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.