Scented Sculptural forms
As part of the sensory workshop focusing on smell, I ended up making a few sculptural forms. As I started dealing with senses that were a bit less tangible I found the process got harder, and I didn’t get on so well with the workshop format. It comes as no surprise that my initial research concluded that the most soothing scent comes from lavender. This selection of objects from that workshop include lavender in one way or another - It ended up quite a random selection (some total failures ) but I learned alot along the way.
My paper pulp material naturally has the scent of lavender because the glue I make for it contains it as a natural preservative. I began looking for inspiration in the cell structure of lavender to help inform my forms. This sculptural piece emerged from a scrap of cardboard and some aptly lavender coloured paper pulp ( slimemache).
The final object does actually smell of lavender if you hold it close. I like the idea of dosing the lavender quite highly so it gives off a scent for longer. eventually it would fade though -but so would the object itself being paper based - and I also feel like theres something soothing about the abstract form.
Pillow spray - based off a microscopic image of lavender… this is a pillow spray bottle, made from a waterproof lime/ paper pulp mix. Again quite random but one thing I thought of when soothing scents came to mind was my pillow spray, which I ended up incorporating into this piece. I like the idea of taking a simple functioning item and then turning it into something sculpture and tactile. Its quite a satisfying if not niche object to have by my bed. I also like how the function is quite subtle / not noticable.
Soft scented form - I couldn’t get out of my head the idea of the scented cushions that are often used to soothe ache and pains once heated. This was my attempt as that with the materials I had to hand to hand. Inside is recycled denim wadding ive been saving from deliveries, and the material was salveged from a photo shoot. I wouldn’t have been my first choice but it was the only stretchy fabric I had and i was keen to test. Its an interesting outcome. It is definitely soothing and nice to play with - whilst smelling nice. But the form is very simple and unfinished - which is fine because of the restricted time I had for these - so overall elements of this piece I was soothed by and taken with, but the object itself I’m not a fan of.
Vacuum pressed packaging rock - This object I created using these vaccum pressed packaging pieces, I wanted to create a natural rocky shape and initially I was going to coat it in scented paper pulp to fit with the workshop theme. But I liked the form so much I didnt finish it. Im hoping to use vacuum pressing next term to create objects from paper pulp. The glue I used on the papermache still smelled of lavender but the workshop were intended to be inspiring and stimulate ideas, and I think sometimes I stuck a little to firmly to their bounds to the detriment of their purpose - which was to create a lower anxiety space to create ideas.
The final object is a bit of a failure but I think learned a big lesson from it. I attempted to make my own scented candle from a heat sculpted plastic bottle. I still really like the concept of making a scented candle for this workshop, and I also liked the idea of using up a bottle in this way, which again fit with the idea of using up what was around me. In the future I would 3D sculpt and print a design and make a mould for it - it felt very DIY. I think one big takeaway from this series of workshops was that sometimes the timed making meant my execution was of a low quality - which is ok for testing certain ideas, and overall has been useful to test alot quite quickly, but for something like this I almost knew as I was making it it was going to fail and wish I’d again been more flexible with the format and identified the idea and maybe given myself more time / space to develop it properly rather than rushing and it being bad.