The Peonies Petals
Paper, Tissue paper, Glue, Florist Wire, Washi tape.
7cm flower, 35cm tall (7x)
2019
Flowers are a sign of life and growth. I wanted to capture Gabriella’s environment and incorporate the materials which she is immersed by in her new Parisian lifestyle. Indiuvaly each flower made has its own meaning and correspondence; when presented in a bouquet, they come together to make up to who Gabriella is.

The assignment:

On Wednesday the 18th of September I met up and went to visit one of my classmate’s homes. After two metro changes and a few stops later, we had made it to her apartment. A different, yet a similar side of Paris compared to mine. Her home, shared with four other students from our class, was a spacious and welcoming space. The main living spaces of the house did seem a bit bland and not full of life; however, it was quite the contrary when it came to their bedrooms. When walking into Gabriella’s bedroom, shared with her roommate, you are greeted with an open window of sunlight, pink sheets, fairly lantern, family photos and clothes.

I proceed to walk around taking notes and recording along the way after we decided to leave so I could walk around her environment and see what her new home is like. We choose to go and get some lunch, after some searching around, we ended up eating crepes at a kebab shop. They were surprisingly, very delicious. Some hours had passed, and I was left with a collection of voice recordings and a page of scribbles notes. After our talk, we parted ways, and I went home to take more notes from my records. 

The process of this assignment was a long and challenging one for myself and my partner. I found myself struggling with the concept of all my ideas and trying to get them to take form was difficult, I wasn’t satisfied with anything I created and was starting to lose hope, and my heart was not in it. This made me very sad for I was thoroughly enjoying this task and loved learning more about my partner. We were both struggling until one morning after our class. We decided to go to my home and work on the project. A few hours of back and forth brainstorming, and bouncing ideas off each other we had finally created a base which felt were both strong and conceptual. Gabriella left to go home and set off to plan out and structure my project.

I needed, wire, tape, tissue paper, glue and the pieces I found in Gabriella’s environment. I originally wanted to pastel baby pink tissue paper, since that was Gabrellias favourite colour; however, no store had a supply of that colour. I did purchase two rolls of standard paper, pastel pink and a light lilac purple. Once I got home, I realised that I would much prefer to have half of the flower in tissue paper since it is the best medium to get the appearance of a flower petal.

 

the peonies process: 

Several Flowers were made to represent growth, her growth throughout her life and of the environment around her. 

I started with a template of petals and traced out each one trying to get different sizes and appearances. I then created the bulb by scrunching up the leftover tissue paper and twisted the wire around it for stronger support. After this, I had to cut out a circle to go over the top for a cleaner base. I used glue and then some washi tape to secure it all and keep everything in place. Once I had left it to dry, I would put a circle of glue just below the top of the bulb, leaving a small section untouched to give the flower the appearance of it blooming and opening up. I continued to do this working my way in a clockwise manner, each layer changing in size and positioning of the petal. As you can see from the images below, this is what I was left with.

Japan:

Thanks to my first test and prototype, I was able to see what I liked and what I didn’t like and how I could change it. For instance, the bulb was too exposed, so I knew that I had to place my first petals closer to the centre. Using some pages from a Japanese newspaper, I hand cut out petals in small, medium and large size to get the accuracy of real peonies. The Japanese language and culture are important to Gabriella, as I found out talking over our crepe lunch. She informed me that she could speak and write Japanese, and was looking at trying to attend a college in Japan to go and live their lifestyle. I felt like this was an essential part of who she was, and if she didn’t decide to come to Parsons, that she could be living in Japan

 

France:

France and the French language is now a significant factor in her life. With lessons three times a week and the constant submersion of this language it is rather hard to avoid. While talking to Gabriella, she went into how she felt about this and how she feels disconnected because of the language barrier. The second flower I made was dedicated to France and her new lifestyle and journey as becoming and adapting to the Parisian culture. The flower, like the Japanese one, was used out of a French newspaper and book pages. I felt that this was an essential flower to include in her life bouquet.  

 

Parsons essay and acceptance letter:

Parsons Paris, the reason why she’s here, living her life in Paris. The key to her life now. I wanted something that demonstrated how she arrived in this environment and why she was here. That was when I came up with, and asked if I could have a copy of the letter which she submitted for her Parsons Paris application, along with her acceptance letter.

