Market Gallery Residency - Day 18

I have some crucial decisions to make about what I am going to install and how I am going to do so, but at the moment I don't feel ready to make those decisions as I am enjoying playing, and keep thinking of more things I want to test out. I believe I make the best work when I am enjoying what I am doing, and I most enjoy making when I have no pressure.

I am struggling to see how my exhibition will take shape, and at the moment it seems like I have lots of test or experimental pieces and few finished works. From the onset I wanted to use the residency to experiment and play and work on a larger scale. I have done this, and it feels great, and I don't want to stop! I want the viewer to be able to see the enjoyment that I have when making the work.

I have not made perfect finished pieces, and this wasn't my intention. I want the exhibition to be an installation which reflects my experimentation.

It was great to have a visit from my friend Yukako, whom I studied with at Glasgow School of Art. As soon as she walked into the studio she commented how painterly the work is. She described my work as having a rhythm, and likened me to a 'conductor of colours'. She thought the work was like being in a forest with mountains, a waterfall and rocks etc.

I made a new mould to start casting and want to make the outside a solid colour and then reveal the colours inside.

I removed the cast from the large funnel and also the cast from the other cardboard mould I have made. I think that I will sand the areas where the cast has broken to provide a contrast in surface.

I also filled a number of the breezeblock shaped cardboard moulds.

Nikki and I battled to get one of the pipe casts out of the mould. We used the jigsaw and split the mould in two, so it will be easier to remove the cast in the future.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 17

Good news - We are nearly there with the press release! It is proven to be a little trickier to create than normal as the press release is to announce both Studio Project exhibitions, i.e.
my work (in Gallery 3) and Pauline McCloy and Rebecca Green's Solaris Simulacra (in Gallery 2). With paragraphs about the work in each of the galleries as well as biographies of Pauline, Rebecca and me, there is rather a lot of information to fit into the press release, and we are conscious that people have limited time to read these things. Anyway, huge progress was made today, and we are very nearly at the completion stage!

Today I did not have any volunteers to assist me, and so I was unable to remove the moulds from the forms as they are very heavy and fragile. The volunteers have been AMAZING, and I would not have been able to make the work I am making without their help.

In my attempt to create a totally flat base to one of the forms, I poured yet another layer of plaster into the mould. I continue to be astounded by the amount of plaster it is requiring to fill this particular form.

I am enjoying the 'space-pod' style cardboard moulds, and experimented with creating different forms in cardboard. I want to use plaster on the inside and on the outside of the mould (in different sculptures).

I removed the cardboard structure that was made yesterday, away from the base, and in doing so, some of the plaster from the outside of the mould came off. It may be that in order to prevent this happening again, thicker layers of plaster need to be applied to the cardboard

Market Gallery Residency - Day 16

After having a good tidy up in the studio, Laura, Brogan and I removed a couple of casts from the moulds. It is exciting to reveal what lies beneath the mould, and can be quite nervewracking if, like me in this instance, I have invested a lot of time and resources into creating something that I do not know will work.

When we took the sculpture out of the mould, I noticed that the pattern left on the lino was very interesting. Infact, I felt that this was more curious than the sculpture.

The fragments left on the mould were also of interest to me, looking like samples of rock taken from an alien planet!

 The lino of the mould seemed naturally to belong on the floor, and we began to refer to it as 'the rug'.

We also removed the boundaries of the other 'object painting', and although I like the texture of the smooth surface, I am unhappy with the splatter marks as I think they look a bit gimmicky.

I have been wanting to create more cardboard forms and experiment with pouring plaster over them as well as inside them.

This first attempt at doing so turned out really well. Although I had intended to build up the surface so as to be able to peel the plaster off the cardboard and remove the mould, I  am enjoying the relationship between the plaster and cardboard as it is, and so think I will keep this one at this stage and make others to test other ideas.

I've added lots more layers to the other cardboard sculptures and am looking forward to seeing the results soon.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 15

As I look at my makeshift calendar on the wall It is hard to believe that I am already half way through the residency. How time flies when you are having fun! It is slightly daunting how little time there is until the exhibition opening, but I will continue to make the most of the space and time, and hope that I am able to achieve what I want and intend to.

After work, I met with Kirsty from the Market Gallery committee to work on the press release for the Studio Projects exhibition.

I then added some more layers to the various forms. I am beginning to realise how large these are, as I am getting through plaster like nobody's business! I am experiencing a few problems with making such large batches of plaster, as it is much harder to mix and  distribute the pigment, polymer and plaster evenly. Pouring the plaster is also difficult, and the speed at which it pours causes there to be lots more air bubbles that when pouring smaller amounts.

It is not easy to move some of the large moulds, and therefore creating hollow forms is not possible. I am concerned with how heavy the filled sculptures are, and am thinking about how I could make them lighter. Perhaps filling the centre with a material such as expanding foam or newspaper would be one way of doing this.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 14

With every exhibition there is a lot of work that goes on 'behind the scenes', and today I spent some time tackling some admin/marketing tasks such as writing the press release.

I also added some more layers of plaster to the various forms that I am casting. One of the cardboard moulds was resting in a bucket, and unfortunately, when adding another layer of plaster, the bucket could no longer support the weight and so split, causing the mould to become disfigured and some of the plaster inside to crack. It was too heavy to lift and reposition by myself, but luckily I did get a visitor later, and she helped me lift the mould into a different support. I am hoping that adding more plaster will cement any cracks and fill any gaps. I will be extra careful when pouring more plaster, and will direct it away from the areas where the mould has become damaged.

 

 

Now that the inside of the cone has been covered in a few layers of plaster, I have moved the cone so it is at a slant. I believe the shape is more interesting when the base is at an angle.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 13

Following my visit to Tramway this morning where I saw Solar Eye, the brilliant exhibition by Nick Evans, Joanne (another wonderful volunteer) and I began a casting session.

I had made larger moulds using the lino I purchased yesterday. The lino had an interesting pattern on one side, rather like the pattern on the poster for the exhibition.

I want to try to make the shapes of the casts less predictable than the cones, so set up some moulds resting on props.

I am really pleased with the range of colours that Ive used in this series of casts, and am now going to try to keep this selection of colours throughout future work for this exhibition.

I am filling the cardboard forms as much as possible to create solid forms.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 12

I had a visit from my good friend Graham, and had a really good discussion about the work I've been making.

We agreed that having the mixture of solid and hollow forms is good because it encourages the audience to explore the objects due to their unpredictability. The relationship between hollow and solid will need to be explored when installing the exhibition.

The way in which the works will be presented is important, and I am wanting to work with the space, picking up on some of the unique features of the space. Graham suggested wrapping the cast plaster coloured rings round the drainpipe.

We also talked about producing pieces of plaster the same size and shape as the breezeblocks, and dotting them over the space.


I want to make use of the pillar that is in the centre of the room, and it would be a good structure to  lean a form against.


We both enjoy the use of cardboard and think that the cardboard forms are interesting as forms in their own right. Graham asked if it would be possible to pour plaster over the top of the cardboard.



Just as the cardboard could be good to create forms of a reasonable scale for the space, the plywood boards that I have made would also do this job. Plaster could be poured over part of the boards to provide a contrast to the wooden surface.

I bought a large roll of lino in order to make larger moulds for bigger cone structures.