Junkspace
Erica Dorton
An artist who I looked at for inspiration while planning and sorting out ideas for this project is Matt Johnson
The amount of detail he puts into his work allows them to come to life. It is clear he's extremely connected with the material while he is sculpting
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Matt Johnson
I admire his ability to create meaningful work out of contradicting and unexpected materials.
Johnson's intention of depicting the consumer's relationship with materials take on a very literal meaning of the concept of Junkspace. This is a reoccurring theme in his work.
Making and Testing the paper clay
I created a powder Calcium Carbonate by crushing up the tablets with a hammer. Then I poured it through a sift.
I let the newspaper soak in boiling water for 30 minutes - I could've let it soak for longer so the newspaper was softer and easier to work with once in the clay form
The paper clay in it's final form ready to be manipulated and sculpted
I create my desired shapes by rolling out the paper clay and cutting it with a pin tool and a wooden knife
The constancy of the paper clay was a little too sticky from adding too much white glue
While attaching the walls to the take-out container I learned that I need to add coils at the base of the walls to properly mend the two pieces
My next steps after this stage are to attach the other half of the container, sand down the paper clay and paint
The paper clay on the take-out container took about a day and a half to dry out with a fan and two days for the piece of toast because the paper clay wasn't rolled out as thin
When attaching the two sides of the take-out container I will need to add additional support to keep them together - perhaps skewers or toothpicks
I would like to add jam on top using another kind of material other than paint - perhaps real jam or another type of geletin mixture
Drying out both sides of the take out container in front of two fans to speed up the process
One of the final steps of the process, painting the take-out container
Final Piece
Erica Dorton
2020
In my Element
Painted paper clay and raspberry jam
16x 15x 14 cm
How Does it Feel?
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Erica Dorton
Composition and Materials
Velvety and soft Upholstery fabric sourced from my mum
-Soft and skin-like to mimic a hug or and warmth when someone else isn't there
-Warm colours
Embroidery thread running through the fabric to connect them
-Sometimes the thread will match the material and sometimes it will be different for variety
-Lose threads hanging off of the material and pulled to ruched the fabric
-Deconstructed baby blanket
Crochet pattern designs that I will make with the embroidery thread to resemble the ones in the blanket my grandmother made for me
Testing out embroidery stitches to create the crocheted look on the fabric
-Get embroidery hoop to hold fabric in place
Composition without embroidery thread:
Patches of the crochet design:
Final Piece:
Erica Dorton
What the Material Knows
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- My goal is to make a sculpture keeping a natural form in mind
- I am really intrigued by the smooth textures of mushrooms and the soft shape of their silhouette
Inspiration
- I love the idea of making something out of clay (an already organic material) and creating something inspired by nature
I made a painting last year recreating the paths that bugs create in wood. I carved the wood panel to mimic the subconscious beauty in the pattern the bugs make.
Process
- From there I made skinny coils and built up the walls of the piece. Every time I added a coil, I smoothed it out to mend together with the rest of the clay
- I wanted it to be clear that the two forms were growing together and around each other. In nature, they would be found side-by-side
- This piece was my inspiration for how I wanted to arrange the molochite on the clay body
Final Piece
From a human perspective as well as an artists perspective, we can appreciate the patterns and art in nature different from the organism living directly in it
Classic elements of care meshed and mended together into one work
- I started off by making two pinch pots to create a round base for the piece
- My idea of the shape was quite fluid and abstract to allow my self to feel out the process as I went. I curved the form intuitively and didn't follow a precise design
Care
Erica Dorton
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Terézia Krnáčová
This project was aesthetically inspired by the work of Terézia Krnáčová
I love the quality of delicateness that this piece brings and her ability to create beautiful sitting on such a fragile material
I found her work when i decided i wanted to use embroidery thread on food - i was happily surprised to find an artist who's work that really resonated with me
I wanted this piece to reflect ideas of domesticity and life situated at home while connecting to roles traditionally assigned to women
An extension from my "How does it Feel?" project - an ode to my Grandmother on my father's side of the family
Mental reflection of the difficulty to care for others when you're not in the mental state to care for yourself
Process
I made the pancakes and let them sit out for a few days to let them get stale
When the pancakes got stale they got a bit crumbly - playing with the idea of fragility that i wanted this piece to encapsulate
I then cut of shapes in the pancakes that would sit at the top of the stack and sewed them back into their place - detachment and re attachment
Final Piece