This is the paper made for the final set of of forms that I am constructing using biodegradable large balloons, the paper I made using abaca fibre and recycled and collected used cartridge and watercolour paper and biodegradable cornstarch glue.
I enjoy the journey the paper has made from waste to form, repurposing a material that would otherwise be rendered useless.
For this paper I combined corn starch (for strength to bind the fibres together), Abaca fibre for strength and fibrous opaquity and recycled paper for roughness as the abaca fibre makes the paper soft. Adding natural pigments and found and collected dried flowers and lichen taken from the New Forest floor. The natural pigments from the flowers bleed into the Abaca paper during its drying process and the flowers release colours. I have chosen pigments that compliment the natural world, taking influence from photographs taken in the Forest of fauna and flora and landscape.
I have found an enjoyment in the rhythmic and lengthy process of my discipline and material choice. Paper allows for a repetition and rhythmic motion that imbeds itself within the paper, imprinting my mark on the material itself. Then creating forms from the paper the repetition of taring and attaching and reconstructing the paper into a three dimensional form. this has become an important process for my way of working.
Lara Hoad Artist Designer: Maker 