The Paper Lamp: Working With Paper
Date: 30 November 2022 | Sophie Nghi Le
Below is a mindmap I created in the beginning in order to brainstorm what I could do with paper. The two main ways to work with paper that I could identify were:
A. To keep a sheet of paper whole or
B. To disintegrate it into paper pulp and work with paper at its most basic form
A. I discovered other artists' work with paper when it is kept whole:
And I experimented with tearing paper against its grain into curled and frayed strips to build a bird feather pattern:
What I found rather interesting was that I was immediately drawn to patterns from nature, such as ocean waves and bird feather. This probably stemmed from my personal interest and experience living amongst nature and hence, my past work had always revolved around nature themes. At this point I started to have an idea of what the theme for my project could be and my artefact would probably be in the theme of nature.
B. I investigate the idea of disintegrating paper into pulp form and build my artefact from there. Below are my research into other artists' work, I enjoy the ability of paper in pulp form as it can be freely shaped to the artist's imagination:
I have always enjoyed working with my hands and sculpting any clay-like mixture, I have also collected quite a bit of scrap paper around my house that I haven't yet found a way to recycle; hence, I came to the decision to go down the route of disintegrating these scrap paper, creating a paper clay mixture that has the freedom to transform into anything.
To the right is the work of Ferri Garcès named "Empreinte" or "Footprint" (FERRI GARCÈS - Craftsworker / Workshop - Other, n.d.; Archives Des Ferri Garces, n.d.). This artwork was made out of rolled up paper and assembled in different height and colour grouping to imitate the forest seen from above. It was delicate, natural, familiar and truly remarkable, which was exactly the characteristics of paper. The idea was to use such a material like paper that came from nature, to imitate nature. And I would like to use this idea as an inpsiration when creating my paper artefacts. Adding onto that, I would like to incorporate the recyclability of paper into this project: to imitate and to help nature.
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From my existing knowledge of mixing colours, when creating a mixture of paper clay from scrap around our home, the mixture would very likely come in only two shades: white (blank paper) or grey (printed paper). These are neutral colours that would go with any space or complement any other colours. With my interest in interior and home decorations, I decided to turn the neutral colour paper mixture into decorative objects that would fit easily into any space in the house. This would be a fun way to recycle my scrap paper and since they tend to be easily available around our homes, this project could be easily attempted by anyone.
Here are a few initial sketches of what I imagined my artefacts would form into.
An initial thought on what I could create from paper clay:
─ A prototype of a lamp, different thickness of paper would let different amount of light through so it would be interesting to see how light would help form patterns if I create different density with the clay mixture. I tested this by folding a sheet of paper to form different thickness and held it in front of a light source to see the different amount of light that came through (see above).
─ Artworks in neutral colour that would fit with mostly any existing wall colour, thinking of wave patterns, but I would like to let the pulp form its shape naturally.
The making of the paper clay:
Looking back, this stage had heavily influenced the final outcome of my artefacts. For instance, I only thought about shaping the (newspaper) paper clay into rocks when I felt the mixture after blending and noticing that the texture and colour resembled concrete and stone. That has led to the rock balancing that is the base of my paper lamp.
Shaping my objects:
Interestingly, I didn't plan for all my objects to revolve around the beach theme, I was hoping to freestyle my sculpting but by living on the beach almost my entire adult life and having those patterns related to the sea embedded in my subconscious, I found my self naturally mimicking and forming what I find familiar: sand waves, ocean waves, rock and shells.
Assembling and testing the paper lamp
Video of my entire process can be viewed here:
And the finished artefacts:
What have I learnt from making my paper artefacts?
There could be many other ways to make my lamp better, taking into account the difficulties I encountered during the process. A few things that could have been done differently were: wrapping the mixture around the lamp insert instead of making the rocks individually, or sizing the lamp shade better. But by making the parts as I went, I am happy with the outcome, especially my sculpting work that created thick and thin areas, allowing light to pass through and creating the theme I wanted.
