IP Weekly Progress -- #19

What I Did:
Sunday: (4 hours) Cut out shapes and started intimate folding of tiniest pieces.
Monday: (5 hours) More folding!
Tuesday: (4 hours) More folding and carefully thinking about how to fold each layer.
Wednesday: (6 hours) Folded and sewed the large pieces of Tyvek together
Thursday: (4 hours) Continued to fold large petals of Tyvek and started to plan out inner structure. Also contacted various professors for advice.
Friday: (During afternoon – 1 1/2 hours) Met with Jan-Henrik reviewing structural process and integrity of piece.

Process:
Though I am working hard on the outer paper aspect of the piece, the structural skeleton of the creature needs to be determined. There is a lot of work that needs to be solved at this point and after I met with Jan-Hendrik I feel a lot more confident about certain aspects. Since this took place after Friday at noon there will be more about this in an upcoming post.

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered:
I’m feeling pretty good about the look of the overall piece looking at the Tyvek. It has quite the beautiful sheen to it and a pearly luster when sitting still in normal light. The feel is still of paper, but requires the attention that one has when sewing these pieces together. Combined with tissue paper I think I have a translucent winner! I’ve been slowly working on the layers of the top of the creature by piecing them together. Some of the pieces have folds and blank surfaces that are unfolded. I can always go back and create these intimate moments. I feel I can successfully get a sense of the entire structure by leaving portions blank so I can go back and add folds for a uniformed look. I also save time this way because I’m focusing on the structure and weaving together of each individual piece. Though after having a small group chat there are some things I need to work on in terms of structure. I need some sort of armature inside and originally I was thinking wire, but even that makes me feel uneasy because I have no idea where to begin along those lines. I fear anything with wire may make it heavy and difficult to balance. The jelly will hang along its side which gives me a little more trouble than I anticipated. This creature balances itself with a type of fishing line, but in terms of what is inside really varies. I’ve looked at a few artists, but not many reveal their techniques outside of materials used. I can figure it out between in the lines, but I would have to assume what will and won’t work through a series of tests. I need to turn to someone whose mindset follows the science of materials in order to get an idea of what to do. I’m really trying to think outside the box, but I really need an expert in this sort of thing. The person I have turned to is Jan-Hendrik, who has given me a great idea of what needs to be done using small ash wood (Used in basket weaving by Sherri Smith) and light PVC glue. Doing this requires less work of folding and lacing wire, and it even has more strength! Of course I can also get a certain Jellyfish look about it:

(After picture) I will reveal soon what the structure will look like once I get some sketches up and running. At this very moment I have ordered Tyvek, Ash wood, (glue), and PVC glue. While I wait for these items to arrive I have started working on the “engineering” portion of the jelly by mapping out how to build this creature. Next post I’ll have more details dedicated to this since it will take a considerable amount of time to compose. (Thank you Jan-Hendrik for your brilliant suggestions!)

Also, while I’m at it I’m multitasking at extra additions to this creature. Mini experiments happen when I grab scrap from my cuttings! I also play with folding tiny pieces of paper occasional just to get an idea of where to go when I fold.

Very top of the bell

A mini paper sketch on the side

Hanging with a petal attached.

Playing with the light really changes the perception of the top.

Very top view.

What I Should Do Next:

Engineering of structure! Figuring out the mechanics and mapping out number of pieces of figure to make the most of Tyvek? This will be a challenge, but I’ll try it out!

Paper Botany

Detailed view of my IP Postcard!

I am at SEVERE risk of going off topic, but I really wanted to share a mini discovery I found when taking photos on Sunday. I went back and took a few more today just because I wanted to play with the idea again, but of course it's not pertaining to my IP project. There are some elements I discovered which I thought was interesting enough that it can add a whole new element to decorating the paper jelly.

IP Postcard

Tales of an Amateur Naturalist:

We never dream of being alone with a creature larger than ourselves, but when we finally do we cannot help but view this ancient being as terrifying and yet inspiring. It is a creature whom represents a timeline of nature’s full beauty.

Tissue Paper Exploration

All tissue sculpture by Polly Verity, except the last image.

IP Weekly Progress -- #18

What I Did:

Monday: (4 hours) – Tissue Paper folding.

Tuesday: (4 hours) – Made drafting shapes to use as a master shape to cut out of final pieces of paper

Wednesday: (4 hours) – Obtained samples of paper (at Hollanders, Art School, Xpdex,) Cutting shapes and some scoring

Thursday: (7 hours) – Wet folding and paper sewing.

Friday: (1 hour) – Paper sewing. Quick snapshots.

