This is a floor based design staged on a provided base 1m square by 1.8m high. It is judged from the front and sides.
This particular class is sponsored (in this competition) by an organisation that asked for this design to be contemporary or use contemporary techniques.
This was the first year we were able to use paper as one of the “plant based” materials in our deosgns, so I went a bit wild with my use of it within the theme I had chosen.
I though the others in this class would probably go with a more conservative interpretation by having plant material as the “treasure” and keep it hidden within lots of foliage. I wanted (as I often do ) to challenge both my thinking and that of the judges by thinking a bit more broadly about treasures being hidden.
One of the first thoughts that came to me was pyramids and the vast amount of treasure that has been discovered, stolen or uncovered at these sites.
So I made a paper pyramid, practised some book page folding to make the urns and only used fresh plant material that falls in to the Egyptian Period Design Style i.e. plant material that would have been used at the time (roses, palms, large leaves cut to shapes, typha, papyrus).
Unfortunately this was not a judge who provided feedback directly. However one of the other competitor’s heard the judge remark that she did not understand the design “why a pyramid, where’s the treasure?” was apparently said. My fellow competitors were impressed with my interpretation and the staging of the design but I can see its faults in hindsight.
The paper pyramid is too dominant, given that paper can be used “with discretion”. This makes the remaining plant material appear out of scale to both the pyramid and other placements.
Never mind – I still have the structure to repurpose for a different class title!
