'Cut and Construct'

For our first independent task we were challenged to build 3D pieces out of our gathered materials: paper, thin card, toothpicks or wooden skewers using a scalpel, scissors and a glue stick and tape. With these materials, we would use the following techniques; cutting, tearing and puncturing, slotting, pinning, folding, propping, suspending, binding and stitching, to ‘build’ 3D pieces, using the principles that we identified in our visual mind maps to inspire our experiments.

This exercise was to enable freedom to create and not concern ourselves with if we were making it ‘well’. I found this task challenging as I felt unsure of what to make with-out references and overwhelmed with making use of all the materials.

My first piece was created with the wooden skewers, I spent most of my time on this but enjoyed trying to make it balance. I started by trying to stand them up and then, to build on the idea of balance I wanted to make a mobile, and taped the sticks as orderly as I could. After, I added the toothpicks for variety. A piece of reflection I received was to add coloured string to draw focus to bits of the work, I thought this would work well and added this in my sketch. I think weaving would work to add to this as the structure reminded me of a wicker basket. However, I like that appearance of empty space and I would weave the string more sparsely.

I then started to use the paper and began to cut shapes, using the pieces to build a sculpture- I thought that some of the offcuts where interesting so I decided to use some of them for my second structure- which I used pins to hold together. At first I did not like these outcomes so I tried being more free with my creating and used my scalpel to draw shapes then folded A4 coloured paper to piece together another sculpture.

To improve these and move forward I would build them up more! After looking back and drawing my 3D pieces I realised that these worked well in forming shapes. I like how some of them transformed and became other things; like a bird and crystal. This task taught me to be more open, at first I did not enjoy it because I didn't know what exactly I had to do/ where it would take me but it has become an opening for new outcomes and a lesson to 'just start'.