How does the creation of an object shift from a process of manipulation to one of release?

My work investigates the space between design, materiality and the process of making. To understand this space it is crucial for me to become familiar with the actual materials and processes of the objects I seek to create. This requires knowledge of the way materials behave in their specific environment, as well as how they respond to the different stimuli of making.

In the process of intaglio printing, the plate not only transfers ink to the paper, but it transfers a ridge where the paper is forced into the etched parts of the plate. By not looking at it as a printing process, but as a die forming process, I am able to manipulate the paper in a way that it becomes easy to fold. So, instead of a two-dimensional print being the outcome, a three-dimensional object is created from the information transferred from the plate to the paper.

My current work challenges this notion of manipulating a surface, constructing a material process that enables the instructions for fabrication to be imbedded within an object using its own inherent qualities. In this way, instead of forcing the material into a shape, I am releasing the material to become the object it "wants" to be.