studio notes #9
This week I had the idea to make a mourning veil. There is something about this article of clothing that I find really intriguing. Wearing one signals to the outside world that the wearer is in mourning, but it gives the wearer privacy. That in-between space feels really rich to me. It also creates a barrier between the mourner and the outside world, perhaps protecting both sides from some of the discomfort of visible grief.
I've also been thinking about how my continued interest in mushrooms might fit into the ideas emerging in this project. Mushrooms are part of the process of decomposition, breaking down dead organic matter and returning nutrients to the soil that can then become available to other plants and organisms. I keep coming back to that cycle of decay, transformation, and new growth.
So the veil I'm experimenting with is made up of drawings of mushrooms on black paper and connected with black thread. I'm interested in how closely that starts to resemble lace, and how the finished piece might literally cover the mourner in a field of mushrooms. Eventually I want to make the mushroom pieces from folder plastic, so the material itself is part of that story too.
I am currently waiting for some glues to arrive so I can start testing how to attach the different materials. Polypropylene is notoriously difficult to glue anything to, so this may be one of those projects where the technical problems hold everything up.
I think the testing and designing will continue into next week, so that's the plan for now. We'll see what happens.
