Day 054: Visitor / On Materia
Today is the very special day again when we are so happy to welcome our Sunday guest. This time our professional guest is actually a collective of multiple talents working under name OnMateria. This group of designers is really concentrating on material and new processes leading to a sustainable future. Today we are interviewing one of the collective members, Lola Buades, who will tell about their interests, working processes and goals to make a better world trough innovative ways of creating and using our daily objects. We are so happy to welcome OnMateria to tell more about their work.
James, Eléa and Lola © OnMateria
¡Hola!
My name is Lola and together with Eléa and James we are OnMateria. We are a quite international design team, a Spanish, a French and a British. We met in Switzerland during our Master in Product Design at ECAL. Once we re-united in Sweden, we decided to join forces and became OnMateria. We believe that design has the power to create a more balance world. To achieve that we don’t only focus on the object but we also design materials and processes, rethinking what happens before, during and after something is used.
I was very happy when Bobola asked us to create an activity. With the lockdown I haven’t been able to play with my always cheerful niece Helena, who lives in Spain. So I have been thinking about creative ways to still play together from far away. We have been doing online sketching sessions, where I will draw what she suggests and scan it so she can print it and color it.
The inspiration for todays activity actually comes from her, she is 4 and a half years old and she gets quite upset when she draws over the line, so I thought about a funny and crazy way to start coloring before knowing what the drawing will be. That way you can never make a mistake! To make it even more fun, I did my own brushes reusing things that I had at home. I hope you have as much fun as I had :)
You can find more information and inspiring projects of OnMateria on:
www.onmateria.com
Instagram @onmateria @lolabuades
Digital tools to unlock the potential terrazzo sinks production @ OnMateria
Compostable amenity kit that enhance the hotel experience creating a circularity @ OnMateria
Making sports carbon neutral with flax @ OnMateria
New functionalities, new systems of buying a terrazzo sink @ Ana Cuba
Race for water exhibition - Bringing sustainable literacy to everybody @ OnMateria
We at Bobola asked three key questions from Lola who is representing OnMateria today:
“I am inspired by nature’s colors and textures.”
”In the future I hope we will live in a completely circular society.”
“Most important thing for this difficult time is to connect with people we love.”
My texture pics @ Lola Buades
Handmade brushes reusing materials you can find at home @ Lola Buades
The activity of the day / Part 1: CREATE YOUR OWN BRUSHES
Todays activity can be actually divided into two activities. During the first one we are going to do brushes upcycling materials found at home. In the second one I will show you a few fun ways to use those crazy textures you have done with your new brushes.
Brushes Workshop
The goal is to easily create something unexpected to draw with. Precision is not important, we are looking for experimenting with different materials and textures. I did few of them but get creative, sky is the limit. Feel free to use any material you have in you recycling bin as your raw material.
The key is to find a handle, the bristles and an easy removable way to attach them so they will be able to go back to the recycling bin once you have used them (except the pasta, of course).
Brush 1. Fruit net + tape + skewer stick
It is very fun and easy to use. They can be cleaned and use several times, as all of them made in plastic. Make sure that you tape generously over the net going down to the stick itself.
Brush 2. Chopsticks + tape + container
The flexibility of the plastic will affect how you draw with it. If it is rigid it will behave more like a stamp than a brush. I experimented cutting the plastic in different ways, but in both I made sure the were well attached from the start before rolling the plastic sheet. The one I cut in vertical bristles was more splashy but easier to use.
Brush 3. Spoon + elastic bands + paper bag
It is an easy and quick way to make an irregular stamp, I wouldn’t call it a brush. Wrinkle the paper bag to get that unexpected pattern. You can use different spoons or tools. Have you ever tried a hand potato masher brush?
Brush 4. Clothespin + bubble wrap
The clothespin is a very handy solution for the handle. I decided to try the bubble wrap thinking that with all the online shopping it will be for sure at home. The bubble wrap behaves in between a brush and a stamp depending of the quantity of paint. I folded the plastic several times to be able to keep more paint.
Brush 5. Pasta + elastic bands
Fun and crazy brush but also the most ephemeral one. You can only use it soon after you boil it. To do it, I grabbed a one person portion of spaghetti and kept it together with two elastic bands. I boiled just the free end until it was properly cooked. The spaghetti tend to break, so don’t worry if some pieces come out. Sadly, you will only be able to use it for one session.
For the paint, I would recommend to use water-based easy to clean colors, as the brushes can be messy. I wear old clothes and painted on an easy to clean table.
Activity part 2. SURPRISE TEXTURES
Once you create your brush/brushes I would recommend to get crazy and play with colors. They are not precise so the best is to create abstract textures. They will look already amazing as they are but today I will suggest a few ways to use them. Bring out the Pollock inside you!
1st color, draw later
The idea is to separate the color experience from the shaping of the drawing.
1. Create your fun multicolor texture, experiment with different papers and brushes.
2. Once the paint is dry, flip the paper and draw simple silhouettes. As you are going to cut these shapes, you can use every corner of the paper changing the orientation to fit as many as possible.
3. Once you cut the shapes, use pens, pencils or any other medium to add the final details. I love painting tropical coral fishes, so I added the fins, the eye and some extra detail.
Find the creature
Another fun way to push your imagination is to try to find animals and creatures directly on the abstract shape. You can use pens and pencils to draw over and add some more details.
Amazing Lola has even studied some Finnish for this special day!
Mother’s day postcard
To celebrate this special day I wanted to show you a creative way to tell your mother how much you love her.
1. For this texture I used a piece of a craft paper bag, that I kept in place on the table with a little of tape on each corner.
2. Once my texture was dry I used a pair of scissors to cut hearts using the pre existing folds of the paper.
3. With glue stick I attach the heart to a simple cardboard.
Wrapping paper
Another great way to use these beautiful papers is as wrapping paper for presents. Your gifts will become much more special and unique.
Have a great day!
Dear followers we want to remind you that parents assume all responsibility for the safety of their children in these activities.
♥ - Team Bobola -