Poetry:

Poetry, a way of self-expression and an emotional coping mechanism. English was Gabriella’s favourite class throughout school. Writing, reading, words, are critical.

 

 

To-Do Lists:

Seen all over Gabriella’s bedroom are these tiny to-do lists, either stuck on a wall by some washi tape, pinned on her bulletin board or simply just lying around her room on desks, bedside tables and tables. These lists were one of the five items which I borrowed from her space. Since they were paper, I was lucky enough to be able to incorporate them into the design of the flowers. I scanned copies of her lists at school, printed them out and turned them into petals.

 

Family letters:

Connection and communication is such an essential thing in Gabriella’s life. Her interaction between friends and family matter, and without it, she can feel very lost and alone. Before her departure, she had informed her friends and family on how she feels about letters, the meaning they have and the importance of handwriting a message. She continues to talk about how personal and tangible it is to receive a letter. Knowing the time and effort someone has given to you by handwriting as opposed to a text or phone call means the world to Gabriella.

 

Envelopes:  

The connection between this life and her life back home, the travel from an old environment to a new one. That is what these envelopes show. With different addresses, stamps and travel times, I wanted to include the cases of her letters into a flower, yes I could have combined the letter and envelope into one flower but I didn’t. I chose to have them separated for although they are partners in the journey, they have their separate meaning. I loved seeing the stamps and different marks each envelope had along the way. Seeing how the sender decorated each one in a fun, colourful and happy spirit. Bound to put a smile on her face. When we first arrived at Gabriella’s apartment, she checked her mailbox to see if anything was left inside, while watching her I saw this smile appear on her face as she pulled out two envelopes one pink, one purple from each brother.

 

Making the flowers:

I have attached some more images on what the process was like for myself and what my workspace proceeded to look like for the days of making the flowers.

Artists Reference:

  • Sophie Calle, is a French writer, photographer and installation artist. her work can be seen displayed in a similar matter as to how I displayed mine in class. Allowing the viewers to see the process and details of the art piece.
  • Taryn Simon, an American multidisciplinary artist who works feature in photography, text, sculpture, and performance. her work like my piece for this assignment tends to be based around flowers, plants and nature. Her flower photography is simple yet beautiful and tends to consist of a bouquet of flowers on a cloured table with a different coloured background.

Photos from Gabriella’s apartment:

Images of the letters, envelops, poetry pieces and to do lits, alongside many other personal belongings from home.

 

 

The presentation process:

I knew that for the presentation, I wanted to have all the flowers in a bouquet, and with real peonies. So on Saturday, I had set off to find some fresh flowers. Three florists later and still no peonies, who knew that it would be so hard to get fresh flowers when they’re not in season, oops. It was coming to my realisation that I may have to result in a different kind or somewhat similar flower. I decided that I would check one last shop and go from there. As I was soon approaching the florist, I was welcomed with an overwhelming blanket of relief. There they were, a bucket of beautiful fresh peonies, waiting for me to buy them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final images:

when taking my final images I wanted to have some with the real flowers and some with just the flowers I made. This helped me to see and check on which I perfered for my final presentation. I have selected some of the images which I liked and attached them below.

This assignment created many different challenges and made me question myself a lot. Overall I am very proud of the work of which I have produced. Looking at the flowers now, knowing the hours of work that it required for me to not only make them all but for myself to finally get the inspiration of making them. I believe that I have captured who Gabriella Koshy is in a rather unique and beautiful manner.  

 

Presentation:

my final presentation in class.  a white desk, white wall and white bouquet of mixed hand made and real peonies. around the peonies are all parts in which went into the creating of the flowers. I wanted to have the flowers on display with the letters, poems, newspapers etc around them. I believe that by doing this it helped my classmates see exactly what each flower was made out of and see the process I went through to get to my final product.

My Environmental Portrait:

It is a spacious and welcoming apartment. A kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a living room all shared between four girls. The main living space is open and rather bland, with two large windows that fall from ceiling to floor overlooking a shared residential garden space. The rooms, all decorated with IKEA furniture, a simplistic painting on a wall, some shoes, empty boxes and art supplies were seen to be lying around in the living room. Not full of life; however, it was quite the contrary when it came to her bedroom. When walking into her bedroom, shared with her roommate, you are greeted with an open window of sunlight streaming through, pink sheets, fairy-light lanterns, family photos and clothes.

