Jennifer Davies is a paper maker, sculptor and constructor, using hand made Japanese paper manipulated, twisted, collaged and constructed to create forms that explore the materialities of fibrous material.
She often collages and constructs with both hand made paper and pulp.
Often combining stitch and dye.
Heavily inspired by natural textures and materials.
Davies work has made me consider focusing more on natural inspiration, working similarly with construction and collage? This would work well to make my work look less two dimensional ( I want to explore manipulation of paper, with more of an interest in pushing it into 3D).
It could be interesting to work with collage and multimedia, previously I have used stitch in my paper work which creates another textural dimension as well as increase the depth detail.
Aimee Lee works with paper manipulation, process and engineering, both using her Korean heritage and traditional paper making techniques.
She makes and constructs paper, sculptures, installations and books.
Lee often reconstructs and uses paper that she had made from hand, tearing the sheets and building them up, posing the challenge that come with the construction of paper, durability, fragility and transparency.
“I source materials and techniques from my Korean heritage, though my interest in plants, colors, and traditions derives from global fiber methods. Through artists’ books, I began to make paper and fell in love with the constant motion of water, the ecologically sound process of manufacture, and the variety of wild materials I could source” Aimeelee.net. 2021. About Aimee Lee | Aimee Lee. [online] Available at: <https://aimeelee.net/about/.
Lee’s work has made me consciously aware of how I can use paper in construction, taking great care and interest in its origins and material state.
By understanding why, where and how I source and make my paper from will inevitably create the depth and contextual knowledge that gives my work powerful meaning.
taking inspiration from natural resources and using fibrous materials will allow for me to construct with the papers with heavy resemblance and inspiration from my location, geographically speaking.
Expand and reflect (and show) how my research has informed my work. Synthesis.
Referencing ideas, theories artists that inform the work. really unravel and explore historical understandings, concepts materials. Show why these are important. Contextral.
Explore a wide range of materials and techniques, play with the ideas and really get to grips with the ideas of a book. Exploring formats and really understanding the boundaries and limitations.
Contextualise my own ideas more.
Where does my work belong understand why I am making my work, whos the audience, what gallerys, what collections, why would want it?
Professional context.
Play with the limited materials and techniques that are available to me. Don’t see them as limitations, look to really develop unique skill.
Look into paper based art forms, making paper, construction, manipulation (how can I manipulate the materials, what can this do to the form, consider how this would look digitally) engineering, sculptures.
Context, is the paper of any significance, what am I making it from, historical/ location based meaning?
location based work? use what i have available to me where I live currently (Hampshire, new forest) Orif IDs (not sure how this is spelt) objects that live in the physical and digital world, mapping location, tracking movements, tracking materials.
deconstructing original books, repurposing, outsourcing hand made papers?
In whole I am extremely pleased with the outcome of my book. The effect of the overlapping pages I wanted to create the sense of entrapment and the feeling of being trapped within walls or your own mind as an effect of the COVID19 pandemic and the effect on the elderly and the vulnerable. I wanted this to be a direct continuation of my exploration into the bowl form as so that they work well as part of a collection. The book form became more of a sculptural form in its own right and this then successfully expresses the feelings without the need for text. i did set out what i wanted to achieve, which was a book that explores texture and material quality, and the senses. with translucent qualities that allows you to see through the book. I wanted this to be a more immersive experience for the viewer, that they would work their way through the book and experience or get a sense of what I am trying to intend. the most challenging element of this project was the idea development, I knew what I wanted to create, the processes and the techniques but i was still very unsure of where i sat as a practitioner and why I was making what I was making. I feel more confident now knowing after researching other artist book makers that exploring the senses or themes can create extremely unique and intricate books that adhere to my skill set and explore the processes and material qualities of paper that i enjoy immensely.
I am very much looking Forward to moving into the final major project, although i do not know the exact themes I want to explore I know that i want to continue to make artist books that explore the sensual side of touch, sound, sight in order to create a book that becomes extremely personal to each and every viewer in a different way with how they interact and travel through the book in order to read it.
