What does a beach and making paper have in common?

FINAL PAPER MAKING PROJECT

Paper an inspirational portfolio Gabrielle Falconer ISBN 0-8230-0304-3

 

I borrowed this little book from the library and found it really inspirational. I was interested in the long paper hangings of Elja Isojarvi and Robbin Ami Silverberg and initially thought of making a long hanging which would incorporate embossing, stitching, printing etc.
As I worked more with paper my idea changed and I could see the possibility of using my paper as an organic substrate to carry some sort of message as in a scroll so it could still hang.
The idea evolved and I decided to use found objects which I could embed in the paper. Joanna Kessel used mud from various sites on The Pennine Way. I thought I would chose a specific walk each day and collect objects on route but this soon changed when one day we went for a walk on the beach and I collected items discarded on the beach either by man, wind or water. This gave me my subject matter and also a message..... pollution and man's effect on the environment.
I made my paper and embedded the items in the pulp on the couching cloths and left them to dry. I then mounted them onto larger contrasting handmade paper. The objects made it impossible to roll the paper so I made a diary which I hand bound with Coptic stitching. The diary now preserved a moment in time on the beach. At this point I decided to leave the images as they were as a visual message to the readers. As the diary is opened and read I hope that it becomes distressed and changes just as the beach landscape changes in response to time and pollution. I hope to raise awareness of the effect man has on our environment and in turn, that viewers respond by making changes and become more environmentally aware. 
I see the diary as a work in progress of which there are many possibilities. I could add text. I could add images. I could return the diary to the beach, like turning back time. I could throw it in the sea and let it disintegrate. I could leave it on another beach. I could record all these in photographs.....and then do it all again.
If I return the diary to the beach then the cycle starts again. If I trawl the beach one year or ten years from now I wonder.... what will I find?

Final Major Project

 "Silent Whispers" is the theme for my final major project for which I chose to produce a sculpture of the human form. These images show the work in progress which seems to evolve and change almost on a daily basis. I started on the smaller sculpture not really knowing where things were going, and it's strange how the work has developed. This is not my usual way of working...I usually have quite a clear idea of an end result but in this case I am almost being led by the two forms. 

Still lots to do and time marches on. I hope to post again before the exhibition when these two will probably look quite different...who knows !