Kate Shaw

Workshop Objective

To use spray paint marbling or soft plastic fusion to construct landscapes that explore the transformation of our environment from natural to plastic/toxic.

Required Materials

• Surface: A3 Cartridge paper (for backing) and loose scrap sheets for marbling.

• Media (Option 1): Spray paints (various colours including neons/metallics), a deep tray or bucket of water, gloves, mask.

• Media (Option 2): Soft plastics (clean shopping bags, bubble wrap, packaging), baking paper, iron, ironing board/towel.

• Tools: Glue stick, scissors, scalpels.

The Process (Choose Your Method)

Option 1: The Toxic Marble (Spray Paint)

1. The Hydro-Dip

• Action: Fill a tray with water. Lightly spray 2-3 colours of spray paint onto the surface of the water. Do not spray too close or it will sink. Use a stick to gently swirl the floating paint into a marble pattern.

• Technique: Lay a sheet of paper flat onto the water surface to pick up the paint, then lift it out immediately. Set aside to dry.

• Concept: The swirling chemical colours represent the "toxic beauty" of oil spills or chemical pollution invading the pristine water.

• explore a range of colours and techniques. try letting the paint dry longer to form a skin and then use a previous piece to "pick" it up so it looks like melted plastic

2. The Tear and Construct

• Action: Once your marbled papers are dry, tear them by hand into organic landscape shapes (mountains, hills, clouds).

• tip fold them in half and tear from teh fold to get the "reflection" that Shaw has in her work

• Technique: The rough, torn edge mimics the natural erosion of land, contrasting with the artificial, chemical look of the spray paint.

3. The Assembly

• Action: Layer your torn shapes onto a backing sheet. Start with the "sky" and distant mountains in the back, layering forward to the foreground. think about your colour as well cool colours recede, warm colours advance

• Goal: Create a landscape that looks beautiful at first glance but "poisonous" upon closer inspection.  You can leave this in rectangle format or cut it to be circle. 

Option 2: The Plastic Fuse (Soft Plastics)

1. The Harvest

• Action: Collect soft plastics (shopping bags, packaging wrappers). Cut or tear them into landscape shapes.

• Concept: You are literally building the land out of waste, mirroring the journey of our environment into a plastic state.

2. The Layering

• Action: Arrange the plastic pieces on layers of your base plastic. Overlap them to create colours and new shapes. Think about transparency—a clear bread bag over a blue shopping bag creates a "watery" glaze.

3. The Fuse

• Action: Place a second sheet of baking paper over the top (creating a sandwich). Use a hot iron to press down and melt the layers together.

• Technique: Keep the iron moving to avoid burning. Peel the baking paper off once cool. The result is a fused, synthetic "skin" that can be cut and collaged.

Level 3 Success Criteria (AS91446)

Achieved Successfully uses marbling or fusing to create a recognisably layered landscape composition.

Merit Shows control over the fluidity and layering of the media. The landscape demonstrates depth through the use of foreground, mid-ground, and background.

Excellence Demonstrates conceptual synthesis. The choice of colour (e.g., neon/toxic) and material (plastic/spray) deliberately critiques the "journey" of the environment from pristine to polluted.

Critical Reflection / Thinking

• Does your landscape look like a dreamscape or a disaster zone?

• How does using actual plastic waste (Option 2) change the meaning of the artwork compared to just painting it?

• Where would your "Hybrid Being" from Week 2 fit into this toxic world?