Week 7 art - 2 pieces

1.

Just prior to and during the time that I had the cast on my foot I created lots of art pieces that I now need to finish. This week I worked on finishing this piece. It is a cast of a piece of knitting. It was done by putting ink onto the knitting and pressing it into paper pulp. The paper pulp was made from shredded credit card bills, checks, and other waste paper. I then cover the piece with acrylic medium to make it harder and less vulnerable to moisture.  Because the process uses lots of water, the ink did not really show up the knitting pattern, But I find that adding some color to these pieces does help make them more visible than when they are solid white. Below is a close-up.  I guess there is some irony that this is cast paper and relates to a time when i had a cast on my foot but this was unintended. 

2. Bundles and Rolls first installation

This is either the first in a series or a study for a larger installation. It is composed of 5 bundles of junk mail wrapped in cotton string and 20 tubes of magazine paper taken from a previous week's art (made from magazines taken out of my recycling). They were placed in a small trench (about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide) in my back yard. I intend to photograph them periodically to see how they weather. My intent is that they will eventually totally disintegrate. I put them in a place where I will never be tempted to grow edibles as I do not know how the inks and the paper itself might affect the soil. I have been making bundles from my junk mail ever since I thought of this project and have thus slightly decreased the amount of paper that goes into the recycling. Whether it is a reasonable trade-off to then bury this paper in the ground where it might add toxins to the soil I am not sure. This bundling and wrapping of materials holds great appeal to me. It somehow seems homey and comforting, even though it is made from trash. Putting it in the ground is a way to make this art temporary (making it a part of my Impermanent Collection), which appeals to me because I do not have room to store all of the art that I am inspired to create.  It is also a way to get rid of this trash. If it contaminates the soil in the process it is not a good solution. If it merely adds texture to the poor soil in my back yard then I will be pleased.