Paper Stacking
 Assignment:
Read the sections I highlighted in Touch, A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman.  A hard copy was handed out at the beginning of the semester.  Post your respone to the reading on your blog.

Create two stacked paper forms.  The first is observed from life.  The second is your own design.

#1 - Observe From Life.  Use your eyes and your hands to understand shape and line. Your subject is a fruit or vegetable.  I suggest purchasing a couple of pieces of produce. In case your first idea does not work, you have back up.

Keep the size of your paper sculpture the same as the actual produce.  

I showed some examples in class that were sanded (using the woodshop sander). Sanding the paper stacks is not required. If you wish to sand your sculpture, you must contact Russell Maycumber, woodshop manager. Russell will train you on the equipment. You can e-mail Russell or stop by the woodshop located inside Studio 3. Russell's hours are posted on the outside of the woodshop doors.

Suggestions - green peppers, horned melon, squash, star fruit, pear, apple, banana, lemon, celery, large mushroom.

No blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes or a small mushroom.

#2 - Your Own Design.  Using the same materials and the process of paper stacking as for the fruit/vegetable, design your own paper stack sculpture.

Prepare your design by doing research on-line.  You must have a sources that you derive your idea from.  Sources can be visual, literature, history or music based.  At least five sources are needed.  Post your visual research on your class blog.

Stay away from cliches and conventional symbols.

The size of your own design should be about the size of your hand.

Push for an innovative design.  Consider how interior and exterior work together.  Not all pieces of the sculpture have to attach - could you have parts that are able to detach?  Consider the use of "stilts" to life sculpture off of table, creating a space between sculpture and table. Pull from all previous projects to fuel your ideas about construction.

Incorporate color into your own design.  While the first sculpture, of the fruit/veg, will focus only on proportions, the second sculpture will be innovative and include color.  The paper responds well to ink (or diluted paint).  Gold/silver/red leaf or metallic paints can also be interesting.  Crushed pastels, rubbed into stacked paper is another option.

Do not use any other paper besides the assigned paper.  If your idea calls for the inclusion of other papers (newspaper, magazines, colored paper), see me and we will discuss.  Sometimes a compromise is possible.

Personal Response: "Touch" by Diane Ackerman
 Language is steeped in metaphors of touch! What seems real we call "tangible". Touch often takes the most time to forget out of all of our sense and I believe this is true because I can remember how a rabbit feels more than the exact pattern of its fur, the size, shape, and smell, it offers. Nother thing that stands out in this article is the sentence stating that people who aren't touched as children don't like to touch as adults. I think this is both true and false because from personal experience, I have a close friend who does not like to be touched and they weren't as much as a baby. And also in shows with psychopaths who went through that, normally they act as if they are craving the touch. Touch is everywhere! Due to the textures on everything and everyone! It is true! If touch didn't feel good, there wouldn't be species, parenthood, or survival. One of my favorite examples of this is of a baby monkey and a machine that gave out milk and one made of soft fabrics. The monkey chose the soft fabric over the milk. I would to because to me touch is a sense of warm safety. We instinctively begin touching right away. We also touch to clarify things. This is how we figure out whats what if we are in the dark or want to figure something out. Too bad sharks can't touch, otherwise we would have no shark attacks.

 
Finished Project

The first paper stacking was easy. It was exactly like the first soap carving only with paper stacking. I had to follow the guidelines exactly and recreate my fruit/vegetable which was a pumpkin. After completing it, I had then sanded it down a bit to make it smoother. That was the hardest part because of the fact that the sanders were not working properly for me. After that I had decided to add a glaze on top of it to hold the structure together more firmly. This ended up giving it an earthly tone and an industrious smell which worked to my advantage. The second paper stacking was an inventive one in which I was allowed to make any shape I desired. I have always been fascinated with Broadway and its scenery. That is why I had decided to base mine off of a stage and its plays. I watched "Dr. Calligari" and noticed how the scenes were always drawn out and warped just like the characters and their costumes. I wanted to imply this into my own work as well, and so I built the structure from bottom to top. I created a base which warped up into a spiral and then added a sort of fan onto the bottom and painted the warp red and painted it from red to white. This expressed a stage and its actor as well as the curtains, although i switched everything by putting the curtains on the bottom. I had then switched the colors around making the curtains white and the stage red. Expressing how the actors as well as the stage and play itself all join together into one show and one show only.

Sketches