Where I position my studio practice in the art world?

This is a general question I would like to ask myself and what other people are probably asking themselves about my studio practice. I would like to think my work has a political side to it by referencing how the government is effecting our day to day lives including the way we function as a person, are past and future and the world we live in today. Some of them things are a big part of peoples lives and most of the time we are controlled by what we can and can't do, and money is a big part of that. That is were my studio practice fit's in with the type of art I am creating. Last year my work was purely about the community I live in and how it is run on a daily basis and it's perceived to the public. I referenced this by photographs showing a large detail on how the council estate appears due to the council, residents and the government.This year my work has a more diverse angle and theme but still trying to incorporate the community. This year my studio practice is concentrating on how we are perceived as an individual and how are thoughts can overlook a persons personality and confidence basically like stereotyping. Example someone who is poorly dressed, scruffy looking and not well presented you could probably guess what kind of background they have and the life they are living. It all so has a twist with what we want and what we can't have due to funding (money), responsibilities etc. Also I would like to state that my work somehow has something to do with the community and society. In my work I am going to try and concentrate on using found objects with the acceptance of using a lot of paper and tools I will need to use. I would like to think I have explained this as clear as possible because it was quite difficult to try and convert it from an idea to my actual studio practice.

Attachments

One of the things I was inspired by from my community was the plants and flowers so I decided to try and create some roses out of paper which will go well with any dress. I did a lot of research on YouTube on how to make paper roses and there were a lot of process like origami but some also you needed certain tools to create them. So I stuck with the non technical way witch only included your hands, paper and glue witch was the most difficult way but worked for me.

(Copy-wrights owned by Lyndsey Morgan)

I have a lot ideas were I want to put these. Designs will come soon!

Stage Two Of My Sculpture/Clothing

The next stage of my dress sculpture was to collage it with newspaper to create an all round standard background and all so to cover up the masking tape. Doing the collage on top made the dress more strong and durable. I also had to take it of the mannequin and put the Velcro down the side so I was able to take it on and off the mannequin witch endured a lot of effort. Once I took it of the mannequin I had to be careful on how I handled it and were I put it because on the inside it was very loose so on certain parts I had to stick duct tape on it. I all so had the issue of trying to get the dress back on to the mannequin with out it falling apart and because I stuck duct tape on the inside the dress shrunk in width. So to solve this issue I had to make small slices in the parts I was trying to stretch to fasting the velcro. As the sculpture/dress stands right now it is holding on and turning out quite well as a whole but there is still steps left in the designing process, but I am excited to see the final outcome.

(Copy-wrights Owned By Lyndsey Morgan)

This is a photograph of my dress/sculpture before I collaged it with newspaper. Also at this stage I stuck the velcro on so it be to come on and off the mannequin.

 

(Copy-wrights Owned By Lyndsey Morgan)

This is the stage that it is at now.

First Stages - Creating A Blank Canvas

This is the first stages of my process of making my dress. This is the first time I have ever made something like this but I am just thinking of it like a sculpture made out paper. My choice of paper was wallpaper base because it's sturdy, durable and thick. It was also cheaper to buy a roll instead of buying individual sheets of paper. My technique that I am using to get the desired shape of the human body is by using sections of squares and sticking them together with masking tape. The masking tape that I am using isn't strong or sticky enough to hold the pieces together so what I found myself doing was wrapping the masking tape all the way around and layering it as one whole piece of tape instead of small sections that would peal off. All so wrapping the tape around suctions the paper to the shape of the mannequin which makes it more smooth to work on top of. I have only done a small section so far because it was time consuming, but now I know the technique I am going to use the whole process will probably run a lot smoother, hopefully! I know I will hit a few glitches on the way because at this moment I don't know what shape I am going to have on the neckline or If I am going to have shoulder straps. At this moment I am just concentrating on how I am going to get the shape of the mannequin and making it sturdy and durable.

(Photographs Owened By Lyndsey Morgan)

Carrie Ann Schumacher

Carrie Ann is the first artist I've seen that makes similar pieces but using romance novels. She isn't well known all around the world for her work but she is noticed in a few places. When I seen her work it made me want to pursue my idea and see what I could create. Her work made me excited and inspired to see what I could produce with my own ideas. Her work was the first thing that made me realize what my idea was and put it into context and realization what and how I was going to do it.

Her work is amazing and inspiring. She creates different types of elegant and sophisticated dresses that are made out of book pages from romance novels. She uses a variety of techniques to create her dresses but she tends to layer her pieces to create pattern and texture which is what I'm going to use when I create mine.  

(These images are provided by www.carrieannschumacher.com and these are a couple of examples of her work.)