studio practice update

Hi
Since my last post I have been creating the steel spiral for my installation with Alison in the College. Two 6 metre lengths of steel, were wrapped around a jig and then welded one to another to give a five level spiral .I decided to use steel for the spiral due to the saying  "nerves of steel" when we sometimes talk about human behaviour.I think it also depicts the strength of human beings generally, even if there are times when we don't feel that we are strong.I see it as the spinal column of the installation, and the central lit column, the human spirit.
 Due to the diameter of the vilene that I am going to use for the central lit section, the over-all diameter is now slightly smaller than I originally thought. It will be 28cm diameter. But I think that is good. The dimensions seem to work better. Also, after the lighting experiments, I decided that the felting and silk fibres should be a little closer to the central lit section.

Construction so far,with straight supports. These will be taken away once S shaped supports are put in between each level of  steel. I didn't want any straight lines within the structure.

 The vilene that I am holding is a small section to show the distance between the outer and inner circular shape. The vilene on the finished piece will be as tall as the spiral.

Once I saw the actual steel spiral coming together, it made me wonder what materials would finally look best on the structure. I think hat fine felting and silk papers will work well , but I now think that more solid sections of felting will be needed at the base, and then light being let in gradually as the materials rise to the top. I would like the lower sections to have fine windows within the felting to allow the light to penetrate. As is shown by the photo below.

wet felted pre-felt with merino roving incorporated

I also knew, once I saw the steel spiral, that it would need a support, for my materials on some sections. This would add another texture and help to create the feeling that I am trying to achieve.The other material that I been trying out is garden fine mesh. Garden centres are always a great place to find materials that can be utilised within artwork.I thought that it would perhaps be useful to secure to the spiral in a fine layer to support my felted sections. I also like the use of mesh as part of the security and shelter of our needs as human beings, and the protective element linked to growing plants.Growth is one of the main strands that I link to Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

This mesh is really good to manipulate and create texture with. The mesh is good to use with back lighting, due to the fact that some strands show up and some disappear with the light.

This is a small ramekin put on top of the mesh. The heat gun used to mould around the shape. This is another advantage of this polyester mesh. It moulds and melts very well. This could be a distinct advantage when connecting  final samples.
I'm continuing with sample but I will be very pleased when the mid module tutorials happen. They always help me to evaluate my actions.

mesh which is roughly back lit, with heat gunned wadding



Bye just now

Studio Practice 2

Hi again

I have been trying out Lutrador and wet felting. Incorporating both media to see what results I got. Lutrador Mixed Media sheets A4 size are brilliant. They can be sewn on to, folded, cut embellished etc.It can also be manipulated with the heat gun. Florists wrap flowers in the light weight version.The weight I am using for my first experimentation is 100 gram weight. 

Lutrador section cut out with scissors , then I applied the wet felting method with soap, hot water and elbow grease. I was interested to see if the wool fibres would take to the Lutrador, due to this medium being a cross between paper and fabric. The wool fibres may stick to the fibres within it, and the paper sections may leave the fibres of the wools loose. It would be an interesting development that might be able to sue on my final piece.

final felted sample with back lighting
I am pleased with this result. The Lutrador has many possibilities. The long cut out sections, and the small triangular ones, can be seen clearly with back lighting. It is also interesting that the sections which I cut out, can be covered with wool fibres wet felted, and give differing perspectives on the fibres used.
It could try more samples and then manipulate any section, empty of fibres, with the heat gun. Layering the wool and leaving areas clear of wool, would enable me to also stitch on clear white areas, or stitch on to painted or folder areas. It is a very flexible medium, and one that I will develop further.
If I decide to use this within my final piece, I'll have to source the Lutrador in larger sections. These A4 are good for experiments,. but not big enough for the finals. There are suppliers who sell it by the metre, and I'll find out on-line.
The other advantage of using the Lutrador as a support for some sections is, when wet felting method is used, it reduces the size . Using Lutrador, there will be some sections that I could ensure that wouldn't be the case. Onward and upwards.
Bye again for now. 

                                         

Studio Practice- lighting experimentation findings etc...

Hi there
Since the last post I have been check out led lighting. In my last post, Is said I thought I'd found a solution. One that would give the central column for my installation stability. The experimentation didn't turn out as I expected. When Mike and I tried the heavy pelmet vilene with lighting inside the column, it seemed far too contemporary an effect to relate to the other materials of wool, wire and other fibres. It was an result which I didn't expect.I thought that the small holes and the smooth surface of the heavy pelmet vilene would create a warmth to add to my structure. It was the opposite. It seemed to be very cold and clinical, no matter which shade of light was applied.

this is the heavy pelmet vilene, which was too cold an effect

Fortunately I had also purchased a heavy vilene which was not for pelmets, but was stiff enough to hold a circular shape, and might work well, due to the fibres that can be seen within that materials structure, when back lit. It gave a warmer effect and  will work much better with the fibres and merino wools which I'll be utilising within the design.

