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Cherry CakePaper Mache Sculpture
19 cm x 18 cm x 6 cm November 2020 "Cherry Cake", is a found object sculpture, made out of wire paper Mache and other craft supplies. It is inspired by Rommy DeBommy an designer who makes hyper realistic food purses out of Styrofoam; it is also inspired by Mickalene Thomas and her exhibition "I was born to do great things". It is intended to represent the act of learning how to do things for yourself and for your own happiness despite how cliche it may feel.
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Planning
Inspiration
This piece was equally inspired by Rommy DeBommy and her realistic food purses and by Mickalene Thomas and her exhibition "I was born to do great things".
"I was born to do great things" was an exhibit that opened in late 2014 by Mickalene Thomas and Kavi Gupta in Chicago. The exhibition was an homage or celebration of life, womanhood for Thomas' late mother Sandra additionally the exhibition is seen as the power of art as a celebration of personal memory. She has multiple items which she casted in iron and steel which simultaneously destroyed the original object yet preserved it as a metal copy.
Rommy DeBommy or Rommy Kuperus is a designer from the Netherlands, she creates food inspired purses, bowties and other accessories. She makes purses out of different Styrofoam's (both hard and soft) and documents it all through her Instagram (which is where I found her).
"I was born to do great things" was an exhibit that opened in late 2014 by Mickalene Thomas and Kavi Gupta in Chicago. The exhibition was an homage or celebration of life, womanhood for Thomas' late mother Sandra additionally the exhibition is seen as the power of art as a celebration of personal memory. She has multiple items which she casted in iron and steel which simultaneously destroyed the original object yet preserved it as a metal copy.
Rommy DeBommy or Rommy Kuperus is a designer from the Netherlands, she creates food inspired purses, bowties and other accessories. She makes purses out of different Styrofoam's (both hard and soft) and documents it all through her Instagram (which is where I found her).
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I also want to make a hyper realistic vintage cake that is both very feminine and very dainty yet very sturdy and strong with its foundation.
I had decided to make the sculpture a cake because I really enjoy baking but sometimes I feel like I'm just subjecting myself to the stereotype that women belong in the kitchen. |
Planning Sketches
This was my first planning sketch, I wasn't too sure as to what I really wanted but what I knew for sure was that I wanted a lot of decorations as well as very dainty and captivating hues. So with that in mind I decided to just throw all my ideas together and this is what the result was/.
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The second sketch I had done more research and was thinking on a more technical standpoint on how I was going to build my sculpture, this is more of a brain storm of ideas of materials I could use. It is also just me thinking outloud and ideating how I was going to build my model
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My third and last planning sketch was the most detailed and where I combined both of my ideas of how I was going to construct the sculpture and how it was going to look.
I had finalized my thoughts on how the outside was going to look and how I was going to go about building it. |
Process
Process
1.) The first step I took to assembling my sculpture was building a skeleton or base out of wire that I had repurposed from an old art project.
I used needle nose plyers as well as flat nose plyers to bend and shape the wire to my liking. 2.) After the base was done I began to glue on paper that had been submerged in modpodge and smoothed out any imperfections with my hands. The paper had been old school work that I had found in my basement that I no longer needed, so I decided to tear it up and repurpose it. Once I was satisfied with the first layer of paper i waited about 24 hours for it to dry and then I proceeded to add more layers of paper and mod podge. 3.) Now that the cake is all dry I decided to paint it pink and then move on to the toppings. I began to glue white pompoms that I had in a craft bin to the bottom to make a cute trim. 4.) Subsequently I then went on to find some pipe cleaners in the same craft bin which I had decided to paint white to imitate frosting and hot glued it along the side of the cake. 5.) Following the frosting I added the same pompoms to the top of the cake to make the same trim and create balance in the sculpture. 6.) The last step was making the frosting dollops for the top of the cake which I used the hold glue and just piled it on top of itself until it made a dollop shape; then after letting it dry I painted them white and added the same pompoms from the trim but painted red to imitate cherries. |
Experimentation
One of my goals for this project was just to use supplies which I already had in my house and not have to go out and buy anything. So for the paper Mache I decided to use mod podge and just different types of paper that I had around my house.
The first paper I started by using was just regular printer paper that I had found in my basement, it was old school work which I no longer needed so I just tore it up and used a sponge brush to brush the mod podge on. Then I proceeded to just use my hands to smooth out the paper and shape it to the wire base. The second paper I went on to use was tissue paper which I thought was going to created a good and sturdy second base but I was wrong. The tissue paper was a mess to work with as it would disintegrate very easily with the modpodge. The paper was also far too thin and would rip very easily so it was difficult to create a lot of layers. The last paper I used were just regular paper towels soaked in modpodge. This paper was by far the best as it absorbed the modpodge well and once it was dry it is very sturdy; it is also very buildable and easily moldable with your hands. This last layer of paper created a smooth surface for the paint to go on top of and for all the toppings that were going to be glued on to it. |
Reflection
Critique
Overall I very much enjoyed the whole process of making the sculpture. From the beginning where I began to just design the overall concept and theme of the piece to then going on to sketchy and planning how I was going to build the model. I did have difficulty with finding the correct method of attaching the paper to the wire, all the paper kept slipping off the metal base and it was getting frustrating but as I built more layers of paper on the metal cage and allowed it some time to dry it became easier. My favorite step in the whole cake making process was attaching all the toppings, it was simple easy and meticulous all at the same time. My piece does a good job of conveying my theme because it is inherently feminine, when you look at it, it looks dainty. But nonetheless my piece also does not do a good job of conveying my theme because I was not sure how to properly interpret the idea of doing something feminine but not doing it because your forced to but rather because you enjoy it.
Compare and Contrast
Similarities:
Contrast:
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
Rommy DeBommy creates realistic food themed purses out of Styrofoam which inspired me to created a realistic looking cake sculpture out of paper Mache and house hold craft items. Mickalene Thomas' exhibition "i was born to do great things" is a celebration and a sort of totem of womanhood through art so I used themed cake to express femininity and not being scared to embrace it.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Mickalene Thomas believes that art should be used as a totem to celebrate and inspire womanhood.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I concluded that due to Mickalene Thomas dedicating a whole exhibition to her mother then her mother must have been a very impactful and important figure in her life.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my piece is being feminine and not being scared to express it with out being subject to the stereotypes behind them and doing something you enjoy for yourself and no one else.
Rommy DeBommy creates realistic food themed purses out of Styrofoam which inspired me to created a realistic looking cake sculpture out of paper Mache and house hold craft items. Mickalene Thomas' exhibition "i was born to do great things" is a celebration and a sort of totem of womanhood through art so I used themed cake to express femininity and not being scared to embrace it.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Mickalene Thomas believes that art should be used as a totem to celebrate and inspire womanhood.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I concluded that due to Mickalene Thomas dedicating a whole exhibition to her mother then her mother must have been a very impactful and important figure in her life.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my piece is being feminine and not being scared to express it with out being subject to the stereotypes behind them and doing something you enjoy for yourself and no one else.
Bibliography
Postism. (2019, May 20). A Conversation with Mickalene Thomas. Retrieved from https://post-ism.com/2016/12/16/a-conversation-with-mickalene-thomas/
http://kavigupta.com/exhibition/i-was-born-to-do-great-things/
http://kavigupta.com/exhibition/i-was-born-to-do-great-things/