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Now we're going to create a cabinet of curiosities, where
you're going to demonstrate your own personal collection.
So when creating a cabinet of curiosities, you can first
think about the history of cabinets of curiosities, and
what kind of people kept them, and what kind of collections
they had inside of them.
And then you can also decide what story you want to tell
with your cabinet of curiosities.
Is it something that's a literal approach to your
actual collection, or is it a created collection
that tells a story?
And I want to emphasize the importance of creating your
own collection.
It's not necessary to own these objects.
You don't have to be a collector in order to
demonstrate a collection.
Also, consider your audience.
What kind of people will be looking through your piece?
Is your piece meant to be interactive?
Do you want them to pick up these
objects and look at them?
How will they open your cabinet?
What kind of container will you use?
What materials will you be using, and how will you be
combining them together?
So in here, I just have a very simple clear plastic container
that used to hold a
three-dimensional greeting card.
And I'm going to use it as my container for my cabinet.
So for this I found some images that I cut out from
magazines, and basically, my collection will be about
collecting eggs.
So recall the work of Joseph Cornell and how he created
small environments inside of different types of boxes and
how each environment told its own story.
And sometimes he had very minimal elements in his
cabinets, but they were very effective and striking.
And he also combined two-dimensional and
three-dimensional objects.
So here, I'm going to place a bird.
And in front of the bird, I'm going to place eggs that I
made out of Sculpey clay.
So it's a great material for this piece, because it allows
you to be flexible and to create small objects easily.
But there are many other things that you can still
incorporate such as buttons, or candy, or pins, or needles,
things that are readily available but can be
juxtaposed with other images in a very effective way.
So I made these egg shapes from Sculpey clay, and then I
found numbers in magazines.
I cut out page numbers, and I attached them to each egg
individually.
So what I'm going to do is place an ad inside the box.
I will also glue this bird down.
I'm going to use my glue stick for that.
Then I'm going to place down, and I actually have this
larger egg that I first drew on regular paper, cut it out,
and used it as a stencil to cut a bigger egg.
Going to make sure that all of the corners have been adhered.
Then I'm going to place the rest of my eggs, you move them
slightly over.
And you could attach them with glue or just place them
inside, since Sculpey clay is tacky, it will stay in place.
You can also bake Sculpey clay in your oven, which
will make it harder.
And there are directions on the temperature in the box.
So I place my eggs, and there are numbers in them, which
indicate perhaps each day that this egg was collected.
And then I have number seven, which is the seventh egg
behind the bird.
And then you can begin incorporating some other
elements that may be three-dimensional.
So your cabinet can be pretty much about anything.
You can also visualize yourself as a collector and
make up a story about yourself.
You can be as creative with this as you like.
But it's important that you give a lot of thought to the
images that you're using, to the story that you're telling,
and how you want your audience to interact with your artwork.
So remember that you can have a very plain container.
But at the same time, it's important
to address its exterior.
So in this case, I don't necessarily have to do
anything, because the container is clear and my
emphasis falls on the actual objects inside and images.
But if my container was made out of paper, or cardboard, or
wood, it would be important to really pay close attention to
the sides and the front and the back.
Do you want to collage it?
Or do you want to paint it or stain it?
Does it have any images?
How does it invite the viewers in?
All those things are very important.
You can make a small container, or you can make a
bigger cabinet of curiosities.
But it's important that you think about what you're doing
and why you're doing it, and how you're using
three-dimensional objects, and combining them with
two-dimensional objects, and how you want your audience to
interact with it.
So here's my example of a small interactive cabinet of
curiosities that speaks of my knowledge of the original
cabinets and also of my collected eggs.
I hope you enjoy making your own cabinet of curiosities and
exploring your personal collection.