Perhaps difficult to see from this photo, but this vilene has a much better fibrous texture, and is warmer

This was the photo I took at home with the small led light inside

This was such an important morning of experimentation. It showed why it is so important to try all ideas out. You never know what the result will be. Because the heavy pelmet vilene is able to stand unaided, the fact that i wanted to utilise this one, meant there was the question of how I was going to secure it. Would it be secured to the ceiling, or secured at the base?



This is the solution that we came up with. The led light can be put into a  plinth. In this photo above, the base is polystyrene. It could also be wood, or Styrofoam.  If a circular section is cut out, the same size as the diameter of the vilene, then this gives a secure base and add extra strength to the column when inserted into the circle.As in the first two photographs on this blog. Also if the circle is as deep as the lighting box, then  this solves the problem or the light being seen at the base of my installation, where the steel spiral will start. The base can house the light and supply stability to the vilene. 

I though that polystyrene would be good to use for the base, but then health and safety had to be considered. Mike has years of experience in health and safety linked to lighting and theatre, events props etc. He had Flintex. A liquid which can be painted on to the inside circular area of the polystyrene and also around the outside. This liquid also may allow me to put the spiral on top of the polystyrene plinth, instead of at floor level, due to it strengthening any material it is applied to. I am having a meting this Tuesday with Alison the tutor who is advising me on the spiral material and structure, I'll talk to her about this, and let you know my finding within my next blog.

I have also been continuing with my experiments and developments. The recent one has been with garden twine.I want try out materials which I can incorporate to portray shelter and safety.

 

 garden twine knitted, then ,wet felted merino wools and silk fibres.

I quite like the effect but I have to do some experiments to try other possible substitutes for the twine. It is too thick to catch all the fibres when I wet felt it. Others are being tried at the moment, including the organza caught within wet felting, that I mentioned earlier. I have also been sourcing more materials. I needed more merino wool and also I am trying working with crochet and knitted wire. Much to do and time is running out for all deadlines.

Found a new source for supplies. www.LagomFeltStudio.com
 It's in Crieff.

Other news.
I am getting on with the website meetings with Stephen and have to push on with my promotional materials. I am pleased with the way all is going with that, but I have to order my promotional materials. Need to have a meeting with Stephen this week,and make sure that fonts on the website correspond with all others within my promotional materials. I want the fonts to be consistent throughout.
The presentations for contextual went well on Friday. It was brilliant to hear everyone's presentation. A great thought provoking, morning. Hopefully the marks will be favourable, also getting on with the essay due soon.
Bye for now.

Studio Practice

 Hi there
Since my last post I have had a meeting with Mike regarding possible lighting effects for the middle section of my installation.
This meeting was to discuss how the internal tubular element would be lit. The polyester pop up laundry bags that I had connected to show him, would prove to be problematic it seemed. When the light would be angled from above or below in to the tubular section, the wires and any internal seams would be seen. This is something that I do not want to happen. It is also an obvious problem, that I didn't even think about. It would detract from the reason I want to have the central lit section. It is to represent the human spirit, and I think that it needs to be a clear light with no other inclusions. There was also a discussion about the led lights. If lit from the bottom then my design with have to incorporate a blanked off small section at the base of the internal tubular structure. This will house the led light, which will be operated from a very small lighting box.
It was a good meeting that really made me consider elements that I hadn't up till now. But they are all solvable. I have made a  small felted sample to attach to the spiral maquette. This was to help explain my design idea to Mike.

This is a very rough felted sample, with a clear internal tubular structure with a small wire circle at the base. The white material is a section of the polyester from the original laundry bag idea. Section were cut off the top and bottom of the wire sprung bags to enable me to connect them together. So I used the off cuts for this.

When I showed this to Mike, he understood my design idea and that the lighting is an integral part of the design.

So following the meeting I had to find another form of material which I could use to create the concept of the internal human spirit. It had to be a material which would allow the light to penetrate it, to enable the light to hit the outer spiral which will be covered with the felting and other materials.It also had to be a material that would not warp or loose rigidity when in the centre of the spiral. It also had to hold its circular shape, if suspended from the ceiling,and be solid enough at the base to house the light. I had to solve this quickly to move on.
When I was in the class on Wednesday a possible solution was found. Heavy Pelmet Vilene. This is used by mixed media artists and can be used to make three-dimensional artworks. I have small section of this to take with me tomorrow, Monday, when I head to Mike's workshop, to carry out some practical lighting experiments. I am also going to try lighting the connected laundry bags, just to see the effect. Yesterday I also bought a small section of a different type of Vilene, a slightly lighter weight, but stiff enough to stand on it's own if required, and I'll also try that.

This is the vilene with a small internal led light. I think from this experiment, that it will work well when fully light internally. But, I have to make sure that the materials on the outer spiral are well enough lit. This will be tried tomorrow.

close up of vilene showing small holes which would help to let the light through


I have been spending a lot of time trying to work out the design  for my installation, and this is something that I am really enjoying doing. The challenge of working in a three dimensional way, is really pushing me to think through in depth design solutions.Although I have created three dimensional costumes before, from re-cycled materials, this is very different. This is a really good thing for me. I feel as though I am pushing myself to try to achieve my goal. I am also a bit cautious, and have to make sure that I decide on the internal structure this week. The time is slipping away, and I have to be aware of that.
I have also been experimenting with creating some felted samples depicting shelter and safety.