This project has also been helpful in expanding and honing my skill set and focus it on the material qualities and use of paper as medium. The turning point for me was when I had the discussion with Doreen, this really helped me to discuss my ideas and how other practitioners explore bookbinding with print and how it is best for me to move Forward into the next project with research. I now feel more equipped to progress into the final major project with the intentions and experimentation to know what works and is effective and what doesn’t as well as knowing what to avoid!
Heidi Kyle stated as a book conservator and she was inspired by unusual book structures, these inform her own practice. she says this about her work, “This experience has also taught me that, from the repetitions of the fold, there is always the potential for new structures to emerge. In my creative practice, I experiment, divert, re-build, and alter with the intent of keeping the book alive as a mechanical object of extraordinary diversity”. THE ART OF THE FOLD. 2020. Art Of The Fold – Hedi Kyle & Ulla Warchol. [online] Available at: <https://www.artofthefold.com/hedi-kyle> [Accessed 8 December 2020].
She primarily runs workshops and teaches as her practice across the US, Canada and Europe, providing a service, going into teaching at Program for Book Arts and Printmaking at the University of the Arts. she creates one of a kind forms that are held within collections all over the world.
After researching many practitioners it seams many make their work for commissions as well as one or a kind or limited edition collections.
In the real world i would have to consider place, price, promotion, people, process, physical environment and product ( this was learnt during my behind the barcode field project), to make myself more commercialised. Although I am torn to where my books belong. they are sculptural pieces in their own right so would they look out of place in a gallery or part of a book collection.
Analysis for Commercial and Commission based work:
Place
Online, business fairs, markets, clientele service, commissions
Price
Relatively cheap raw materials, cost needs to factor in the labor and making a profit. Luxury low to medium price range affordable for what it is. Need to source materials, specialist hand made papers, binding materials
Promotion
Sales, advertising products, working with other companies e.g designers, artists, running workshops at business fairs, publishing books? social media
People
independent practitioner, I may eventually require the help of others to produce.
Process
Production line, making the paper, prints and then binding them into products. Drying, hand making, and binding are lengthy process.
Physical environment
Online business, sell via events, clientele, Physical studio needed for production/ meeting clients
Smart meeting end of the studio and work space the otherÂ
Product
Hand made, mold and deckle needed, facilities to make press and dry the product, paper cutting and binding facilities, bespoke, unique etching, printmaking and letter pressing.
The Petcha Kutch presentations forced a fast thought process of idea and expression of concept. Doing it in this fast-paced way was challenging because I had never done this kind of presentation, but I found it was an effective way for idea generation form the group and this was helpful. Having 6 words to focus my project on allowed me to structure and focus my work according the words I had been dedicated. These were diversity, traditional methods, illustration, nature, storytelling, nature and juxtapose. Although I found juxtapose and diversity harder to explore in the narrative, the other words I felt I explored well in both aspects of the project the bowl form and second artefact. Â
The Gesamkunstwerk Bowl project was challenging for me, I struggled with the constraints of a bowl form as I have previously been quite open to exploration of material, form and scale allowing for a diverse and sometimes unexpected outcome whereas this project seemed quite controlled and predictable, challenging my creativity. This bowl project focused my skills into a vessel, I thought this initially would limiting my creativity, getting over this barrier allowed for an outcome that combined my previously discovered skills combining components of the book binding process, using papermaking, letterpress and printmaking. Using my dedicated six words: storytelling, diversity, nature, traditional methods, juxtapose and illustration. Considering the current times we find ourselves in, during the second welsh COVID-19 firebreak lockdown I became aware of a more intense feeling of isolation and loneliness being portrayed in the news and I could see evidence of this around me, this moved me to want to make this the subject matter of my bowl form. Using Roath park as the focus of my storytelling I used quick illustration of people walking around the lake, focusing on the older population or people walking in isolation. I then took these illustrations and using dry point printing I explored the use of ink to create negative space and the exaggerated feelings of isolation. Then applying these techniques to hand made paper made from COVID-19 news articles, this produced a grey tonal paper with large flecks of text created an interesting medium for me to explore traditional paper bowl making using paper mache. I then collaged letterpress text and prints to darken the interior of the bowl in order to intensify the feeling of loneliness through a sense of being trapped in your own thoughts this is the reasons for me placing him into the interior of the bowl. I carried this into the 60 second bowl video by overlaying news bulletins and headlines to create a sense of being overwhelmed noise (letterpress text). I used the video to take an elderly man on a journey through the park by making his arms and legs mechanical, by making him out of paper the sense of fragility is heightened.
