Bringing an idea to life, one vessel at a time

I've been reading a lot lately about the fragmentation of natural habitats.  The colonial occupation of Australia has irrevocably modified the character, extent, and connectivity of natural bushlands and eco-systems, creating islands of remnant wild areas in a sea of agriculture and urban development.

As a creative response to that idea, I thought of organic vessels - multiples, lots of them.  Vessels are containers that hold and restrain, isolating their contents from their surrounds.  Having a collection of individual vessels gives me that feeling of disconnection, responding to the idea of how fragmentation of habitats leads to negative impacts on biodiversity and survival of native plant species.

I've also recently started exploring the making of cloth paper - its an ideal technique with which to make 3-dimensional shapes.  The layers of paper and cloth can be formed over shapes such as bowls and mugs, using diluted wallpaper paste to 'glue' the layers together.  A sort of adult paper mache.

Using the cloth paper technique, I decided that I would try to create 75+ bowls of varying sizes.  I really want to make an impact on the viewer.  So far I've made about 40.

Before I could start to make the vessels, I had to prepare my papers and cloth.  Firstly monoprinting (of course!).  I've been monoprinting with ferns, grasses and leaves in aqua blue and black onto lightweight papers such as tissue, paper patterns, and kozo.  The idea of using plant imagery in the vessels is to capture 3-dimensional representations of their fragility and impermanence, referencing the impact of fragmentation on biodiversity.

Then I've rusted and eco-dyed cheesecloth and light cotton fabrics to get natural browns, greys and light orange tones.

The resulting series of vessels I've titled 'Containment'.  A work in progress, I'm only about halfway but still enjoying the creative process.  I hope that the completed artwork will inspire and educate others.