This page is to doccument my experiences and development over the easter holidays.
Research
Diana Beltran Herra
One artist that has inspired the development of my work is Diana Beltran Herrera originally from Columbia and currently living in Bristol, Uk. Herrera is a sculpture artist who specialises in crafting beautiful paper birds, the sculptures have layers of texture and colour which give a real sense of volume and life.
I knew I wanted to explore sculpture and after reading Herrera’s interview with My Modern Met, in the article she explains how working with paper gave her flexibility and freedom over alternative materials. I utilised these ideas in my own practice, using different colours to add texture and dimension to the birds. This interview also gave me insight into Herrera’s creative process in which she spends over a week researching the bird in-depth before she begins to sculpt. In contrast to this in my own work I wanted to have more of an abstract fun approach to my sculptures by using colour schemes based on the wallpaper I find rather than any research.
This shaped my work as at the beginning of my project I was exploring my home as a nest, though I wanted to expand beyond my own self-centred ideas of home. Exploring artists such as Herrera made me want to look at the life, I share my wider home with and what home is to them. Therefor the bird sculptures are inspired in both a more direct sense (in that I use colour and texture to give life to my birds) but also inspiring my concept and creative process.
Eileen Hutton.
Another artist who has influenced my project is Eileen Hutton. Hutton is an artist’s whose work is centred with ecology, she discusses themes of interconnectedness and expanding our relationships beyond human interest. For example, her project Nest Jumpers (2013 – onwards) featured reworked pieces of wool made into small box nests which were then placed safely outside in the hopes birds would nomadically begin to nest in them.
When I was initially introduced to the Nest Jumper project I couldn’t see a clear-cut connection to my exploration of home, however the project did stay with me as it reminded me of my nan who is a huge fan of both birds and knitting. This is significant as it evocated emotions which guided me through my project.
After experimenting I revisited her work and took interest in the way she used materials, the mixture of fabrics and natural materials gave the pieces a blended identity. Furthermore, I have taken inspiration from the purpose behind the work, Hutton curates with ecology and use in mind. Though only one nest was successfully used as a temporary home the other were used by the wildlife as “dummy” nests, this proves Hutton’s work to be an example of how recycling can be beneficially implemented into homes animals not just in way orientated around humans. This inspires my project as my sculpture converses with the viewer regarding the sheer amount of waste material and its growing effect on wildlife.
Development
After my research i then finsihed the birds i had statred the previous week. Unfortunatly the photos will not uplaod onto the media drive however i can tell you that there are 10 paper birds made of differnet patterened wallpaper. I sadded additional tezture to their tial and eyes.
Experiment
My progress was inspire by a number of different artists, through out myresearch I have investigated pieces which reuse or recycle material. My largest inspiration with the most direct tie to mu project is Eileen Hutton’s nests, I began using the left-over recycled material i had collected to form nests/perches for my birds.
I also explored different compositions and experimented with the overall look of my project.
Assignment 1
For assignment 1 i had to create a project porposal that demonstrated my idea and my creative process. I larger part of my exhibtion was the site and situation. I know that during the Takeover exhibition artist Zoe Preece will have their ceramics work on display, I took this into consideration when making my sculpture. Her work is smooth, delicate, and uniform which is an obvious contrast to my own chaotic, colourful work which explores themes of individualism and variety. Despite this in my work I have investigated the links to fragility, for example the paper birds I have made are fragile and the use of wallpaper almost resembles that of origami paper. There is also a connection between our work and the theme of fragility on a conceptual level, as I’ve already explained I’ve been exploring the fragility of our environment and I can see this in Preece’s work as she describes her sculptures to be unsettling, intimate, and tender. In reflection to this I feel having our work parallel to one another shows complex fragility of both the environment crisis and the physicality of material relationships.
