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