Week 13

Back on the laser cutter this week.  I had decided that a mixture of ply and white perspex would make a nice contast on the coasters.  Plus this could be done fairly easily by cutting the same shapes out of both sheets and just slotting the cut-outs of one into the sheet of the other.  I also enlarged the outline of some of the coffee rings and used these to provide a shape for the coaster itself as I really didn't want these to be uniform.  All in all these worked well apart from the fact that the coasters were a little too big (I should have measured these) and too thick (3mm sheet of ply/perspex plus a 3mm MDF base).  The ply now needs to be stained, varnished and all elements glued - I'll hopefully have a chance to do this over the holidays.

Also took the opportunity to cut out some more shapes for the moss cushions - this time I included ellipses as well as circles and kept the sizes much smaller.  I also intend to stain the ply used as well as I think this would be a more fitting surround for the moss.

Week 12

Not done much on the practical front this week as have been busy completing my HCC essay which I am pleased to say is now in.  I don't really feel like I've answered the question properly and my idea of concentrating on the interior aspect proved quite difficult as there were very few examples of interior magazines from that era available in the library and almost nothing available online. However it's out the way now and I can concentrate on my practical work.

Week 11

Had a one-to-one tutorial with Jenny this week who suggested that, given the fact that there are only a few weeks before Christmas, I concentrate on the coffee rings element of the project.  I had hoped to be able to develop the moss cushions as this was an area of the project I felt quite excited and motivated about.  However, the coffee rings are much further on and I have to admit that it would be unrealistic to try and develop the moss cushions to completion in the time left, although if I have time left would love to dvelop this further.
Furthermore, Jenny pointed out that I could probably use the files I already have for the coffee rings, saving me valuable time.

I thought about using the coffee rings to create a set of coasters but I'm not sure whether this is too obvious.  I'd like the coasters to incorporate some of the marks, imperfections, chips found on the edges of tables and other items but am unsure as to how I'd go about this.  It also occurred to me that the shapes of the coasters did not have to be uniform and this would add more interest.  The range could be developed further to include place mats that use imprints/stains left by plates and cutlery.  Might try creating some of these stains if I have a chance this week.

Week 10

Most of this week has been taken up with the HCC assignment which is due in a couple of weeks.  The subject I've chosen is that of the pastoral and how this influenced suburban housing.  I've chosen this as I hope not only to discuss the styles of the exteriors of the housing but also the interiors and how furniture and other interior products reflect the pastoral e.g ornamental objects such as those produced by Beswick and Sylvac.  I felt that this reflected my current project in practice 3 of trying bringing the outside in.  With my current project in mind, I also thought it might be interesting to discuss how the idea of the pastoral is still around today and provide modern examples. I had a tutorial with Jane Webb who confirmed that I would be okay to approach the assignment in this way and suggested I use interior magazines of the day, such as House and Garden, as starting points.  I thought it would be interesting to contrast these directly with modern magazines such as Country Living etc.

Further to last week's laser cutting I stained the cut-out coffee rings to provide a contrast when slotted back into the MDF, however the effect was hardly visible and the stain needs to be a lot darker.  The moss cushions have proven a bit of a nightmare to upholster and slot back in; neither the fabric nor the filling will stay in place and the cut-out shapes themselves are either too big or too small to slot back in snugly.  I think I need to use small tacks in order to attach the material to the MDF or at least some stronger glue.  For the few seconds when one of the cushions does stay in place I am pleased with the result but it's fair to say that this idea needs much more development.

Week 9

I finally got around to using the laser cutter this week.  I spoke to Adan the CAM technician initially to see how I would go about using the laser-cutter for marquetry purposes.  It wouldn't be possible to produce an inlay on the laser cutter so 2 pieces of material would need to be used; one to cut the pieces from, another to provide a base. Although it may have been possible to create an inlay on the router, this would require a smaller "head", which as well as being expensive would be likely to break easily.

I created some coffee rings in my sketchbook and after scanning the images in I cleaned the images up an traced them using Illustrator.  I then used Vectorworks to move and place the individual rings on the canvas.  I had used a very similar process for creating my paper lantern designs last year.

I also cut some circular shapes with the intention of filling and upholstering these to create moss "cushions" which could then be slotted back into the piece they had been cut from.  The idea was to create the impression of moss growing on the MDF/ply.

Week 8

I got a book out from the library on lichens but also found one on funghi, some of the images in which are lovely. I thought that the clusters of small mushrooms could be reproduced in the metal workshop, in a similar way to how the acorn cups were produced in the workshop.  The mushrooms are pictured at the base of a tree and likewise I thought a metal representation could be placed similarly; at the base of a lamp or coat stand.