This project took me out of my comfort zone and I started to explore materials that I would usually use (paper, letterpress, illustrations, stitch) and applied them in an unconventional way. Although this project did not go as smoothly as I had hoped I feel the video and the bowl form expresses the isolation I intended.
I decided to continue the themes I explored during the bowl project into the second artefact as I had struggled to understand and decide what I wanted to focus my work on. After conversation in group meetings I had come to the conclusion I want to continue to explore processes of print, papermaking and illustration and combine them with traditional book binding. The qualities of a book structure allow it to be tactile, personal experience (immersive), allow for reader engagement through imagery, visual, interactive, fluid, allow for sensual interaction of sight, smell, hearing and touch, the feel and type of paper.
My second artefact explores the feeling of isolation in a similar way to the bowl project. I wanted to create a book that complimented the bowl form. the book explores the layers of isolation felt by vulnerable and ageing people during the COVID19 pandemic both physically within the confines of their home and mentally. I made the paper from newspaper articles for the fragile qualities to represent the vulnerabilities of the old men and the stitching further explores the themes and defines the layers between the pages to create depth.
If I were to do these projects again, I would want to approach the themes with more confidence as I found I was unsure and indecisive when exploring my options, I found it set me back. I had quite a few wobbles during this process of exploration as I was still very undecided with how I wanted to continue into my final major project. Now I have cleared up my decisions and decided my intentions I feel more positive in continuing into the final major project. The limitations of the facilities slowed my production down as I was at home longer than I intended, but I now feel more confident with the studio and the booking process, so I feel next term I will be more competent and will be able to continue with my work in an effective way under time management.
I want to design a project around the book form, exploring the ways in which print, paper, stitch and traditional methods can be combined to create an artist book. I intend to use my time exploring methods of printmaking, letterpress and bookbinding and papermaking. I am drawn to the structure of a book for its immersive qualities that allows for the form to be tactile, personal and interactive. I will be using the traditional aspects of binding and printing methods whilst exploring contemporary content and structures. I am interested in the sensory and material qualities that paper has and combined with stitch and print they can create really interesting material outcomes. I have been drawn to exploring more contemporary artist book designs as I find the combination of both content and structure are both significant and important aspects of book design in creating an interesting artifact that speaks for itself with little text to encourage the viewer. I am hoping to create a collection of tactile forms exploring a variety of book structures and bindings both contemporary and traditional. Using the facilities within the print room I will be focusing my time on printing methods exploring letterpress, dry point printing, Lino, etching and collagraph as well as using skills learnt through paper making to explore the material and textural qualities of making hand made paper. I believe this process I am combining when stitched into a book form drawn upon the senses of sound, touch smell and sight this is important for the personal experience I want the viewer to be immersed within.
I will be focusing my first couple of months in the print room, focusing on the production on paper, print and practicing book structures, developing a theme within the form(s) This time experimenting will give me the beginnings of the content to my book form(s).
This will then develop into the production of the book structures in the third month. Assembling the orders, making adjustments and working into the forms with stitch.
I will then be focusing on the presentation of my final forms, writing up explanations of my work and completing the book structure(s) and getting ready for submission.
Lara Hoad Artist Designer: Maker 