leading to the next—and in strange ways going backward at times to maximize the potential of the previous step’s efficiency and interconnectedness with the subsequent steps of production.

I begin by immediately refining my initial “third eye” images into drawings using 3-D drafting methods, as these renderings will be useful for communicating with the upcoming CNC fabrication; CNC fabrication digitally creates forms to be used as models, which in turn will be used to create the molds to be cast (in the case of the acrylic aspects). In this case, the Rhino program was used for initial 3-D drafting.

We work and rework the forms, balancing the structural demands posed by the materials and forms with the aesthetic élan for which I’m aiming. The intricacy of the multilayered technical process is purely the vehicle for the living landscapes that remain in my mind during the entire process. When we get to the perfection of the cast forms—the “vehicles”—we are actually at the beginning!

In this way there is a strange inside-out quality to the process; the technical, highly skilled craft of creating the vehicles for a landscape that will be placed gingerly within is just the beginning. In my mind, the rigor of creating the planting vehicles strengthens the message that the interior landscape is to be taken very seriously and cared for with precision. This is my ultimate goal.