Fecal Face recently sat down with flash designer Meredith Dittmar for an interview that touched on everything ranging from the creative process to upcoming projects and the composition of her pieces. Regarding the development of new sculptures, Meredith responded:
My process is always changing. Typically I collect images, diagrams, math and words and surround myself with them before I begin a set of pieces – though once I start working I only refer to them rarely. I throw it all into the brain blender and see what comes out. I usually work on several pieces at a time because creating certain effects in clay is labour intensive and then when something doesn’t fit it usually get used somewhere else. I try to sculpt freely, creating parts, using them or not, and see what begins to appear. I sketch the larger overreaching ideas as they come and maybe use them or not. I’m always playing with the balance of tackling the technical challenges the clay poses, with the desire to keep moving forward with more immediate techniques. Most importantly though, I try to keep my head out of it and work from a open & quiet state.
Meredith creates her pieces using polymer clay. Common themes in her work include both biology and technology, while human-animal-plant energy and patterns are equally as prevalent. Otherwise, Meredith was asked how she would describe her work to a stranger, while she responded as follows:
I usually say I sculpt relief-like works in polymer clay that hang on a wall. Wow that’s really bad. I need something better than that. You got something? I wrestle with verbal communication a lot – that’s why I love being an artist. I can communicate this big “idea” without saying a word. Words overcomplicate and frequently attach unintended meanings to things.
Be sure to check out the entire interview, and more of Meredeth’s work on Fecal Face.
