Jim Doran : Tools Of The Trade
Next to speak to us about the tools of his trade is artist Jim Doran who makes, among other things intricate works of art using paper and small boxes.
Here he tells us about how and where he works and what inspires him along with the importance of his website, sketchbooks and reusing old and discarded materials.
“My studio is a tiny 12′x20′ barn in my back yard that was built by the house’s former tenants in 1975. I finished making it inhabitable in 2008 by adding insulation, interior walls, power, windows and lighting. I am so very lucky to have this space. It’s quiet and peaceful and conducive to thinking.
Currently, my main focus in my art is making dioramas with paper cut-outs of my drawings. My most important tool (besides my imagination) is my sketchbook, which is always with me. I make prototypes of each diorama on the pages of the book – if I sell the diorama, I still have the original sketches and layers in the book. My other essential tools are mechanical pencil/technical pen duo with the finest points possible, an X-acto knife and self healing mat. I like the 9X12″ size mat – all of these things are inexpensive and portable and I can work when I travel. I also like flexible steel rulers and plastic erasers.
I reuse discarded material for my projects as often as possible. There’s an economy to my process that I find very satisfying.
Finally – an indispensable tool for my art, which may not be apparent, is my Web site (http://jimdoran.net/). It’s a journal, gallery, printing press and record label all in one. I’m a professional Web developer (day job) and I use a combination of WordPress and my own code to publish stuff. I could write at length on the benefits of blogging for artists, and I’ve had a lot of great things happen just because I maintain this Web site.
The piece shown here is part of a triptych for a show in February 2012. The container is a sardine tin, and the grandfather clock is in a theater. “