Process:

Made several “petal” forms, final draft shapes from scrap paper to overlay on good paper for actual form, and thinking about arrangement of paper pieces for postcard. Working into the weekend to prepare for Tuesday morning.

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered:

Found several samples of paper, bright white 110 lb paper, smooth mulberry, student-grade watercolor, Tyvek, and a couple other watercolor sheets of paper. I tore the edge on one side of each sample and soaked them under the sink just to see what kinds of unique folding I can achieve through this. I stuck to one universal form to create a good amount of pieces to compose together as one. Though my little mini experiment of various papers will not piece together entirely, it was a great exercise to really determine what ones I really liked the most. In terms of placing them together, the shape of the petal forms do not really compliment each other by how I place them. I forcibly sew them together, but they wrinkle and contract from one another. It’s not aesthetically pleasing at all. I will probably need to fit tabs on each and figure out a way to link them together properly. I’m really close though because the petals look really nice, but I need a little more of a complex system as to fitting them.

I tore the edges of a few pieces of paper samples just to see how the paper looked with “natural” paper tears. Though a lot of the paper turned jagged or just wasn’t easy to tear. I probably may stray from the tearing of paper, but I wanted to see how it would go at least.

It's really hard to see it as a section like this. Always better in person. I wonder how I can photograph these better. Only reason it wasn't hung in this photograph is because of being too delicate at this moment.

FOR MY POSTCARD:

I have a few ideas as to how to brand myself. Last semester I remember when I was talking in consultation a lot of what I said felt natural and emotionally driven. I was at a point where I didn’t need to read my notes and started speaking from my drive and heart. I wrote down a few things after consultation and these are phrases I am thinking about saying:

· An exploration of a unknown natural world

· A medley of natural worlds unknown

· Tales of an Amateur Naturalist

· Is there a chance we can ever know everything of the living world? Let alone, manage, preserve, and make full use of it?

· The world we live on today is an endless living being to walk through and explore.

· The world is paper because there are so many ways to explore it.

· Paper has a memory: each crease and fold are pictorial moments in time.

· Paper: An easy receptacle for sharing thoughts and ideas, paper is a medium where my ideas ascent because it begins as nothing, but in my hands it becomes something.

· Paper’s origin is from plants and it too can adapt and take on many forms as time moves on. By changing the structure of paper, such as folding it over or rolling it, you can change it’s overall structure and make it stronger this way. Just like nature.

For the photograph, I have one form that I like the most – but it was sugguested to me to consider having a drawing behind the paper form because through paper I’m illustrating physically these forms. Something to consider!

These are some old images I made awhile ago that I'm thinking along the lines of for my postcard. It's very progress oriented and I feel like I am just that. A progress oriented person.

What I should do next:

Make a large piece “bell” of the beast by weaving the petal forms together. This is to be finished before next week starts however. Apparently the sewing portion is taking me a lot longer than I anticipated yesterday and this morning. I would like to make a 360 degree view of a rounded form big enough to engulf my head. Just need to work on "linking" the petal forms together. Hmmmm ...

IP Weekly Progress -- #17

What I Did:

Sunday: (2 hours) Obtained more tissue paper and cut a lot of shapes out.

Monday: (3 hours) Practiced folding "tessellation" like shapes into the paper.

Wednesday: (5 hours) Folding the top portion.

Thursday: (4 hours): Finished folding top portion, began to make tiny chains to "link" parts of the Jelly together.

Process:

I had a bit of a rough week being distracted with some silly personal issues ... but near the end of the week I had to really force myself to keep going and I did. I didn't get nearly as much work done as I had hoped, but at least I did.

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered:

I showed what I have accomplished in IP to a few of my interviews at the Art School Career Expo. Some gave me interesting feedback as to how I can push back my paper sculpture in general! Some suggested a special fabric that resembles paper from afar while. The Ann Arbor Street Fair group suggested that having my drawings paired with my tiny sculpture versions because it looked really unique and different compared to most things they see in art shows. This was quite a compliment just because I feel like I'm really beginning to achieve unique work. I was also told that my paper sculptures resemble my drawings because of the number of "lines" made in the folds. The attention of detail in both my drawings and sculpture match well and is something I need to advertise more in my portfolio!

I'm thinking for the future that I make little paper plants/animals and place them inside a shadow box with a drawing in the back. Of course I cannot dwell on that idea for TOOOO long, just because I will get sidetracked. Regardless, glad to benefit from the Expo!

Now, back to IP: I ordered a huge roll of Acid-Free tissue paper. Was easy to find, but not at a good price. I looked at a few "Museum" storage stores and managed to find a roll of it large enough and cheap enough compared to everyone else. Thank goodness!

