THE STUDY

Planning

Process

I stuck the popsicle sticks in rows onto the base cardboard and textured yellow paper to the wall pieces using double-sided tape. For one of the wall pieces, I had already traced and cut out a rectangular opening to be the window.

I then used some cardboard pieces and popsicle sticks to make a desk and a chair. I tried out a rectangular bench and a circular stool for the chair design. The circular stool was too unstable and tall, so I went with the bench.

I used some thin cardboard strips to make the window sills. I intentionally attached them haphazardly to make it seem like it was damaged.

Next, I took some brown and black acrylic paints and diluted them with water to make a wash. I used this wash to age the wood of the floorboards and furniture. I used this same wash on the walls to weather them and create stains and drips. I mixed this same wash with some green acrylic paint to make a dark, mossy green wash to mimic algal growth.

I then used applied pressure and rubbed my finger across different spots of the wallpaper while it was still wet to cause it to peel. I found that this made the paper peel in a very realistic way and weathered the wall significantly. After the paint work was done, I let the piece dry.

Now, was time for the details. I started by making the books. To do this, I cut long strips of paper and folded them back and forth to make a small booklet. I then sandwiched this booklet in between a brown colored paper to make small books. For the pages that would lay scattered around the room, I cut some paper rectangles and soaked them in used paint water to age them.

For extra detail and embellishing, I obtained some gold trinkets (e.g. beads, disks) and some gold wire. I bent the wire to make some eyeglasses, and I scattered the trinkets around the room to make the room look untidy and abandoned. For the final touch I scattered on some wood debris and soil to make it look more abandoned and reclaimed.

For the final touch of greenery, I used the moss floss I had left over from my earlier project and stuck them on in patches using latex glue.

Experimentation

In this piece, I experimented with making a miniature at a smaller scale that would be more saturated with detail. So, I decided to make it at the dimensions of a 6 x 6 x 6 in cube. This pushed me to refine my craftsmanship skills, especially when it came to more intricate details.

I also tried out making miniature furniture. This entailed making objects with discrete parts, which was unlike the natural subjects I used to make. Before, I had primarily sculpture, shaped, formed, and arranged things. Now, I assembled solid, discrete components.

To make the furniture, I used popsicle sticks, a material I hadn't worked with before. It was a great material to work with because I could adjust its length and its smooth, yet textured surface made it ideal for easily-attachable wood surfaces such as floors and tables.

There weren't particular furniture designs I was modeling my miniature ones after. I just came up with the design as I built, which meant I experimented with different arrangements and designs.

I also used a new wallpaper aging technique that I believe was very successful. To do this I applied a diluted paint wash over the wallpaper, and while it was still wet, I rubbed my finger over it to make it peel. This made it look like the wallpaper was peeling due to weathering.

For this piece, I also experimented with trying to tell a story. In my mind, it was the abandoned study of a tireless, hardworking intellectual. Perhaps, the study was abandoned because he passed away suddenly or had to leave urgently. Either way, the study was left abandoned for years, allowing nature to overtake it. I intended it to be easy for viewers to infer the story based on the props in the room.

Overall, I believe making this piece made me push my craftsmanship skills, work at new scales, use new materials, and try out new techniques.

Reflection

Overall, this was an engaging and deceptively simple project today to do. It was something different because it required me to tell a story at a smaller scale using new assembly processes and weathering techniques. This piece contributes to synthesis by tying into the idea of two polarized domains, the natural and human-made, converging in one space. This was already portrayed in my prior pieces Ruins, Overgrowth, Sunken Room, and Cloud Chamber.

I would say my biggest challenge in making this piece was making the furniture because I had to trim wood to make it as neat as possible. Also the furniture designs I came up with had to be stable and realistic-looking. I struggled with the chair design at first because I tried to use chopsticks, but with the tools I had, it was hard to cut the chopsticks into small pieces. I later decided to just use popsicle sticks instead.

After reflection, I have identified that this project most prominently utilizes the art elements of scale, texture, and color. The scale was of particular importance because it emphasized the piece's details while immersing the viewers in it. The woody texture of the floorboards, the fluffy moss, the metallic trinkets, and rough wallpaper all contrasted well with each other. I used color to my advantage to emulate aging, mimic certain materials, and complement different components.

I believe this project connects very well with my inspiration because it turned out exactly as I imagined an abandoned study in a old Victorian-era house would look like.

My favorite part was adding all the details and trinkets and assembling the piece because ti was satisfying seeing it all come together. However, my least favorite part was making the window sill because it was a very fragile component that kept detaching.

When others see my work, I hope they feel immersed, calmed, and mesmerized by the story I have aimed to show through abandoned environments.