Carowinds reached out to me about a marketing redesign that they ere planning. They wanted to commission a local artist to create a one of a kind piece for the park. We met virtually and discussed possible designs and ideas, I did some sketching and research and called them back with my mock-ups. They wanted a large 4-5 foot wide canvas, and after discussion entrusted me to create a piece of my choosing. Because The Fury 325 is their shining gem, the "tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America", I decided to go with this one as the subject and inspiration.
The mascot of the Fury 325 is a teal and black bionic hornet with slogans like "feel the sting" and "take the Hive Dive". I really liked the idea of creating a bionic hornet, but I really wanted to push the hornet to have both the realistic qualities and the robotic. I first made a drawing and template before tracing it onto the canvas. I then cute it out and began the process of collecting, cutting and painting soda cans. I have never sewn metal into a canvas before, but I knew I couldn't have a bionic hornet without actual metal. I settled on cans because the aluminum is polished and lightweight, pliable and thin enough to sew into.
I sketched, painted, cut out and embroidered the hornet, and then attached the metal wings, painted and sewed those on. I added a metal stinger, metal arms and antennae, going in last with sharpie and black acrylic paint to detail.
I created a honeycomb pattern on Photoshop and printed/ cut a large sheet vinyl stencil. I painted the background layer of the canvas, let it dry and then cut and placed the large vinyl stencils. I painted over these. Once dry, they were removed and thrown out. Having the honeycomb was extremely important to me because what I admire most about apoidea are their innate dedication to their community. Carowinds is a similar beacon in their surrounding areas; a place of celebration, fun and communion; working bees dedicated to creating happiness for their community.
I did my usual watery acrylic drips from both the top and bottom and from the center cut out. I painted background layers of the hornet nest, abstracted roller coaster, coaster car and detailed a bit in the honeycombs. After another layer of drips dried, I applied wax, dripping from the center, add more drips and paint, and then removed the wax. This wax resist creates an interesting depth and texture.
To finish, I worked hard to add value to the nest, plating more metal pieces onto it and embroidering. I sewed the hornet into the middle, added more definition to the honeycomb with embroidery and finally, adding small embroidery hornets to them. Using various flesh tones, I abstracted and blurred the riders in the coaster car.
The piece is for sale through Carowinds at https://shopcarowinds.com/collections/fury-325/products/one-of-a-kind-fury-325-art-piece
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