crayon wildfire sculptures by herb williams

'unwanted visitor: portrait of wildfire' by herb williams


making three dimensional sculptural works from hundreds of thousands of individual crayons,
american artist herb williams is one of the few individuals who has an account with crayola.
he orders each color of crayon necessary for a piece, all individually packed (3000 to a case).

williams is interested in identifying objects that society perceives to associate with one role,
and reintroduces them into different subtexts. with a desire to produce pieces on a grand scale,
his most recent work is 'unwanted visitor: portrait of wildfire', an outdoor installation on display at the
national ranching heritage centre in lubbock, texas. the five free standing sculptures which are meant to emulate
fires and flames - reminiscent of a wildfire. they have been created to raise awareness of wildfires in an area that has been
severely affected by drought, each of the pieces is composed of crayola crayons. because of their wax content,
they begin to melt and change shape in the unpredictable outdoor conditions in which they stand.
their transformation is affected by blowing wind and dry conditions, much like those that affect the intensity and duration of real wildfire.
through the construction process, williams bonds the paper - not the wax - to the internal structure he has carved or cast
to completely envelope the shape. the structures range in height from three feet to eight feet.



alternative view of the sculpture installed at the national ranching heritage centre in lubbock, texas



image © ashton thornhill




artist herb williams constructing one of the sculptures
image © ashton thornhill




attaching crayons to the internal structural form
image © ashton thornhill




hard at work
images © ashton thornhill




image © ashton thornhill




image © ashton thornhill




transporting the finished works to the site of installation
image © ashton thornhill




installation in progress
image © ashton thornhill












one of the finished sculptures
image © ashton thornhill



comparison of maquette #1 melting over the course of a month




melting of maquette #2



sand base adds interesting visual affect and change of how the wax dries




study models




sketch of the five wildfire shapes installed


via colossal