This week I made some delicate pieces to help "hide" seams and creases between layers of the Jelly dome top. As I make the larger structures I'm beginning to realize how difficult it is to piece them together and need to go back and figure out how to do so.

Tissue paper is really easy to crinkle and manipulate, but even the lightest bumps can cause issues here. I had to keep "re-working spots" when I was building the folds. So frustrating!

Other side of the piece.

I'm starting to build something to "hide" the seams and thinking abou how to connect these pieces together. Of course it won't be nearly as wrinkled!

What should I do next:

Keep making structures. I can't really specify, but keep building and figuring out through creative problem solving.

IP Weekly Progress -- #16

What I did:

Sunday: (2 hours) Sketches of the overall look. Found textures of various creatures, plants, shells, to inspire self for new paper folds.

Monday: (3 hours) Started making the top of the creature by drawing it as a draft then went immediately to the acid-free tissue paper version and layered it a few times for strength. Little trial and error here though.

Tuesday: (4 hours) Folding paper for the top, but ended up messing up and had to re-make the whole thing.

Wednesday: (3 hours) Cut strips of paper and folded those individually rather than on the actual piece to avoid messing up again.

Thursday: (2 hours): Looking up artists and inspiration to include in thesis. Cut more strips of paper to fold.

Friday (Morning): (2 hours) Started re-writing my thesis by formulating an outline and key points. I finally figured out what I'm doing and focusing on!

Process:

Now that I am making the large piece it's tedious and purely a motivation game. Sometimes it's slow and frustrating (Esp. if I make the wrong size of piece, I can salvage it or scrap it because it doesn't fit anywhere), but usually I enjoy this process of making because I'm motivated by how exciting the final piece will turn out in the show.

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered:

I wrote about my piece in a "pretend" article and I ended up seeing my project in a new light. Currently I'm making the small pieces to this giant creature, but while I do so I have this visual in the back of my head. When I started folding and creating the smaller pieces I have already changed the overall appearance of my creature (I.E. See Post #15 drawings) by incorporating the swirl of a conch shell at the top. Whether I continue with the overall aesthetic could change, but that's just the beauty of my project!

When I shared my article it did not mean anything new to me, but Lauren Korany read my article outloud I realized that there was something I wrote that I didn't notice until then:

"The placement of the ominous creature also allows the audience to experience the sight of the creature floating above you and see bits of detail you couldn’t see from the other side. In a way, the experience of being in a space with this creature is terrifying and also inspiring. We never dream of being alone in an open space with a creature larger than ourselves, but when we find ourselves in such a situation people do not even understand how to feel. How did Lindsay want these people to feel and how does it differ or relate to how she personally feels? This creature is like an ancient being where time as allowed it to fully develop in space."

"After experiencing this godlike creature, one feels sad that there are no large, mysteriously, decorated creatures like this in nature or is there? Lindsay’s piece makes a major comment on what we notice and do not notice in nature. When we do turn our attention to it we see the beauty in the creature and how it has aged over the years."


Back from my IP consultation, I remember when Joe Trumpey shared some interesting pieces of facts for me to consider. The reason why there are not large amebas crawling around is due to the earth's gravity and its biological structure. It couldn't survive in our conditions as a large being. Other reasons for not having large salmon in the rivers or large bison roaming the plains is because of the human impact on their local environments. In most cases because of overfishing or overhunting these lands creatures would not get to be full-size because their life ending early and not repopulating for upkeep. Though a Siphonophore's size varies on the species and where it lives in the world (The deep Arctic Sea or the waters near the Philippines). the benefit of this creature's life is that no one will hunt it for food and therefore it is granted a long lasting life. The other beauty of this creature is that is a colony of multiple little creatures that create a new and rather "raw" entity of nature.

The mysterious and unique look of a siphonophore is thought provoking and raises curiosity with people who look at a picture of this being. I picked to represent this creature as a diplomat of the unique beings found in nature. In the heart of the Amazon you will find beetle of various colors and shapes never seen by eyes but the brave explorers who venue out there. With my IP I am sharing my first discovery and impression of Siphonophores and creating a paper sculpture to represent the delicate and details of this creature for all to admire. By doing so I am recreating this experience for new sets of eyes to look and wonder about.

The multiples of paper folds I am creating come together represent the collective colony of little organisms that make this beautiful jelly. Everyone plays a significant role in the creature's overall lifestyle and through my individually folded pieces weaves together this living society that grows with time. My paper jelly is not only a creature, but an undisturbed timeline of nature.

What I think I should do next:

FOLD MORE MULTIPLES OF FORMS!

Rinse and repeat!