Paper Flowers

Experimentation

For this section of my project I wanted to explore the idea of mimicking nature from manufactured or processed materials. I used mass manufactured paper cups to try and emulate the beauty of natural flowers in nature.

I first drew a stencil onto the paper cup (I didn't have to worry about these lines being visible as they would become the back of the flower) then cut them out using scissors. I also tried using a scalpel but this just ended squishing the paper and made it harder to cut.

    

 

I experimented with different numbers of petals and the number of 'layers' (amount of cups) used to make each flower

      

Through this process I decided I preferred the look of the flowers when they had more petals and more layers as they looked busier and often more natural.

Using Scraps

Through the process of making the flowers I collected a mountain of scrap card so I tried to use these to make different shaped flowers.

          

Although this was a fun process, I didn't like the forms the scraps created as they were too spiky, hard to put together and very basic. I didn't use these anymore.

Sauce Cups

When going back to the shop to get more cups, I found packs of tiny sauce containers which I then thought could create a cute flower. These were much easier to play with due to their thinner walls, and when layered created beautiful little flowers. Each flower was much quicker to make and the variety was much easier due to the speed. I made some with 3 layers, and some with up to 10. This created a much busier and 'organic' flower shape.

Final piece

To put everything I had created together, I decided to attach the flowers to a wooden board. I did this for ease of movement (it wasn't just stuck in one place) as well as it created a border to the piece, and I had an end product to work to, not just a never ending amount of flowers to make until it looked 'right'.

I used all the different cups I had found (including some different sizes and materials) and stuck them to the board using hot glue.

Overall, I like the look of this piece, nut I feel as though it looks 'unfinished'. I think to rectify this I could of painted the wooden board before sticking the flowers, or sticking more flowers to it to hide the board. I could possibly create a 'box' out of wood to make a 3D frame which would make it more complete.

Karen Whiterod

Source: Karen Whiterod

Whiterod is inspired by patterns and forms from the natural world and uses discarded materials to create her pieces. She is constantly using new medias (LEDs, fiber optics, film etc) and her skills which have developed from her background of jewelry making.

   

I really like Whiterods' art and she uses waste plastics and mass manufactured products to create beautiful, seamless pieces which portray her message of actively helping reduce climate change and improving awareness for the environmental departments and wildlife trusts. Because of her background in jewelry making, she has an amazing attention to detail and repetition of smaller elements to create a bigger and more interesting bigger form.