6.10.21 - Testing Ideas with Clay

After doing my city graphite rubbings I felt inspired to translate them into something 3D so I started this mock up piece. Referencing the Fothergill building, I cut out an arched window shape and a square window shape to press into the clay as a repeated pattern. I wanted to make something like a plant pot so I could bring in the 'nature' side of the project theme, and start exploring the idea of fabricating green spaces in the city, and the thought of nature taking back the power.  I made a long rectangular strip so that I could wrap it round into a squarish building shape which is open at the top.

After I pressed the window shapes in I used some letter stamps to add in text using the words I gathered in my graphite pieces. The style and font reminds me of the printing press which is another industrial reference relating to the time that the building was made as well as the productivity of the lace market itself. Though I had divided the piece into 4 sections for each side of the mini 'building', I let the words cross over the lines so that you have to turn it around in your hands to read it. I personally really like art that you can touch or interact with so I wanted to add that to my work. 

I think I can also bring in my idea of making fabric mushroom forms to this because I could have them coming out of the buildings with other handmade plants. I took some photos with real plants from the garden to get a sense of how this might look, for the first three pictures I used dry or dead plants, while in the last three I used colourful healthy plants, and I did this to test out the idea of decay vs rebirth and to help me decide what kind of fabric forms I might make. 





 

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