Third Year: Project 1, Week 3

This week I have focused on the paper cutting I started last week, developing these samples into maquettes in order to visualise them as installation pieces.

To push the paper samples further, I had the paper designs laser cut onto Perspex and fabric. I then heated the Perspex samples in the heat press to mould them into 3D forms. The heating process allowed me to manipulate the forms into objects resembling lampshades. This led me to consider my pieces as a bespoke interior collection, drawing on the style of one-off installation pieces.

Perspex samples, investigating shaddow.

As well as working with hard materials such as Perspex, I have experimented with different weights and types of paper, from cartridge to tracing paper, to see how they respond to manipulation. I found that the thicker the paper, the less likely it was to tear, but the thinner paper cast some really ethereal shadows and shapes when photographed, which I loved. When laser cutting paper, I realised that testing is important, as the designs can be too thin and cut through the fragile surface.

To manipulate, I used thread to hold the paper in position, whilst also creating added linear elements. I also used tape to keep them together for ones where I wanted the paper to be the focal point.

Investigating the shaddows from paper pieces.

Throughout this project, using paper has also led me to think about wallpaper, in particular the designs by Tracy Kendall. Her wallpaper is a mix of bespoke wallpaper more akin to art pieces, as well as more commercial styles. I love the way she manages to combine both the one-off, artisanal pieces with wallpaper which lends itself to production on a wider scale.

In addition to working in 3D on physical samples, I have been editing my primary research to emulate the graphic and bold black and white style of photographer Karl Blossfeldt. I am intrigued by the way he captures line, geometry and nature within a monochrome palette, and this is what I aimed to convey with my imagery, whilst retaining the unpredictable quality of natural plant forms.

Bespoke wallpaper by Tracy Kendall.

Graphic black and white photographs by Karl Blossfeldt.

Continuing to experiment with different materials, I also decided to embellish my screen-printed samples from the previous week, with varying effects. I feel the samples which I have hand-stitched are most effective as they have a tactile quality, and the contrast between the screen-printing and the thread used in the stitching highlights the linear qualities of the designs. Additionally, when using a limited colour palette, I feel that tactility is important in my designs, adding another, more interactive element.

 Although my samples are all one-off and could be seen as sculptural pieces, I invite people to handle them and feel the angles and contours. As my process involves me playing with materials and feeling how they look, sometimes more than seeing when deciding how to manipulate them, it’s critical to me that this playfulness emanates from the final product, whatever it becomes. On the other hand, the samples which I enhanced using machine stitch have less impact and lack the juxtaposition between materials which I hoped to highlight through my sampling.

Contrast between hand-stitched and machine embroidered samples.

To take this project further, I would assess the effectiveness of the materials I have used thus far in manipulation. I visualise the project as having an interior context, so would carry on sampling in materials such as wood and varying types of paper to see which would be suitable for a collection of homewares such as lampshades. I would also like to introduce brighter pops of colour, to make the pieces more dynamic and highlight more of the movement within them.