Project proposal-Portfolio

In my upcoming project I decided to bring together a few materials and yet

another theme close to my heart.
As probably a lot of immigrants I often ask myself one question, ‘Where do I
belong?’
Both countries, either Slovakia where I come from or England where I live now
are my home countries.
I would like to represent them with a folklore motif cooperated in my project.

I always loved combination of materials and seeing how they work together
visually.
This time I would like to exp and my skills in melting recycled plastic,
technique how to develop paper clay and explore combinations of textile, paper
clay, plaster and possibly cement too. Some of these I have a little experience
with but perhaps cement would be a completely new medium for me.
I love combinations like cement and textile where rough, cold material joins soft
and warm.
Combinations like this appear very interesting and intriguing to me.
I originally wanted the construction for the final pieces to be made from wood,
but at this stage this is still not finalized but I do like the combination of wood
and textile or wood and plaster.

At this very moment I’m keeping my mind open about the final outcome.
Originally, I was planning to make lamp shades and room divider but maybe I
will try something more abstract.
At the beginning of my project, I will concentrate on developing my skills,
learning maybe more techniques which I could use later for my final art piece. I
will also explore the folklore motifs within those countries and try to combine
them into contemporary art pieces.
Researching artists who maybe have done this before would be a great
inspiration to me. At this moment I can think of the very talented ceramic
artist Tracy Wilkinson who combines materials like ceramic and glass together
and it works perfectly. Another talented artist whose work I noticed is Moya
Tosh who included a little leather string in her ceramic work. This little touch
brings whole new visual pleasure to her work.

Maria Stasakova
17/02/2024