New Work 2020 (part 2)

After making my first 4 small prototype sculptural seaweed paper dresses (see previous blog post), I had learned a lot about design and construction techniques, and I was getting impatient to make a larger dress. Rather than going to the next stage of making a more modest, medium sized dress, I decided to jump right in and make a fully life sized version!

The large dress would of course need much larger sheets of paper, and hence enormously greater amounts of seaweed.  I didn’t want this dress to have any lining, so I wanted to use my most reliable and resilient seaweed paper. This was made from some green seaweeds, which make a beautiful lace like paper.

Luckily these seaweeds grow locally, and I was able to collect what I needed from my local beach after a few winter storms brought lots of seaweed to the shore. The plants are small, and it was very time consuming to gather, wash and process enough to make a large dress, taking many weeks. However this is an enjoyable part of the process. It is always pleasurable to walk along the shoreline, whatever the weather. It gives me a connection to the sea, and during the lockdown it was welcome opportunity for some social interaction with the locals and a bit of fresh air and exercise.

The construction of my first ’big dress’ was another learning experience, with lots more problem solving involved.  

The process of working on such a large scale was very different to that of my first miniature versions, and I had to adjust many techniques. For example the fabric stiffener which had worked well on the small dresses was inadequate on the much larger scale.

However I am pleased to say that I persevered and my first big dress was competed in June! This is a sculptural dress, and definitely not wearable. So I’m still not sure if it would be possible to make a wearable seaweed paper dress – this could be another project!