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zine class 002

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zine class 001

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this is the finished mobile, which consists of a hand woven wreath and two smaller hanging levels. featured on the mobile, is an array of found objects, mostly ephemeral in nature, along with textile work.

from the top tier, hangs teabags with hand stamped messages that provide encouraging messages of self care and gentle personal development. the beads and embroidered droplets speak of the pain experienced by individuals who’s struggle for identity can hinder said development. i think internalised pain and the societal expectation of what we do and don’t share is an important theme that runs throughout this project. whilst i can’t make an argument for whether we should choose to embrace or stifle this aspect of the human condition, it is equally necessary to accept it as something incredibly prevalent in what makes us who we are. as a contrast, the flowers represent development of the the self, which I strongly believe occurs when come together and share in our experiences.

all in all, this mobile acts as a 3d illustration of the themes which underpin my practice; understanding and growing from our experiences, and sharing them in order to aid this process in ourselves and others.

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building on from my earlier book ‘held by a thread’ i have decoupaged a wooden box filled with items to accompany the book. the box itself is inspired by the work of wendy fernstrum and covered in scraps of found paper, as to maintain the fragmentary tone of the book. inside, i have curated a collection of art objects that i feel speak of a continuing theme throughout the project. the organic material held in small jars forms a narrative that speaks of developmental failure and suspended animation. whilst the book draws on ideas of disassociation and the gradual break down of the self, the bottled matter creates a thematic parallel in it’s examination of living matter that came to an end perhaps before it’s natural time (baby teeth, dead insects, pressed flowers). the envelopes and pressed flower sachets act as a physical embodiment of specific memories and the train tickets (organised by date) serve as an archive of moments.  inside the film reel box is a collection of items that were gifted as symbolic totems of the relationship between two people. whilst the objects have their own independent function, when examined as a collective, their purpose is reconfigured to create a new narrative. a lot of the items within this box, as well as the materials used to cover the book and it’s containers, are ephemeral in nature; matches, train tickets, scraps of paper. i wanted to build on pre-existing materials to create precious objects that prompted intrigue and pushed the observer to re-evaluate each object through the lens of introspection. 

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adding plant materials to the original framework of mobile. work in progress.

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in keeping with my study into natural materials, and hanging art objects, i have begun work on a multi-level mobile. inspired by some of the hanging works of art in the horniman museum and my experimentation with creating structures, this framework will be embellished with found objects such as the physics bobbins collected in september. similar to the work of marina debris, i am hoping to creature a 3-dimensional artifact that re purposes found items to build a narrative. i will have to take into consideration the weight of each object and how this may compromise the structural integrity, but these are issues that I can deal with throughout the making process. 

more to follow.

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horniman museum 

following on from my study into how structure and form can be explored to create diverse and engaging pieces of artwork, above are some of the displays from london’s horniman museum and garden. by elevating artworks from the walls to the ceilings, and incorporating levels into the displays, viewers are immersed and encouraged to explore the displays from ground level and additionally from a mezzanine floor that winds around the perimeter room.

of particular interest, was the ‘cloutie tree’ which speak of the british tradition dating back thousands of years. the tying of fabric scraps to trees alongside cloutie springs or wells serves as an act of thanks and is said to bring about good tidings. the tree serves as a symbol of hope and gratitude among people, and welcomes visitors to add their own messages using the luggage tags shown. whilst it speaks of a long running tradition in british lore, it makes for a captivating insight into the concerns and aspirations of people from all walks of life.

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furthering my study into natural materials as a medium for construction, i have made this basic ring by binding sticks together with twine and weaving in leaves and smaller branches. inspired by the work of wendy fernstrum, in particular ‘here i love you’ which uses sticks as framework. in addition to this, i wanted to bring fourth the motives of gabriel lalonde who describes his work as being ’neo-archaic’ in it’s application of 'earth resources’ as a cathartic approach to making. furthermore, this piece lends itself to the methodologies of bridgette guerzon mills and her parallelism of the human condition and the natural world. tumblr user ‘blluish’ created a hanging structure to discuss gender politics. whilst this isn’t a topic i am discussing with my work, I think the piece itself is beautiful, and the use of natural materials and found objects are being used to discuss as area of the human condition. looking back on my mobile from november, i plan to further develop this and create use the ring pictured above as the framework from which to hang my found objects. i think this is more visually interesting, and further demonstrates my skill with crafts and model making. it also builds on the themes of growth and development that i have recently been studying.

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Possible methods of display. Buying boxes and drawers may be more time effective, and I can focus on the quality of the actual objects inside.

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following on from last week, i have started developing ideas that incorporate natural materials and 3d structures to display my work. in keeping with the specimen boxes of Hans Sloane and Joseph Cornell i would like to use a box structure, but abstracted from it’s original function (as a drawer or something that sits closed with a lid) to highlight the theories of re-purposing that underpins my work. furthermore, by using using jars, small bags and labels, the objects involved, are elevated and given a new narrative that (hopefully!) prompts intrigue.

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wax seal set found at a flea market, may be useful for finishing details of work that incorporates envelopes

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natural materials moodboard

looking back on some of my earlier projects that incorporated natural materials to create artist objects, inspired by the works of creators such as gabriel lalonde, bridgette guerzon mills and leslie pearson.  i would like to pull together the remainder of my found objects and personal keepsakes to create a collection of sculptures and art objects to go alongside the collection of books i have been working on. it will involve finding creative ways to display items, that works in keeping with the running aesthetic of growth and development. i hope that by playing with form and structure to create 3-dimensional art pieces, i can maintain the use of tactile crafts to create a story. by building on the ideas of dadaism, whereby objects are abstracted from their original form and repurposed, i can create the start of a personal narrative, which is then passed onto the viewer and developed.

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