My first exploration in creating a shadow study panel was relatively unsuccessful.  I created a hyperbolic shape out of fishing line, anticipating that the translucent quality of the fishing line would have some interesting visual qualities to it.  It rendered more or less opaque, and the hyperbola I created was too shallow to really be noticeable.  But in thinking of how to secure the fishing line to the frame, I inadvertently created some more interesting shadows.  Each strand of fishing line is held in tension between two posts.  After tensioning all of the lines, I slowly began to appreciate the connections more and more.  The frayed edges became much more dramatic than the original hyperbolic shape I had intended.

I’m also very interested in the caustics produced when light passes through water.  For this exploration I have been using zip-lock bags filled with water to create the desired effect.  The position of the bag drastically changes the effect produced, so the direction the bags are oriented in in the final panel will be important to consider.  It would be interesting to explore the caustics created by other liquids of different colors and chemical make-up.