Sample p5-6

Sample p5-6
This didn’t go well. The stored resin had gone grainy and hasn’t cured properly. The resin just dribbled off the plastic into a bowl, leaving a gritty residue. The plastic sheet was embedded in the dribbled resin and I can’t separate it. The resin is coloured, but has a cloudiness to it – which could be a product of the other problems, not necessarily the ink.
Still, I think it made an interesting photograph on the concrete driveway.
Sample p5-7

Sample p5-7
Shards of plaster were still attached to rough rope. I coiled the rope in a plastic bowl, then dribbled on resin. This was done in two sessions a week apart, trying to build connections between the broken parts.
Once again the resin is grainy and not fully cured. I wasn’t successful in forming sufficient links to make a robust vessel. I wasn’t able to separate the results from the plastic bowl. The plastic was broken up using a hammer and most of the vessel released, but there is still a lot of plastic in the base.
Still, the result has promise. There are multiple interesting shapes, interesting views through the spaces in the vessel. It is a bowl form but clearly not functional. It is broken parts “mended” in a new form with voids and lines that don’t quite make sense. There are so many textures. It holds the gaze.
Sample p5-8

Sample p5-8
No additional lining was used, and a small amount of plaster seeped through the knitted fabric. However what looked like a disaster in progress was actually minor spillage, as the plaster set quickly.(26-Sep-2015).
Additional strips of knit fabric were laid on the surface of the plaster, between the inner and outer forms. As a result virtually the entire cast vessel is textured by the knit.The photographs shown here were taken over a week after the vessel was cast and it is not yet fully dry. Given the experience of sample p3-47 I expect the colour to lighten considerable over coming weeks.
I expected the rim of the cast vessel to be wide and basically flat albeit textured. Instead there is a splash effect with high, fluted inner and outer edges to the rim. I believe this is due more to shrinkage of the plaster during drying, with only small impact from the seepage.
The result is in my eyes at least both ugly and beautiful. The shape seems familiar but wrong. It is both solid, heavy and delicate, fragile. The lines of texture move in a way that is both dynamic and unsettling.
In earlier research of work by Victoria Brown (14-Aug-2015) and Rebecca Fairley (16-Aug-2015) I commented on the fibres caught in some cast works, an effect I find attractive, that adds interest and speaks to the processes creating the work. In p5-8 there is a haze of fibres over most of the vessel, and a few fragments of yarn caught in lines in the rim. Those threads follow the lines of movement in the molding, emphasizing the swirling flow.
I have been trying to make a video to show this more clearly, but grey, matt, slightly fuzzy surface is proving difficult for my current basic equipment to light and focus. Work continues.

Sample p5-8 detail
Sample p5-9

Sample p5-9 with internal led
I expected to be able to extract the glass with little difficulty, and hoped that I might be able to pull away at least sections of the knit to leave the major part of the new vessel resin. In practice I have been unable to separate resin, knit and glass. I was able to neaten the top edge, grinding with my new dremel tool (purchased after Graham Marchant’s class (24-Jan-2016) for using in lino cuts).
The vessel is heavier and darker than I intended. The form is simple and there is little visual interest. However internal lighting allows appreciation of the knit fabric. Next time I am using resin I may run a bead around the rim to tidy it up a bit more. I don’t see this as an entire failure, but neither is it a success.
Sample p5-10

Sample p5-10
The heat treatment gave a lot of distortion in the organza, as hoped for. It is not lacey, but there is a light solidity. An unexpected element was the response of the plastic horsehair to heat. It curled and frizzed and dropped to create some very exciting lines. I find the resulting vessel a delight. It has become an avocado shape and both expands and is more contained than some of the earlier samples. I particularly like the flecks of orange threads on the black base, a by-product of tearing the organza strips.
I originally intended to drizzle resin on the final form, but haven’t followed through with that (yet??). The vessel is already very interesting and structurally quite stable. I like the contrast of the relatively matt and deeply textured surface as a contrast to other pieces, especially p5-4 (31-Jan-2016 and 5-Feb-2016). The photo below shows the two together, with all their contrasts of shape, texture and line. I think this is a very good example of the interaction I was hoping to get in my collection of vessels.

Samples p5-4 and p5-10
Looking at this reminded me of one of my most successful samples of the course, p2-18 (19-Jun-2015). I think my collection could be enhanced by revisiting earlier work.
T1-MMT-P5-s3 Vessel samples continued
Textiles 1 – Mixed Media for Textiles
Part 5: A final piece
Stage 3: Sample-making
Vessel samples continued
Hi Judy, I have really enjoyed your development of ideas here and particularly like sample P5-7, and the detailed shot of P5-8, but also find P5-10 fascinating. The sizing and quality of the photographs add to the post which illustrates some progressive and individual work. Inspirational!
Thanks Nina! I’ve changed over time to include more photos, really trying to tell the story of what I’m seeing. I want tutor / assessors to be able to skim through easily, without having to follow links.
What strikes me is not only your methodical creativity but also the eclecticism of these samples – you make some brilliant leaps of imagination.
I’m discovering a great store of curiosity – “I wonder what would happen if…”. I love the idea of eclecticism, and hope it’s with links as well as individuality.