Amelia Marlatt - Small World

04/13/2026

Here are the photos I took of my finished small world installation on the inside. I still need to take some photos of the outside but have been thinking on the best place to do it. I will also try to get a little person and take some more photos of the inside with that for scale. I will try to get photos of that on Tuesday hopefully or if not by Sunday (since I am unsure of having time toward the end of the week with the workshop).

In the future I think I will take more photos again as well because I would like to go and try to fix the inside crack a little bit better and paint the chipboard I used to fill the gap.

03/22/26

I'll be honest when I say I didn't get that much work done on my miniature world. Last Thursday I used the laser to cut out some templates to make stairs, which I then painted (after realizing I should have painted the chip board BEFORE cutting out the templates oops). I then used some super glue to glue them together and I am really happy with how they turned out.

I also finished painting the inside of the wardrobe case. I wanted to have it look similar to concrete walls and feel I was successful in that. I used dry brushing on both the stairs and inside of the wardrobe and then used a damp paper towel to rub it around, which I found a good technique.

I also tried to create some structures from chip board and plaster gauze. These were to be covered in felt and flocking. However, my dog ended up accidently getting ahold of two of them so I ended up remaking them out of some styrofoam I had left over from a package I had.

I have also started working on the felted parts that will cover the foam/chip board shapes, and am going to continue on that.

rip ^

glued one eye open and one eye shut

03/08/26

I have taken apart the baby and after placing it inside found I will most likely only be useing the head and one arm and leg taking into account the space. There is a wooden piece on the bottom of the baby head that I would like to move in some way so I can fill the inside of the head.

I also painted the inside of the wardrobe case white. I am now trying to decide if I keep the inside white or paint it more a grayish color to resemble more of a concrete interior. Either way I don't want the inside walls to be any sort of focal point within this piece.

I have also create some vector outlines so I can use to laser cutter to make the stairs. I made two different kinds of stairs and am going to put both together and decide which I like best then.

 03/01/26

Artist Inspo:

Gohar Dashti

I first saw Dashti’s photography in a museum as was immediately drawn to it. After researching her I found her body work titled Home. I loved the way she captured the feeling of absence (in relation to hu an life) alongside this duality of growth (from the plant life). These photographs very much capture the feeling I would like to create within this project. 

Ideas: 

For my small world I have chosen the doll wardrobe that Ashley had from a previous installation course. At first i thought it was a tool box but after learning it was a doll wardrobe, I wanted to continue with the environmental route I have been taking.  Found a baby doll I would like to take apart and place within the wardrobe. I want this piece to comment on the idea that Lon after we are gone nature will reclaim everything around us. I plan on using mainly flocking and doing some needle felting. I am also thinking about using some of the crochet forms I have used in my past works. I don’t want this piece to necessarily make the viewer think negatively or positively about the environment or our impact, but rather just be an art work people can sit with and come to their own conclusion. This is very much opposite of my THIS gallery installation, but for this project I would rather focus on the materials of the piece rather than the message behind it. 

I didn’t draw the baby parts inside the box because I was unsure exactly where I would want to place them and didn’t want to make the decision until I could physically move them around within the box.

Amelia,

Thank you for the update. I appreciate your honesty about where you are in the process — that’s important. Hopefully you got some rest and a break.

There are some strong material decisions happening here. The stairs seem successful, and your approach to surface (dry brushing, rubbing back with a damp towel) is working well conceptually with the concrete feel. That kind of attention to finish will matter in a piece like this.

The direction of nature reclaiming the space is also compelling. The connection you’re making to Gohar Dashti’s work — particularly the sense of absence paired with growth — is a strong conceptual anchor. Stay with that.

That said, I want to push you on a few things:

First, time and progress. You noted that you didn’t get much done, and we’re at a point where that needs to shift. This project relies on accumulation — the more you build, the more convincing the environment becomes. You need to increase production this week.

Second, composition. Right now, it sounds like you are still making parts without fully resolving how they exist together. The placement of the baby elements is critical. This cannot feel random. Think carefully about:

• Where the head sits

• How the body fragments relate to the space

• Whether they feel abandoned, integrated, or overtaken

The decision to only use parts of the body is a good one — but it needs to feel intentional, not just spatially convenient.

Third, the interior color. You said you don’t want the walls to be a focal point, which is good. In that case, choose the option that best supports the atmosphere. A slightly gray, concrete-like tone will likely reinforce the sense of abandonment more than bright white. White risks flattening the space.

Fourth, materials. Be mindful that styrofoam, felt, flocking, and crochet can easily start to compete with each other. Make sure they are all serving the same environment. Right now, ask yourself: does everything feel like it belongs in the same world?

Finally, push the environment further. Right now, you have:

• Stairs

• Walls

• Forms

• Baby fragments

What will make this feel alive (or overtaken)? Is it density? Is it creeping growth? Is it subtle detail? The success of this piece will depend on how fully you commit to that transformation.

You have a strong concept and some good material instincts. Now you need to bring it together with more urgency and clearer decisions.

Let’s look at layout in person next class so we can lock in composition.