Mike
O'Shea And
Dan Pillers Assembling Thrashing Board, December 2004
To
collaborate, simply means to work together or more precisely, to
work together in an intellectual way. For us the collaborative
process meant working together in every aspect of the project.
Starting with its conception, the choices of materials and forms they
would take, to the physical creation of varying elements and actual
the installation of the final product.
Collaboration
as such requires a commitment, not only to the project but also to
one another. It also requires flexibility, as we learned when one of
our original artists had to withdraw due to personal circumstances.
Rather than letting it paralyze the process we accepted the change
and invited Mike to join the project with fresh ideas and new direction.
As
Mike pointed out we each come from varying backgrounds and
disciplines. Which we embraced as we developed our collective design.
Communication was an important element. Synergistically our
intentions had to be clearly communicated and no individual image or
idea was given too much ownership. Thoughts were free flowing and
contradicting ideas were bounced around. Our likes, our dislikes and
our neutral points all were discussed and considered. When we agreed
on our message, which we've chosen to let you develop, we began the
building process.
We
meant regularly for months either to design or to build. We divided
tasks. While one worked on research, another built a maquette of the
space. We each collected, scavenged and created the potential
materials to be tested and used.
Dan Pillers And Judy O'Shea
Assembling Elements Of "Life Traps", November 2005
Dan Pillers Hand Casting Kozo
Paper, September 2004
Over
the last four months we've spent nearly every weekend together,
sharing ideas, discussing processes and creating elements of the
exhibit. As a collaborative project we see the process to be as
important as the end product.
One
of the most labor-intensive elements was the making of the paper,
which we used in the three central mechanisms as well as well as the
title wall and waterfall in the back. The paper is Kozo made from
mulberry fibers. We soaked, cooked and beat the fibers into a pulp.
We mixed the pulp in water and taro, a starch-like substance,
creating a solution with the consistency of egg-flower soup and then
hand-cast it over a large screening system we laid out on the deck.
We hung the huge sheets to dry, not knowing the outcome until we
gently removed it for the cooching sheets the following week. For
every good sheet we created we were prepared to make four.