Another image that inspired me was the bracket funghi which would translate very easily into shelving.  I had seen birch trunks featured in someone's home in a recent issue of Elle Decoration and I like the idea of fixing shelving to the log in order to emulate the funghi.  Shelving produced using a material like copper or brass would provide an interesting contrast but it may be problematic fixing the shelves to the log without ruining its appearance. 

Week 7

More and more I feel inspired by the detail and natural beauty of the world outside and I would love to incorporate these elements into my pieces.  I've decided to make this the main focus of my next project; bringing the outside in.  I feel that I've made a good start on the primary research for this project and as a result my main focus will be secondary research and experimenting with the materials.

In addition I'd still like to explore the laser-cutter as a tool for marquetry - similar to Susan Collis' coffee rings. After Mike's tutorial the other week, I think its important to explore the technology available and I like the idea of combining it with traditional crafts.

Week 6

Have been working most of this week but left my sketchbook and samples with Kirsteen for display if appropriate.  Am particularly pleased with the way I have begun to use my sketchbook.  I have been far too focused on its presentation in the past whereas now I feel like I'm using it properly; to generate, explore and record ideas that inform and complement the pieces being produced.

Week 5

I bought some of the cold enamel paints by Humbrol after speaking to Jenny last week and was hoping to experiment with trying to recreate the lichen metal.  Didn't quite get around to this but when I do I'm going to try mixing the paints with some sand or talc in order to try and achieve something like the powdery effect that some of the lichens have.

Have really been inspired by the photographs I took last week and would like to try and incorporate moss into some pieces.  It has such a soft, almost luxurious quality but is likely to dry out and/or decay if brought in from the outside.  The moss reminded me of some cushions we had on our sofa when I was younger and so I thought I'd try to recreate the moss using fabrics.  I went to Abakhan and bought 2 green fabrics; one dark, one light and will have a think about how I might be able to use these in a piece.

Week 4

Following a tutorial with Jenny I went out to collect more primary research and spent a full day taking pictures of moss, lichen etc.  I tried to get some good shots of the flat lichen on the pavement and gravestones in the hope that I may be able to translate this image for use with the laser-cutter.

Also took pictures of the lettering on the headstones and the way the lichen and moss has grown on and around these - seeming to highlight certain letters and areas of text and obscure others.  This was similar to the way the stains had obscured the lettering my original object.  I tried to recreate this in the workshop,  using a wax resist on etched and stamped text before using soaking in the sulphur solution to blacken.  The results were okay but needs development as the black coating is not permanent - can this be sealed in by some means?

Week 3

Began this week by looking at the practitioners suggested.  Got the Out of the Ordinary exhibiton guide out of the library and I was particularly drawn to the following Susan Collis pieces.

The Oyster's Our World, wooden stepladder, mother of pearl, shell, coral, fresh water pearl, cultured pearls, white opal, 2004.

Waltzer, wooden broom, opals, turquoise, garnets, seed pearls, mother of pearl, black diamonds, white diamond, 2007.

Collis says she is preoccupied with the production of art as a process in itself and describes the splashes and stains as the residue of art making.  However such marks are not restricted to an artistic environment and I feel one could take this further and say that such marks are the residue of life in general, traces of a moment in time.  I liked her juxtaposition of materials and processes considered precious or worthy used to make things traditionally deemed worthless or undesirable.  However for me the value in these marks doesn’t lie in the materials or processes used to create them, but in their capturing, often accidentally, a particular moment in time, gone forever, never to be recovered.  Surely what can be more precious than this?

Collis had used traditional marquetry techniques in many of her pieces and I am interested in using similar techniques using the laser cutter, following this week's PCC lecture on Future Directions in Craft and Design. 

I also looked at Helen Carnack’s work and particularly liked her steel vessels coated in vitreous enamels (that used for domestic goods including sinks, pans). 

I liked the fact that the rusted steel is visible beneath the enamel in places, and becomes part of the surface, embracing the effects of time on the vessel.

Following on from my admiration of lichens last week, in the workshop we worked with disparate materials including lichen-covered twigs, bark and acorn cups.

I really enjoyed working with these materials and enjoyed the contrast between the natural and man-made.

I also experimented with hot enamels in trying to create a blue/green colour similar to oxidised copper, but was disappointed with the results as they were too glossy and lacked the texture/patination I was seeking.