Home for her is New Jersey, and although this is not New Jersey, it still manages to feel like a home, for this is now her new home in Paris. The bed by the window, with its pale pink sheets, three pillows and a white decorative duvet is unmade. It looks cosy, relaxing and inviting. Almost as if it’s enticing her to lay down and stop for a while, although there are some hoodies and shirts laid out, possibly from the morning’s rush, in an effort of choosing the outfit of the day. Photos of friends and family are pinned on a bulletin board above her bed. Strung across the board are muted-coloured, woven material, fairy-light lanterns, adding to the decor of her room, giving it a personal touch to her side of the room.

Handwritten notes and letters, from others and herself are strewn on desks and stuck on the walls by strips of patterned tape. A blue tissue box, a container of Q tips, a museum ticket, a fortune cat, a silver bedside light, some drawing board pins, a rose gold polaroid photo album, a teal coloured water bottle, a Maybelline eye shadow palette, a pair of yellow scissors, a clear pink glass two thirds full, next to a Parson Paris mug received during Orientation Week, a bag of little golden stars and a white power board with three out of the four sockets filled and two USB charger ports, with one a permanent charger in, are on her white, essential, bedside table. It’s impressive to witness how little space there is on the table, yet she manages to fill it with her needs. Spotted on the floor next to the bed is a small desk, this one with a soft plastic water bottle, two pencils cases, a jar of textas, a to-do list, an old receipt and a journal. Between her bed and this desk is what I assume to be her ‘secret little stash corner’. A bag of peanut M&M’s and a box of chocolate-coated cookies are seen to be laying amongst the shadows.

There’s a nook in the room, across from her bed, between her wall and shared wardrobe. There stands a white desk. It stores her books, study notes and assignment papers from the classes she now attends at Parsons Paris. School, for a prior homeschooled student, is far removed from her time in the USA. Family means a lot to her. A beloved mother, a hard-working father, an admired older sister, and two cherished younger brothers, are members of the Koshy family. Her life now contains a new family of sorts, and for someone who considers themselves an extrovert, she requires the company of others. She is thankful for her roommate, Juman. As she discovers over time, the roomies have a lot in common and with talk of a possible future apartment together.

Short black curls droop over her face, as a pair of silver glass frames outline her deep brown eyes. A necklace with a blue moon lays on her chest, a gift from her boyfriend back home in Atlanta, Georgia. A kindhearted, intelligent, bold and outgoing personality is what greets people when meeting her. Her extroverted self is on display, and there is no hiding her outgoingness. However, there is a flip side to this character. It is interesting to see the ‘other side’ of her. Poetry is essential and steadfast in her life, helping her to process emotions. The act of putting what she feels into words helps to ease her with life’s challenges. She likes ‘big words’ and wants people to know that she has a large repertoire, but not in a ‘show-off’ manner. It will be interesting to observe how she manages to continue this in her new environments with the French language. 

The move for the start of her new life was rough; she was tired, tired from the travel and the language barrier, trying so hard to communicate, and losing meaning in translation. She was almost wishing that it was Japan so that her three years of studying Japanese, would become practical. With a six-hour flight between this life and her old one, a morning baguette, a metro ride, and independence are now significant habits that she has adapted to her Parisian routine. Ramen for breakfast and crepes for lunch have also been included in this new lifestyle. 

I was taken by surprise when hearing her dream of becoming a costume designer. I would not have thought of her to be interested in such a job. The way she speaks about other subjects had me focused on different career paths for her. We touch this subject, talking about how film school, literature, science and graphic design were also considered options for her when deciding on her future, even with the possibility of attending a college in Japan. However, after seeing Parsons and what this school was able to provide and offer for herself, I believe that this became her focus for her next ‘book of life’ chapter.  

Gabriella Koshy, a kindhearted, seventeen-year-old girl, who was once a classmate, is now considered a close friend of mine, having welcomed me, and allowing me into her special space. Upon taking notes and getting to know her on another level was an unusual, yet lovely experience, one for which I am truly grateful.