26.10.20 - Experiments Based on Feedback

 

When discussing my project, we thought about ways to combine the fabric sculptures with my clay work for a much larger piece. We had the idea of a really big fabric beetle, cut open with things spilling out using objects pressed into clay. I thought this was a really interesting idea because it implies issues of hoarding, comfort objects, plastic pollution and consumerism in modern society. It would be a reminder of the famous photographs depicting dead sea animals full of plastic in their digestive systems, and shows a clashing binary of humans vs nature

 I think this would create a really serious message hidden beneath the initially fun impression of the colourful array of items and toy-like objects. It encapsulates the idea that my comfort zone of nature is being threatened by all the unsustainable little things like plastic objects that I also take comfort in - there are conflicting moral values that make me question my own ways of living and consuming.  

I sketched out a couple of versions to show different ways I could make it - one with monochrome objects like I did before, one with multicoloured objects in a random arrangement, and one with multicoloured objects organised in a rainbow pattern.

Then I made little samples of these three ideas by pressing beads into clay shapes, and I like how the monochrome and the organised rainbow ones looked, but the one with random colours makes me think it has just been vomited out and I don't really like it, so I know I won't carry that one forward into a larger piece.

I took the fabric beetle that I had previously discarded, stuffed it and sewed it up then made a cut in the side where the 'spillage' would be pouring out. I started shaping the clay into it, which was difficult because the soft fabric doesn't hold the clay in place and they don't bind together so I struggled a bit with this stage, but when I had finished making the shape of the spillage it looked much better. I think next time I would try to give the clay a smoother finish so that it looks more liquid, like blood or some other bodily fluid which might look quite grotesque. I chose blue for the colour palette because I enjoyed the pink themed beetle and wanted to try with a different colour that I also associate with comfort. 

I think making a multicoloured one on a large scale (a metre or more in length) would be difficult because I would have to source an even amount of stuff for each colour, and it was already hard just finding things that were pink - in total I bought about 10 objects which cost £5 all together, and the rest of them were mine already. I will also have to think about stuffing something so big; I could try polystyrene balls for a bean-bag effect, or if I wanted it to be lumpy I could use scrunched up paper. For the fabric itself, I think I could cheaply buy a plain double duvet from a clearance sale and cut it open to make a massive sheet, which will be much less costly than buying from a fabric shop. I would use a sewing machine rather than hand-stitching to speed up the process and create a neater finish. We also had the idea of using soft plush fabric to make it really fluffy and cuddly, which is a more expensive option.