Bound For Decay detail
I sooo love the Disintegration Project hosted by Seth Apter at The Altered Page that even though I’m waaaay behind with so many things after being sick for over six weeks I was compelled to make something for this. I could NOT stop thinking about it so it just had to be done.
Bound For Decay detail
This is a rather different art project as the collaborator is Mother Nature herself. Sometimes I get a bit grumbly about living in a rain forest environment even though I do adore winter storms pummeling the coast and curling up on a gray winter day with some hot tea (or a complex red wine!!!), the pups and Charley to watch a movie or read a good book. It’s just that it can get ever so old when there is relentless rain for months on end.
But today I’m so happy for the rain because I’m putting materials in that will react quite quickly with the wet environment. I cast a goddess of unfired porcelain clay which I merely baked in my craft oven rather than firing in a kiln. I want to see if she will hold together or not. Her face wasn’t working out so well so I made that out of a new paper clay from Japan. I’ve been experimenting with it this week and I really love it!!! I’ll be using for the first time in this workshop at Art & Soul in Hampton, Virginia.
Bound For Decay main
This project differs from others I’ve done because I strive to make things to have structural integrity and to last. Perhaps you can tell by the looks of this that the fleeting lifetime of all things was very much on my mind. She didn’t even start out in one piece! It is very freeing to let go knowing that weakness in construction may turn into beauty when left to the elements unprotected.
Uncoated steel wire was used to bind the paper layers together. Rust is inevitable and I think will add so much character to the final piece . . . assuming of course that there is anything recognizable left of it. Most of the paper used was sewing pattern tissue paper– it is quite thin of course so who knows if the layer of paint over this paper will keep it together. I fashioned the wire into a cross shape and bound the goddess with thread that is quite taut to hold at least most of her parts in place. Do you think the one arm that isn’t anchored down with the thread will still be there on May 1 when the project wraps up?
It seems to look as though it is bonding with the tree already. Is it just me or does it look like it belongs there?
I think this was an absolutely brilliant idea so hats off to Seth for such an inspirational venture. I’m very grateful to have listened to my inner child and let her loose to play with this. Thanks, Seth, for continuing to be a great inspiration!!!
