Exploring Balance through Texture and Emotion: A Journey with Found and Upcycled Materials

In this project, I was challenged to create three distinct installations using six objects: three found and three made/upcycled. Each installation had to achieve a sense of balance while emphasizing a specific emotion and texture. This process encouraged me to consider how seemingly ordinary materials—sticks, rocks, bottle caps, leaves, and even sawdust—could communicate complex feelings through arrangement and transformation. With a mix of treated found items and upcycled objects, I crafted three pieces that reflect my exploration of balance in nature, tension, and harmony.

Materials & Process

To meet the assignment’s criteria, I chose materials that would bring contrasting textures and an earthy, organic feel to each installation. Here’s a closer look at each material and how I prepared it for the project:

• Found Objects: For natural materials, I used sticks, leaves, and rocks. Each of these was treated to accentuate their texture and make them feel deliberate in the composition. The sticks were shaved and sanded, giving them a smoother feel and a cleaner look, while the leaves added a fresh green tone and organic shape. The rocks, with their weight and stability, provided grounding for each piece.

• Made/Upcycled Materials: I combined sawdust, cardboard clay rocks, and plastic bottle caps. The sawdust was bound together with rice glue, transforming it into a cohesive material that added a warm, gritty texture. Plastic bottle caps became symbols of human impact on the environment, while clay rocks made from cardboard provided a sense of permanence, despite their lightweight and recycled origins.

  
  

Each piece was crafted to evoke a distinct emotional response, achieved through balance, texture, and the interplay of the materials.

Installation 1: "Grounded in Nature"

Emotion: Calm and Stability

The first installation, "Grounded in Nature," was inspired by a sense of tranquility and resilience. I arranged the elements to create an almost meditative composition that feels anchored in place, like a still point in a chaotic world. The rocks were placed at the base to provide physical and symbolic grounding, while the sanded sticks and fresh leaves added a softer contrast.

Balance: In this piece, I aimed for a stable, harmonious balance by using the heavier elements to create a sense of weight at the bottom and the softer elements like leaves to draw the eye upward, adding lightness.

Installation 2: "Fragmented Tension"

Emotion: Controlled Chaos and Tension

The second installation reflects a more intense emotion—tension. I was inspired by the idea of balance not as stillness, but as a delicate state that could be disrupted at any moment. I scattered dirt and tangled cords to create a visual of controlled chaos, with elements seemingly on the edge of falling apart yet held together by their precise placement.

Balance: To achieve balance amidst this tension, I carefully distributed weight and texture. The dirt and sawdust were contrasted by the lightness of the sanded sticks, while the circular caps provided points of focus among the irregular forms. This arrangement created a dynamic balance, where each element feels necessary to hold the composition together. The result is a piece that feels both tense and cohesive, inviting the viewer to ponder the thin line between chaos and control.

Installation 3: "Soft Resilience"

Emotion: Harmony and Renewal

The final installation, "Soft Resilience," embodies a sense of renewal, emphasizing the gentle, healing side of nature. This piece incorporates softer textures, such as the smooth handmade paper and the carefully arranged leaves, to create a soothing, restorative atmosphere.

Balance: For this piece, I focused on lightness and delicacy. The elements are arranged in a flowing composition, leading the viewer's eye from one detail to the next without harsh breaks. The use of handmade paper, stained with natural pigment, adds an additional layer of texture, reminiscent of natural erosion and renewal. By blending the sturdy rocks with the soft textures of the paper and leaves, this piece captures a quiet resilience—suggesting that balance doesn’t always need to be rigid; sometimes, it’s found in the flow.

Creating these three installations was an enlightening experience in balance, texture, and storytelling through materials. Working with both found and upcycled elements taught me to see beauty in fragments and to value the textures of the everyday. The process of transforming bottle caps, sawdust, and cardboard into art gave each piece a purpose, while the natural elements like rocks and leaves connected me to a sense of grounding and simplicity.

Through this project, I found that balance isn’t a single state—it can be calm, tense, or gentle, depending on how the materials interact and what emotions they convey. Each piece represents a different aspect of equilibrium in a world that’s constantly shifting. By reimagining these humble objects, I hope to show that balance can be found in even the most unexpected places and that, sometimes, our role is simply to allow materials to speak for themselves.

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