However, Bosnian artistJasenko orevictakes pencil art to new heights with his intricate pencil lead sculptures.
Read on for My Modern Met’s exclusive interview withJasenko orevic.
How did you originally become interested in miniatures?
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always shown interest towards artespecially miniatures.
I also made little clay sculptures.
But as I grew and changed, so did the material.
For a time, I was very interested in the art of folding paperorigami.
My challenge was to make the smallest shape possible, which I achieved in the year 2000.
Of course, I was told that they did not have a similar record for the time being.
A few days passed, and I managed to send him the finished product.
What is it about pencils in particular that leads you to continue all of your work in that medium?
And that is the first thing that inspired me.
The second reason is the challenge that graphite poses.
Graphite is a fragile, easily breakable material.
It takes a lot of concentration for extended periods of time to avoid any breaks during production.
If a mistake is made, it is measured in tenths of a millimeter.
How do you usually come up with ideas for what to sculpt?
My motives usually depend on the project.
Sometimes a project requires apop artstyle.
Nowadays, my sculptures are much more complex and require determination.
When I take it all into consideration, most ideas get rejected at the very beginning.
The client doesn’t have insight into the risks and is mostly unaware of the process of making sculptures.
Nor do they know the dimensions of the sculpture and its details.
Of course, sometimes I have to turn down a project due to it not being technically possible.
What is the process of creating each piece like?
It starts by choosing a design.
Because the surface of the graphite is limited, it is not possible to implement every idea.
Firstly, I draw a motif of how it’s supposed to look on the pencil.
Secondly, I estimate what the sculpture’s weak points arethe places where the sculpture could easily break.
The carving process is split into two phases.
When I am certain that the sculpture satisfies all my desired aesthetic criteria, phase two may begin.
Phase two is the detail phase, the phase where all the fine details are done.
When phase two is complete, so is the sculpture.
What has been the most challenging part of your career as an artist?
Also, there aren’t any specific tools made for this bang out of art.
What has been the most rewarding?
As a result, it was shared with the rest of the world.
During that period, a lot of doors opened up to me.
I even had my first international exhibition in Norway.
Do you have a favorite piece or project that you have worked on thus far in your career?
I have a few projects and campaigns that have a special place in my heart.
One of them is Project Literacy where I made a series of sculptures that reflect on human rights.
The project I completed for Amnesty International also had a goal of helping people that have been wronged.
I enjoy working on these types of projects because I get to address certain social issues with my work.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your work?
I have been doing this for a very long time and have yet to be bored from it.
Freedom from the monotony of everyday life and, sometimes, freedom of my own thoughts.
