Evaluative statement

I want to explore the idea of finding comfort. I have decided to explore aspects of my surroundings and home growing up. This nostalgia balanced with my ideal comforting ‘home’ has created a world in which I feel safe, and I hope the viewer does too. I want to create a respite for the weary, and my practice has very much been a solace for me. Researching illustrators including Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and Max Velthuijs has led me to create illustrations that allow me to go to a little world of comfort.

My Italian heritage plays a big part in what home is to me, and I want to emulate the feeling of when I am visiting my Nonna in my work. I will record and reflect on the surfaces in her home, and what makes it so special to me. I also want to explore other books and childhood memorabilia. Ida Rentoul Outhwaite is an artist that is heavily inspiring me at the moment, as her use of anthropomorphic animals makes me feel truly safe and within nature. The contextual aspect of my technical work is centred around geometry. I am so interested in the way geometrical forms are found and reflected in nature. I have made the base of all of my illustrations using a rule and compass, to ensure the balance and harmony that is found in nature is present in my work.

I have been using primary research with reference to nature in my home and close environment. This has helped me form miniatures and imagery of plants that make me, and hopefully the viewer feel within a natural environment. I have also drawn a lot of primary research from my Nonna’s house. These motifs that I have collected run throughout both the series of illustrations and the sculptural gallery space.

Regarding secondary research, I have been looking into Italian art connected to geometry and nature. This includes ‘Stile Floreale’, an exploration of natural elements in Italian craftsmanship. This has heavily influenced the motifs and structure of my work. I have also been exploring instances of Italian geometry, found within churches dating back to 11th Century AD in the book ‘Decorative patterns from Italy’ curated and drawn by Pepin Van Roojen. This has allowed me to refine my geometry to a design that is derivative of Italian origins.

I have had a bit of a bumpy ride with this project! But it has led to a deeper understanding of crafts and how to curate a design that I have imagined. Geometry has helped me enormously with the construction of these designs, allowing me to create smooth and reliable joins and designs.

A challenging hurdle was the wooden parquetry. In theory I thought this wouldn’t be too difficult on a small scale, as I know it can be quite difficult for trained constructors to complete at a normal scale. Doing miniatures, I have the benefit of being able to fully design and plan my flooring to ensure a perfect fit. I did this by tracing the base surface that the design needed to fit, which allowed me to create a scale for the planks. I used lollipop sticks and it took me a few days to cut the angled design, making sure that all of the pieces could tessellate nicely. This was effective! And I had a very fun time laying out all the pieces in different shapes like a jigsaw. Ensuring a central point and creating a growing effect for the parquetry that mimics growth in nature.

I also had a lot of developmental problems with the smaller structures in my sculpture. I mainly solved on the go, including trimming and shaving with a stanley knife, and ensuring to use both a ruler and the cutting mat to measure and re-measure the components of the structure. The main adhesive I used was UHU glue, as I feel it works effectively with wood and paper, and is easier to clean and manage than super glue, on a smaller scale - it’s also a lot cheaper. However, I had to alter my adhesive for certain components such as the prints, and the UHU glue seems to seep through thinner papers. Instead, I used double sided tape and pritt stick.

I have been documenting throughout the process of this project, and to help contextualise and refine that, I have been posting on workflow a simplified version of my process, both to share my work and to reflect and process what I have done and need to do next. I have been reflecting intermittently using writing practices to refine my work and create inspiration for what to do next. I think I need to improve on taking photos of my physical work as I build and draw, as I often get caught up in the work and forget to take photos and documentation of the progress. I have been creating lists of things I have planned and need to do, which helps me focus and prioritise the different elements of my project.

This project has gone through many stages, which means it has been beneficial and crucial to reflect and process as the project grows. I have been doing written evaluations of how the project has developed and would like to summarise it here. My work began primarily as an exploration into my Italian heritage and culture, which I have found incredibly interesting and thought provoking. However, as I have delved into the past I have felt quite overwhelmed and wanted to bring the attention back to the present. I have managed to do this by looking forward to dreams and hopes of comfort I hope to find both in my everyday life and in my future. Before this crucial shift, my project had little thought about the audience and who I want to experience my work, and how I want them to experience it. This is now the central element to my work, as I have created print designs that people will be able to bring into their own homes. As well as a sculptural piece that is designed to be inhabited by the viewer.

The communication of my work is essential to this project. I want to be able to exhibit and present my pieces so that the viewer can also be comforted by the design. The idea behind the presentation of the sculpture is that the viewer can place their head in the fictional gallery and gain some respite from the outside world, creating a sense of comfort and home.

Evaluative statement

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