Over the weekend I had the inspiration to make something creative with Post-it notes. I don’t work in an office environment so I don’t get much mileage out of Post-it notes in a business context. However I do work in a creative environment and in my capacity as a designer and artist, I often get into doodling, scribbling, leaving reminder notes to self pertaining to my design projects, etc. I use Post-it notes just like everyone else in that manner so I think it’s boring to blog about. BUT! As you may already know, for the last two years I’ve been working on the explorations of my personal creative project – The Avian Project and last week I decided to have some fun with Post-it notes to create something original.
Typically I use Post-it notes to label stuff around the house for organization, especially on my wardrobe drawers. Post-it notes are a lifesaver for an OCD person like me that must have everything orderly and organized. These removable sticky note sheets work wonderfully because I don’t want to commit myself to sticking on permanent adhesive labels on my drawers and containers. Besides, the contents may be switched around depending on my mood so I like my labeling system to be flexible too.
There are so many different Post-it colors available nowadays, it seems like every time I go to a stationery store there’s a new 3M product out. I’m sure just like me, you probably can’t resist buying them instead of just using the regular yellow ones. And they come in different shapes too, like the Daisy Post-it notes that I use for my drawer labeling system above. So I’m sure pretty much everyone has a stack of colorful Post-it notes here and there for functional purposes, right? I ask myself: what else can I do with all these Post-it notes? It’s time to get creative.
A few years back, I saw this awesome post-it stop motion video of an art student involving tons of Post-it notes to create wall art (PLEASE watch it if you haven’t already!). I was totally blown away by the creativity that one can yield from a a few stacks of humble Post-it notes. I wasn’t going to attempt to do something similar because I’d need an army of lemmings to stick and reposition individual Post-it note. I wanted to tackle something at a much less complicated level (after all, I only have two hands and it’d just be me and me alone creating this art work).
I started out with doodling some rough ideas on my iPad and toyed around with the Post-it notes themselves, to see what I can do with these 3×3 inches square notes.
Having a large bare wall is great because it’s a blank canvas for my Post-it wall art. I often get tempted to fill up my wall space with framed artwork but I’ve been procrastinating coz I don’t want to punch nail holes into these walls. Thank goodness I have a couple of blank wall spaces left which allow me to do stuff like this with Post-it notes. ;P
After a bit of explorations, I decided to fold individual Post-it notes as I had the idea to build my wall art into something three-dimensional instead of using the notes as flat sheets.
This is what I call the “OG Creative Mafia”™ way of sitting down on the floor. Yah, I am mafia like dat. :P
This is kinda what went down on my bare wall after a while. An abstract 3-d shape was starting to take place.
This was a therapeutic way for me to spend the weekend as I could take my time assembling it bit by bit. Almost meditative in a way and an exercise of patience and discipline for me. I love how I could reposition every piece of Post-it note, especially because this was all done slowly freehand (meaning, I didn’t make any markings on my wall as a guideline or reference grid).
Starting to come together now… do you know what I’m making? Can you already start seeing it take shape?
Meanwhile Maomao, my supervisor, was art-directing me from a very comfortable distance. Hahahaha! Clearly she’s my number 1 fan.
At this point, like over an hour into it, I paused and thought maybe the hot pink would look better switched out to a different color. Namely, the neon green…
Hmmmmm. Thinking, thinking. Comparing, comparing.
I consulted with my supervisor, Maomao, whose eye color approved of the neon green. And then she expressed how I was being annoying, and how her afternoon nap on a rainy Sunday was critically important, therefore I was not to disturb her again for the next two hours. Yes, boss.
Ta-dah! You like it? This was looking quite pretty already and it had the wings shape that I set out to achieve. Don’t forget this is for The Avian Project, and wings is a recurring motif that I use for this project. Just when I thought my work was done, I decided I could ‘grow’ my wings to be bigger. Yes, I think we can go much bigger.
MM: “Told you NOT to disturb me, woman!!!”
MB: “But, but, but… I want to show you how it’s done.”
Putting on the last bit of finishing touches and I’m almost done. Whooohooo, finally!
Presenting to you, ladies and gentlemen, Folding Unfolding – an artwork from The Avian Project collection, by Moonberry.
I named this as such because it’s created by folding small sheets of paper, to build the shape of an unfolding pair of wings. A play on words, just as it’s a playful piece. Geddit?
*patting self on the back*
Overall I am very pleased with this, although of course this isn’t a permanent wall art and at some point I need to recreate this on a mounting board that I can frame up. I seriously need an intern! Anyone interested?
My supervisor, big boss Maomao, is extremely pleased with the results too. Hur hur. I am grateful for her cheerleading efforts all afternoon in between her oh-so-important naps. ;P
Due to camera angles and varying perspectives etc., the actual dimensions may be confusing visually. It’s pretty sizable actually, although not gargantuan.
Folding Unfolding
40″W x 16″H
Material: Post-it notes
Detail 1.
Detail 2.
Detail 3.
The quote below summarizes how I went about creating this – both the process and the philosophy/concept behind my paper wings. It’s been a few years now since I moved to Singapore and I feel that I haven’t quite found my comfort zone yet. But it certainly hasn’t stopped me from exploring and expanding my wings. :D
“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.” ― C. JoyBell C.
xo,
-MB.
PS: Do you love Post-it too? Share your tips on how you use Post-its at work or at home via this Facebook contest: Post-it Work Smarter, Stay Happier Share & Win contest and stand to win S$1000 worth of travel vouchers. Good luck! :)
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