©2009 Karen Logan
Christopher Dresser Residency, V&A London 2004
Particular areas of Dresser’s life and practice interested me, namely his early botanical studies and the wallpaper designs inspired by these studies. In 1876-7 he was the first European designer to tour Japan. Sketching Dresser's botanical drawings helped me connect with Dresser through his drawing style, visible on the drawing's surface were pencil lines, carefully and exactly plotted as the 'skeleton' to support his illustration of the growth structures of plants. These marks interested me, giving clues to his working process and skill.
In the studio I explored basic origami, folding and unfolding and transferring my copied botanical studies in pencil, these intricate patterns were then cut into the paper with a scalpel and refolded. Sprigs and stems began to pop up, the paper appeared to be alive somehow, and growing. From these explorations I worked on larger scale papers while keeping the scale of the patterns small, transferring more botanical studies and wallpaper designs onto handmade Japanese and Indian papers, as well as heavy tracing paper and waxed stencil paper. When laid flat the work looked rather plain, coming to life while being handled, leaves and stalks poked out, casting shadows upon the paper's surface, animated by touch. The viewers of this process - visitors to the V&A - were interested and positive in response to my explorations, and very generous in teaching me their own tricks with paper.
www.vam.ac.uk
Particular areas of Dresser’s life and practice interested me, namely his early botanical studies and the wallpaper designs inspired by these studies. In 1876-7 he was the first European designer to tour Japan. Sketching Dresser's botanical drawings helped me connect with Dresser through his drawing style, visible on the drawing's surface were pencil lines, carefully and exactly plotted as the 'skeleton' to support his illustration of the growth structures of plants. These marks interested me, giving clues to his working process and skill.
In the studio I explored basic origami, folding and unfolding and transferring my copied botanical studies in pencil, these intricate patterns were then cut into the paper with a scalpel and refolded. Sprigs and stems began to pop up, the paper appeared to be alive somehow, and growing. From these explorations I worked on larger scale papers while keeping the scale of the patterns small, transferring more botanical studies and wallpaper designs onto handmade Japanese and Indian papers, as well as heavy tracing paper and waxed stencil paper. When laid flat the work looked rather plain, coming to life while being handled, leaves and stalks poked out, casting shadows upon the paper's surface, animated by touch. The viewers of this process - visitors to the V&A - were interested and positive in response to my explorations, and very generous in teaching me their own tricks with paper.
www.vam.ac.uk
