Ideas that hang around.

Considering the time constraints of doing a part time course and my lack of knowledge, I’m not going to pursue the Weather House/Snowglobe project at this time. 

I’ve been thinking about another long standing idea. 

Because I don’t have the time to dedicate to making things that I’d like, I find that if I let an idea hang around for a while, instead of rushing into it straight away, the idea sort of matures on its own. Basically I never get around to anything straight away, so during the lag time between thinking and doing, ideas change and some get better. The ones that don’t get left behind but I have a few longstanding things which I think I’m nearly ready to begin...

One idea is a chandelier based on my experience of feeling housebound with babies and toddlers. The time for that has perhaps passed. I’ve moved on in life and recreating that time in an artwork wouldn’t feel so relevant now. I am still intersted in interiors and buildings from the inside so maybe I’ll develop those thoughts into something, later on.

I have another idea/piece which is has hung around for about 6 years is a development from my papercut pictures. I’d like to make a 3d tablecloth using cut Tyvex and 3d printed elements. I could take this idea in many directions and to be honest I’ve been scared to start it in case I get it wrong - this is a very stupid attitude, I am realising now! At present I’d like to make something in this vein but incorporating 3d printed buildings like the version of Game of Life that I played as a child (I bought this version for my daughter too as it is way more fun than the later versions).

Above from left:
Papercut of hand blender with cord and plug, papercut spaghetti, papercut tablecloth in progress.
 

Above: Game of Life board game.

First thoughts on the brief...

Three areas of investigation to choose from: vessel, puzzle, flatpack. The brief's purpose is to give a starting point to an investigation. The idea is to explore the theme in an open ended way. There is no expectation of anything finished. The investigation is the point of this brief.

My first thoughts on the brief were fairly loose. My first instinct was to take it in a very fine art direction. I think I felt a bit trapped by having to choose one of three options, albeit very loose options. I am determined to leave this course with some skills so developing work using different materials is an exciting prospect. I want something a bit more to get my teeth into though.

Below: Sketchbook pages.

My next thoughts were to use the puzzle/game brief and adapt an idea which has been hanging around for a while...

I have had the idea to make a weather house of some sort, for ages. My ideas go from a straight forward weather house with the man and lady coming out of each door depending on the humidity but using a pair of houses from a housing estate, to a really technically comlpex wall mounted house which displays the weather from any co-ordinates you choose on a screen behind the house - probably using Google Weather as a feed. I would also like to make a snowdome with similar qualities. 

Part of my on going reasearch involves miniatures. I did my Fine Art dissertaion about scale in art and I’ve gone back to reading some of the material I read as part of that. Particularly, Susan Stewart, “On Longing - Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection”. The language inherent in miniature - that of value and desire, preciousness and the idea of using small scale objects to both invite the viewer into viewing something with closer inspection and of acknowledging something far greater, are aspects of the scale model that I’m interested in researching again, in relation to new works. 

Metal Casting - the lost foam process.

I came to this workshop with an idea of what would be involved. I’d done aluminium casting at school. Although it was obviously some time ago!

Again, like the maquette workshop, I really enjoyed working directly with the materials. The foam was really easy to cut and carve. I chose the blue foam with the tighter structure and cut it into 3 pieces to create 3 small blocks.  
I still had the idea to make some sort of building like structure. The process of thinking and making decisions whilst holding and turning the piece in your hand is very different to digital fabrication. I am so used to planning my work using Illustrator or Rhino3d and then the results are very predictable. I liked the real time aspect of this and having to think on the fly.

I started by cutting the small blocks into thinner slices with the intention of glueing them back together. Unfortunately one of them didn’t come out at all. 

My buildings made of aluminium. I particularly like how they have gone from being blue, prototype, foam things to looking like ancient derelict buildings.
 

Above: Finished blocks. I particularly like the high shine of the polished areas and the contrast with the blackened areas.

Reflecting on the process

It felt similar to printmaking in the sense that a long time is spent on a lengthy manual process - preparing, with an intention of a result. Until you master these techniques, the result is not often going to be as you expect but if you’re lucky it exceeds those expectations. Casting is a magical process.

I am interested in techniques which can create iterations of objects and I can see that potential with metal casting. Most of my work develops through iterations, whether I’m using Illustrator and photoshop or making things with paper or other material. 

I am also interested in the permanence of metal pieces. The objects that come out of the process this way have a strong sense of groundedness and literally a weightiness, in contrast to the foam pieces which went into the sand.

Introduction to Fabrication. Followed by maquette making with hand tools.

The day started with an introduction to the techniques available to us in the Fabrication Department.  The culture of the department is very relaxed and student centred. I was impressed by the really positive attitude ot the technical staff. I know from experience that having great technical staff on your side is essential in working in an art school. It’s an environment which invites experimentation.  The presentationRyan gave showed the huge variety of stuff that can be made using both traditional and digital fabrication methods.

In the afternoon we worked with Justin in the wood workshop. To be honest I was a bit intimidated by having to just make something infront of everyone. I’m so used to working at home, away from people. Also there is that thing of being nervous with new people but we were all in the same boat and I think we were all feeling similarly scared!

I’d just got back from my trip to Cumbernauld  so I did a couple of drawings based on some photos I took. 

I would normally go straight to Adobe Illustrator to sketch out something. It was a daunting prospect to make something with just cardboard and a glue gun.  

I started with the gable end shape of a house but quickly realised that I was playing it very safe! so I decided to wing it and cut the other gable end piece in two.   
Now I had the challenge to complete the other faces of the building. 

Taking my photos as inspiration I made a house with a part cut out from it - a bit like some of the houses in Seafar, Cumbernauld. These houses have varying shapes within the same development, which allows the spaces between them to be more vairied. Sometimes this is a response to a tricky site.

I was out of my comfort zone without a computer, but instantly felt happy handling the materials directly. The process of exploring the material and turning it around in my hand lead to decisions that I may not have made whilst interacting with a screen. I enjoyed winging it. I should take more risks in what I’m doing.

My reflections on this workshop took my thoughts in a few different directions.

I have always been interested in TESSELLATION.
My papercut pieces are full of tessellating objects. I’ve used it as shorthand for order. It’s is something I’ve been interested in since school. I love geometry and I loved the Altair Design colouring books from the 1980s. Geometry and tesselating forms are part of the reason I love architecure. I will come back to this later, I’m sure...

The other thing which springs to mind is the “Shifts” project at the Lighthouse in Glasgow in 2007. I bought the accompanying book in the Architecture Centre in Bristol. Full title is “Shifts - Projections into The Future of the Central Belt.” The project’s ambition was to contribute to a necessary wider debate about the future of the central belt in Scotland. The Lighthouse commissioned four international project teams, led by the Scottish architecture practices Cadell2, Collective Architecture, GRAS and Voluntary Design & Build (vD&B) to make a head start in the debate.  Shifts intention was to challenge the unproductive rivalry between the two centres of Glasgo and Edingburgh as well as to shift and change focus to the zone between them. They commisioned short stories and essays which put the projects into a historical, social and political context. vD&B’s focus on SLOAP or Space Left Over After Planning is something I keep coming back to. In this instance I did some thinking around it in relation to developing tessellating structures using the card maquette technique.

Above left: Drawing exploring spaces between structures in plan view.  

Above right: Model made in card, with cut away area.