The process of making the paper clay is experimental, but fairly easy for anyone to try at home. Looking back at the start of the process, my paper lamp didn't turn out 100% as how I imagined but I have experimented with no expectations of the final form and that is the beauty of my creative process.
Paper clay is great for forming endless possibilities of creations depending on one's ability and creativity; and I have learnt that: paper, as familiar and simple as it is, could be manipulated in so many ways because it is so versatile. As paper pulp, the material has the ability to be shaped and formed into anything, and there is no damaged object made from paper clay that can't be re-disintegrated in water, and re-formed into new objects. Continuous recyclability is one of the highlights of paper in pulp form.
The advantages above also come with the cons of using paper as a material, which surfaced during the process of making my artefacts. Especially with making a lamp, these charateristics are not exactly ideal: fragility, flammability, water absorbency. So pure paper does have its limits, and I believe innovators and designers are working everyday to improve it so we can have paper material that is more durable, flame resitant and waterproof.
What do we do with our scrap paper?
I have discovered a fun way to recycle our scrap paper into new objects, stretching the already great recyclability of paper. Today, recycling is already a top priority in our society and this paper clay is an additional method to how we can recycle paper anytime at home, making recycling more accessible and encouraging creativity.
So how much scrap paper did it take to make all these objects?
I turned approximately 35 sheets of A4 scrap paper into 2 artworks (20x30cm) and a table lamp (36cm tall), and I still had a good amount to make a pen holder. This clay mixture can be stored away, in an air tight container, and used at a (not so late) later date, similar to any normal clay. By estimation, it would take me just under 1 week to collect this much of scrap paper: an odd roll of newspaper from the train, paper mail, tags, wrapping paper, etc.
Looking back at the start of this project and how easy it was for me to find scrap paper laying around, questions of how little we actually recycle paper sprung to mind. In recent years, we have been prioritising recycling paper but:
─ How much scrap paper can we collect around our home? More than we can imagine, because scrap paper is so common it often gets ignored.
─ Does scrap paper go straight into our recycling bin? Most of the time, and the bin workers would take it away and recycle for us so usually we don't get involved in this process.
─ Should we make recycling paper a better experience? Yes, recycling can be more than a chore. It can be enjoyable and creative just like the process of making and sculpting paper clay in this project. Anyone with the skills and imagination can turn scrap paper into unique things.
According to the Paper Waste Facts (The World Counts, 2022): US offices use an average of 12.1 trillion sheets of paper a year. That would build us a paper clay wall as tall as 3.5 metres and stretches 3,499km from New York to LA. These numbers will aid us in imagining the scale of paper waste that we can produce and what could become of it if we were to recycle all of this waste.
References:
- How to Recycle Magazines Into Bowl. (n.d.). Savedbylovecreations.com. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://savedbylovecreations.com/2011/10/recycled-magazine-page-bowl.htm
- Paper Play | Paper sculpture, Cardboard art, Paper art. (n.d.). Pinterest. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/717057571891673311/
- Hockenheimer Z – Njustudio. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.njustudio.com/en/shop/hockenheimer-z/
- Taggart, E. (2019, January 7). Enchanting Paper-Cut Light Boxes Illuminate Mythical Scenes You Can Hang on Your Wall. My Modern Met. https://mymodernmet.com/paper-light-box-art-aline-maire/
- nendo, Oki Sato. Cabbage Chair. 2007 | MoMA. (n.d.). The Museum of Modern Art. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/120941
- Liu, I., & Jian Wong. (2016). Eco design : Furniture. Promopress.
- sculpture | Alexis Granwell. (n.d.). Alexis Granwell. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.alexisgranwell.com/sculpture
- FERRI GARCÈS - Craftsworker / Workshop - Other. (n.d.). Révélations. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.revelations-grandpalais.com/en/exhibitor/ferri-garces/
- Archives des Ferri Garces. (n.d.). Galerie Bettina - Paris - Art Contemporain. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.galeriebettina.com/portfolio-category/ferri-garces/
- The World Counts. (2022). Paper Waste Facts. The World Counts. https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Paper-Waste-Facts