This sample had organza inclusions within the wool. I'm going to heat gun the organza to enable the felting to form shapes through the shrinkage to the organza.The research for my sketchbook is continuing, but not as fast as I would like it to. I have been spending time on the design solutions. But for me, this is hard, if I don't see physical experimentation in front of me sometimes, I feel as though I'm not making progress. But that isn't the case. I have to solve any design problems first and foremost.


Bye for now.

 

Studio Practice 2

Hi there
Since my last post I have been working on a design for my final piece. Following the Assessor's visit, I have experimented with a double spiral design for my final piece. I was thinking that the internal spiral would represent the human spirit. This is the section that I plan to have internal LED lighting within. But since trying this, it has made me feel that an internal spiral just does not give me the long tubular effect that I was hoping for. It also made me think that, the internal structure could be the main one to cover with the cob web felting, as opposed to the outer spiral. The design started to alter the message that I was trying to portray, the internal spirit and external needs of a human being. The link to the Helix is a more than relevant one, due to its link to human needs. But me, being me, I then started to explore the helix, and was lead down a route that I felt I did not have time to explore. I felt that I needed to research internal DNA structure and  use materials to portray this. I was aware that the double spiral was perhaps not portraying my original concept. At the moment, I envisage the internal structure as a long straight lit tube,a core, with the steel spiral surrounding this and gradually spiralling up to the fifth level of self actualisation.
I am in the process of making fine felted cobweb pieces to attach to the maquette. I want to see if, when lit, it will give me the desired effect.

small scale wire structure with central tubular section

experiment in class connecting the tubular material.Three sections connected but four would be used in final piece to make the central column taller

This central section is very light, therefore it would be possible to attach from the top, to the low ceiling when displayed.  I connected these with pins, just to get a rough idea of how they could connect. I will experiment with connecting each section with wire, as well as with crochet wire, to see the variety of effects. The middle section, will be secured at the bottom, so that it is grounded at the shelter level, the first level of needs. The lit central section will enable the viewer to see the detail of the silk threads which I intend to include within the materials, wrapped around the spiral, graduating  up depicting the five levels of needs.
I am having a meeting this Tuesday with Mike, a good friend of mine, who has worked with lighting, events lighting and theatre lighting, for many years. I'm looking forward to discussing the possible effects. I will also arrange a meeting the week after to have an experimentation session with using various lighting effects.

Website News
I had a meeting with Stephen again this week, and I think that I am close to a decision for my website name. I've also passed some photographs etc.  for him to get started with the building of the site. I'm meeting him each week.I am hoping that the site is live as soon as is possible. No time to hang about. He's good to deal with. He is straight to the point and seems to understand what I am trying to project through the website.

 

 

Studio Practice 2 and general update

Hi there

I have good feedback from my contextual presentation, which is good, I now have to finalise the slides and text for the presentation for assessment week beginning 17th March.
I have had a good initial meeting with Stephen at the College this week, regarding building my website for when I graduate.As well as that, there was a meeting with Pauline from the Iris Murdoch Dementia Centre at Stirling Uni. This was regarding training linked to my graduation plan, as well as a delivery of a workshop at the "Meaningful Activities"training days next week.

Studio Practice 2.
I have been continuing with research of possible shapes and pattern for felting designs, using my own photographs.  I've been out and about gathering images of some materials that are used to provide shelter for human beings for this.These are just a couple of them.

textured brick

peeling paint on wall

I have been gathering images from on-line as well. When I am looking for images, they are all for sourcing pattern and textures, to translate, through using textiles for my final exhibition piece.Sourcing images this way, is ,for me, a good way to work out how best to depict the five stages of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.As I said in an earlier post, I have decided to depict just a few of the basic human needs, and working on this through gathered images linked to those needs, is helping me to formulate the possible shape and structure of the art work.
In my last post I had been trying to produce moulds using the plastic former machine and laytex. I continued this experimentation by including threads and silk fibres into this mould, before pouring in the laytex.




laytex branch mould with fibres included ,photographed at a window, to increase back lighting

I think that this is an interesting effect, and would work well if lit with LED from the back. But since trying this, and  thinking about the possible structure of my final solution depicting the human needs, I have decided laytex will not work for this brief.What this has done though, is, it has given me a  method to utilise within future work. I tried this  because I wanted to include a material which would symbolise human beings. I now realise, that this will not work as a medium alongside the wire and textiles. The laytex, when dried, is also heavier than I expected it to be. I could spend time brushing thin layers of layex on to secured shapes. But, at this point, I am not wanting to stray too much from my time plan.I think it is better to decide now and move on. The time is better used, working on the structure of my piece. I now know that I want to incorporate wire and textile, in the main body of the work.
 I have to work out the structure, before I head into more experimentation with materials. I will now work on possible designs, in the hope that this helps me to solve any issues within that area, as soon as possible. The laytex experimentation,and the gathering of images has helped  me to visualise and have a more informed idea of the direction I should now take.
Bye for now