Since 2010, Doug Johnston has been focused on a process of coiling and stitching rope into a wide variety of work ranging from art objects to furniture, vessels and bags. Stemming from an interest in transforming braided cotton cord into simple baskets, the work connects a long history of spatial creation, from natural rock formations and canyons to architectural and sculptural spaces by utilizing technologies such as rope, coiled vessel construction, and industrial sewing machines mixed with the principles of Modernist design and 3D printing.
My work with coiling and sewing rope was heavily informed by FFF/FDM 3d printing since 2010. However, I only bought my first printer in 2017 and have since built two printers from scratch. In recent years simple FFF printers have become very affordable and highly accessible. This is leading to a massive increase in their prevalence and usage for making objects of all kinds around the world. The process of FFF (fused filament fabrication) is essentially another evolution and iteration of the coiled, additive construction that has been used in basketry and ceramics for thousands of years. Is this way of building perhaps an inherent component of homo-sapiens' nature, in the same way that a beaver builds a dam, or a bird builds a nest? This inquiry lead me to explore 3D printing, the mechanics of FFF printers as tools, while thinking about their place in the history of human evolution and global dispersal. Here you can purchase some of the work I have made with my printers.