Week 2

Given project the Maker's Palette this week in which we were asked to pick an object from a selection available and once chosen to interrogate that object through drawing and annotation in order to identify the reasons for the selection.  These reasons provide a starting point for investigations as well as revealing what drives us as practioners.

The object I had chosen was a Gestetner Symbols Plate together with its outer cardboard sleeve and it was the sleeve I was drawn to.

Initially it was the colours I was drawn to - the duck egg blue/green backgound and bronze typography- which I thought very evocative of the mid-century era.  But I was also drawn to the signs of age and wear and tear that were visible on closer inspection - the stains, spashes, blemishes, creases, tears - the hallmarks of an object well-used.  I was particularly fascinated by the way a mark evidenced soemone's use of the object - that they had left a physical trace of that moment and that that moment had now passed, perhaps decades earlier.  I liked the way the age of the object was evident, not only in the colourway, but in the torn, creased corners of the sleeve and the patina produced after years of handling.

Lines of enquiry suggested by the tutor were

• research-wise to look at practioners such as Susan Collis and the Out of the Ordinary exhibition.  Also metalsmith Helen Carnack who uses industrial enamelling techniques to create functional objects with interesting surfaces/patinas.
• in the workshop to investigate ways of achieving the colour and patina, using cold as well as hot enamels, also treating the metal to achieve a rusted or aged appearance.

It was later on in the week that I was struck by the similar blue/green colour of the lichens growing in my garden.  I liked the way these had grown over years, that the objects were not new but signs of the passage of time were clearly visible.  I also like the idea of nature making its mark on these materials - claiming ownership of them.

Week 1

Tutorial this week asked us to identify our motivations, practice, media and future ambitions for the coming year, which would in turn inform our decisions on where and whom to visit during London Design week.

• For me, central to my motivation is the ability to be able to make a living from products that I have enjoyed creating and that have a sense of humour or character or narrative and those that are at the same time functional.
• Within this ideal, I would like to take a hands-on approach to my practice, however I understand that in order to sustain making at a commercial level it would likely to be necessary to incorporate production techniques at some point in the making process.
• Media-wise, I have always enjoyed the idea of using a number of different materials together - I feel that the contrast automatically draws attention to the materials used.  I like the idea of using natural materials or those materials that carry the effects of nature and/or passage of time.  In particular I would like to produce objects that evoke a memory or diffrent time or place.
• My future ambtion incorporates all of the above through working for myself and dictating my own working hours.  However I realise that this may be a more long-term goal and that I am likely to have to supplement any income gained through making products with part-time employment elsewhere at least to begin with, preferebly in an arts and crafts setting.

In London I visited Origin and Tent.   Exhibitors work that I found particularly inspirational were:


Heather Gillespie, a glass artist (http://www.gillespieglass.co.uk/)

I think the thing that appealed to me about her work was that she had drawn inspiration from nature for her Rope Grown collection and the way mussels and oysters are grown.  I found the incorporation of the rope and the contrast that provided with the glass especially attractive, as well as the fact that the object was functional - a light - and that the fine detail in the engraving drew you in closer to the object.

On speaking to Heather she mentioned that commissions form the majority of her paid work.  The piece above took about 4 or 5 days to complete, retailing at £2,000, the cost of the rope itself making up the bulk of this sum.  She also said that on graduation she had spent over a year in the Czech Republic learning traditional copper wheel engraving techniques which meant that she was now one of only 7 practitioners in the UK with this expertise.

Another exhibitor's work that attracted me was jeweller Amanda Caines (http://www.amandacaines.co.uk/).

Her pieces included a mix of found objects from clay pipes, broken figurines, wood, porcelain and pottery fragments and more which she transforms into beautiful, wearable pieces.

I was drawn to the mix of materials and the fact that the separate elements were found objects and often broken and imperfect - bearing the scars of a former life.  Although I don't picture myself making jewellery I would like to use similar materials to make an interior products such as a chandelier.

Other exhibitors I liked were:

http://debbie-smyth.com/, http://www.rowboatlondon.co.uk/, http://mizuyo.com/, http://sophiewoodrow.co.uk/, http://www.helennoakesjewellery.com/, http://glasscathedrals.com/

most of which included a sense of humour or narrative in their work.

My visit confirmed for me my choice of craft over production, finding the latter's quite bland and repetitive in its use of streamlined materials and lack of detail and interest.  Whilst I realise that such objects chief aim is their functionality I would like to think that this functionality could be combined with a narrative or materials with more character or a sense of history.