For this piece, we had to create an abstract sculpture out of packaging materials- mainly cardboard. Our designs were allowed to be painted, and they could be hanging, wall-mounted, or standing.
Planning
To start, I needed to decide on what kind of object I wanted to create. My thoughts immediately gravitated toward organic shapes, particularly either parts of the body—drawing inspiration from my life drawing class—or something related to mold.
I was also very inspired by the textures that using cardboard could get me, and I spent most of my time peeling the skin off of the cardboard and experimenting with different types.
I eventually settled on the mold idea, not just because the shapes and textures were intriguing, but also because the concept of waste came to mind as I worked on the project. There I was, in art class, creating something out of garbage. Packaging serves a purpose, but once it’s no longer useful, it’s thrown away. The same thing happens with mold—once delicious food, now decayed and forgotten.
Creation
From the first day I attempted to bring my ideas to life, I ran into many issues. My final design involved an egg-like object, which I would soon find out is very very hard to make with cardboard. None of my ideas were turning out the way I wanted them to, and they often had major structural issues.
However, after much trial and error over the span of many classes, I made a base shape for the object.
I then started to work on making my base into an actual 3D object, by layering ripped and cut pieces of cardboard over and over each other to give it an organic layered effect. By this point in the process, I was quite skeptical and I wasn’t sure if the end result would turn out anything like I imagined, (and this took a lot more time than expected) but I kept working.
Eventually, it started coming together:
After finishing the layering of the sheets of cardboard, I started to paper Mache on top of it with lines of cardboard (you can see this starting in the pictures above and below on the left) to make it a smoother shape because I was unhappy with how rigid my project looked.
After paper mache-ing, peeling and layering cardboard for hours, I finally landed on a final shape that I was happy with, and that left me for my last step, which was to paint.
Since the early planning stages, I wanted to paint my project, as it was something only our year was allowed to do. But throughout the process, especially as I was nearing the completion of my object, I realized how badly my project needed some contrast, so using paint would help define it. Even though there were layers and indented parts, the shadows themselves weren’t enough to make my project look different than a weird-looking blob.
I used acrylic paint, mostly a greenish blue (inspired by mold) and after that dried then I went in with other colours too. I painted on the outside “skin” and I think that the colour added so much to my piece and made it pop!
Finally, after so much hard work, I was done. Even after much trial and error, I realized that I recreated my original vision more than I thought it did. The end result did end up being a little more messy than I wanted it to be (time was an issue) however I found that it worked with the mold theme.
Installation
I had to install my piece in the Wave Gallery the next day, which might have been the most satisfying process. I hung it up with brown paper string attached to the base under all the layered cardboard.
This was my first time installing something in the Wave Gallery, and all my hard work felt worth it as i stepped back and looked at my piece hanging there. I did it!
This project was way out of my comfort zone as I had never really created 3D installations or worked with cardboard. It was definitely a learning process, and I learned some significant lessons that I’ll keep in mind, not only for 3D projects but for all my art projects in the future. Overall I am proud of the work I have made and the fact that I had to work hard to get it to where it is now just makes it all the more satisfying.
AMAZING!!
i love mold