Adding Value –

I quite like the idea of ‘Killing Time’ and the oil on water re-imagined clocks. However, I do feel that there needs to be some level of interactivity with my Grotto print.

I decided that since posting the video short included in the Grotto Print Ideas blog, more of the clocks needed to be shown.  This is pure experimentation and the full video can be seen below.

A couple of years ago I began to explore Paul’s book.  I felt that the nature of the folds created within would lend themselves very well to warping the clock faces and dials even further.

Killing Time – Calming Edit

As well as the calming edit, I also produced a shorter more rousing video short, showing the clocks animated as they warp and destruct.  This is more in keeping with the idea of ‘Killing Time’.

I’m debating whether or not to include these either one or both of these digital edits as part of the print sale? At this point in time it is just a thought.  I’ve a long long way to go before I make a firm decision.

I’ve also had another idea regarding the print. What if the digital print could be taken out of the digital space and brought firmly into 3d space?  I’ve always been fascinated with paper sculpture (although never very good at it), so perhaps the flat digital sheet could be brought to form?

Further Experimentation

As my colour printer has run out of ink and I decided to experiment with 3d form in black and white.  My initial design comprised 6 clocks on an A3 sheet.  However I quickly realised that if I used 8 clocks I could turn my A3 print into small booklets.

I don’t think this has any particular value other than novelty value.  The print suddenly has a hidden element.  The purchaser of the print may never ever wish to cut up their print.  However, they would have the satisfaction of knowing that their print could morph into something in three dimensions instead of two.

Below is a gallery showing the creation of 2 types of folded booklet.  These are very simple easy to make books and ideal for anyone wanting to explore this fascinating medium.

3d Book Creation – From Flat Sheet to Form

3d Folded Creation – From Flat Sheet to Form

The idea of ‘Killing Time’ arose out of the distortion seen on some of the clock images.  This very much made me think about the famous melting clocks artwork by Salvador Dali.  Therefore I began to think about how the clock faces could be further warped and deformed in a 3d format.

Paul Jackson in his book ‘From Flat Sheet to Form’ has some excellent examples of very basic 3d patterns for paper folding.  These patterns form the basis for a multitude of 3d creations. Many creations can be made from one simple pattern or motif.

Below is a gallery of 3d shapes that I made using the techniques from Paul Jackson’s book.  The concertina folds in particular seem to lend themselves very well to the melting cloths by Dali.  I think that once the clocks are printed in colour then the effect will become even more noticeable.  Although the forms are very interesting and if hung would make a great mobile, I wondered if the print like the booklets could have a more practical application.

Many years ago I learned how to fold a modular style box.  This box comprises 8 separately folded parts, so this lends itself very well to the 8 clocks on the print.  The gallery below also contains examples of a flat sheet folded into a box base and a box lid and base fashioned in a modular way.

Final Set of Experiments

I have always enjoyed playing around with paper, so I decided to trial one of my favourite flat sheet to form activities.  I cannot take credit for this experimentation as it comes from a workshop by Eric Strebel.  Below are the results. The clocks become more distorted which again is in keeping with the Killing Time theme.

Not Sure…

After all of the thinking about what do do, I’ve ended up just not sure.  I’m just not sure I want to use the clocks, I’m not sure I want to give the print additional meaning, I’m not sure I want to use that particular colour scheme.  However, one thing I am sure about is that I’m rapidly running out of time.  I’m wondering is it too late at this stage to change direction?  I ran my clock images on Instagram and they don’t attract anywhere near as much engagement as my oil on water bubble photographs. Does this mean people don’t like them so much?

I feel quite a sense of urgency over all of this particularly as the deadline looms large, especially if I want to add value through paper sculpture.  I’ll need to provide info sheets and maybe even instructional videos and all of this takes time.