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.