Casting continues

I began the day with a trip to B&Q to buy more contiboard for the moulds.

I then began casting, finishing the layers in the moulds that I had already been filling.

I noticed that when pouring plaster into the newer moulds (made to be a thinner width in order to take less plaster), the splashes created were much more pronounced than when using the wider moulds.
 

Once I had filled all the moulds, I removed the casts from the moulds that had been completely filled yesterday.

First cast revealed

Today I removed the first of the casts from its mould. The colours are vibrant and it fits well into the bookshelf, which is pleasing. I had applied gaffa tape to one of the surfaces of the mould but the texture is very feint. The other surfaces of the cast that were against the contiboard are incredibly smooth and flat. Although I had originally wanted a textured surface to the casts, on reflection, I have decided that the smooth contiboard surface is ideal as there is already a lot going on within the work in terms of colour and composition, and another element may be too much.

After removing the cast from the mould, I continued to mix more coloured plaster, and pour more layers into the moulds that I began filling yesterday.

Casting commences at 1 Royal Terrace

The second half of my mammoth plaster delivery arrived at 1 Royal Terrace, and I began my first batch of casting.

I met with Petter and Ruth from the Royal Terrace committee, and we had a good discussion about deadlines for images, copy the press release and so on. We also talked about options for the in conversation event, and confirmed that it will take place on Sunday 19th January. More details will follow in due course.

Rubbings

Today was my first proper day of using the gallery as a studio. I began by sorting out the materials and equipment that I moved at the weekend from my studio into the space. While waiting for the first of my two deliveries of plaster, I taped up some of the moulds that I will be using to cast the bookshelves. I want there to be an interesting texture on the surface of the cast, and so covered the contiboard panel that will become the outward facing surface, with textured tape.

I was lucky enough to get some help lifting the three 25kg bags of plaster up to the second floor - phew! I am expecting the rest of my order tomorrow, so decided to wait until all the plaster has arrived before beginning casting.

I am fascinated by the gallery flooring; the texture and pattern of the parquet tiles. I made some rubbings of the floor.

 

Bookshelf collages

I've been thinking about making a site specific artwork in the bookshelves at 1 Royal Terrace, and have been brainstorming a few ideas around filling the shelves with colour.

Moving into 1 Royal Terrace!

Yesterday I placed a large order with Special Plasters for materials I will be using to make the work I am installing at 1 Royal Terrace in my forthcoming solo exhibition.

I am fortunate enough to be able to spend the next few weeks in the gallery in the run up to the exhibition. This will allow me to make the work in situ, and therefore reduce the risk of damage to the artwork in transit. I gathered together the equipment and belongings in my studio that I will be needing for making the work at 1 Royal Terrace.

Ruth and I then took at trip to B&Q to purchase some more materials. I bought a large sheet of tarpourlin to cover the floor so I don't damage the tiles flooring when casting.

We then packed the car with the belongings from my studio and took them to the gallery, my new studio home for the next few weeks. I've left the 'clean' stuff in my normal studio so I will be doing my drawing etc there, and keeping Royal Terrace as a place predominantly for casting.

I'm looking forward to the plaster delivery arriving so casting can commence!

Work delivered to the RGI

As a member of the Royal Glasgow Institute, I was invited to submit a 'postcard' size work for the RGI Winter exhibition.

Today I delivered my work for the exhibition; an ink and pastel drawing titled "Archive a'.

PREVIEW: Saturday 30 November, 2pm – 4pm. ALL WELCOME 

A fine selection of small ‘postcard’ size works and small framed works by RGIs, RGI artist members and invited artists.


 

Some new drawings

Outcome of my bubblewrap casting experiments

Today I removed the casts from the various moulds that I had covered in bubblewrap. This is how they turned out:

These were from the mould covered in bubblewrap with large bubbles.

These were from the mould that was covered in bubblewrap with small bubbles.

The cast below was from a mould that had been covered in large-bubble bubblewrap and then a layer of parcel tape.

I was surprised by how easy the cast could be removed from the bubblewrap. The bubblewrap texture is fairly distinct, but I am not happy with the rough edges.

I think that the cast above looks unconsidered and messy, as there is no defined pattern.

All of the casts above were made from layers of different coloured plaster. The test piece above shows one of the colour combinations used. I think these colours work really well together, so will use this again.

Testing casting ideas

At the moment I am testing some ideas I have for work for my solo exhibition at 1 Royal Terrace in January 2014. I want to develop the work that I exhibited in Motherwell, working on a larger scale. I am currently testing different surface textures, and have made a number of moulds with bubble wrap.

Exciting exhibition announcement

I am delighted to have been selected to be the first artist to exhibit at a new gallery in Glasgow - 1 Royal Terrace.

The gallery launched today, and published the programme for the first 6 months of 2014.

Over the last month I have been developing ideas for my solo exhibition, and have begun making test pieces in the studio.

When I first visited the beautiful gallery space I was immediately attracted to one  specific feature in the room, and will be creating a site specific installation. 

Watch this space for more news about 1 Royal Terrace.

South Block Wins Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award

I was pleased to read that South Block, the building that is home to my studio, has won the Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award.

Nord architecture, the practice that redeveloped the building were awarded the gold medal at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 7th November by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop. She said: "The winning scheme is a tremendous and inspiring focus for creativity and innovation and, like previous winners of the award, it is a building of which Scotland can be proud."

Wasps Chief Executive David Cook said: “South Block is now 100% occupied, a great achievement in this economic climate, and we have received fantastic feedback from the creative community. The new venue is also making a huge contribution to the regeneration of the Merchant City.”

Judges stated: "Nord has crafted and choreographed the renovation of this existing building with extraordinary rigour, With great sensitivity and the slimmest of budgets, the architects have produced a specific environment for creative industries. Normally office buildings speak of generic environments. Here, within a tailored set of spaces, interaction and the promise of collaboration is easy to imagine."

South Block was chosen from a shortlist of 12 other projects around Scotland.
The project provides an exciting mix of low-cost studio space for fine artists and craftspeople, plus offices for social enterprises.  High-quality office space is also occupied by commercial businesses from Scotland’s vibrant creative industries.

This project was different for us because the money raised by renting space to commercial businesses is used by Wasps to reduce the rents for artists and arts organisation enterprises to around half the market rate.  This can make all the difference to arts and crafts practitioners who would otherwise be unable to afford the spaces they need.

South Block received support from:
Creative Scotland
Social Investment Scotland
Scottish Enterprise
European Regeneration Development Fund
Glasgow City Heritage Trust
Glasgow Merchant City Townscape Heritage Initiative
Glasgow City Council
And loan finance from Triodos Bank.

www.southblock.co.uk
www.nordarchitecture.com

Scotsman: Glasgow Tenement Scoops Building of the Year Award
BBC Scotland: South Block in Glasgow Wins Best Building Award

New batch of moulds for casting

I've been making a number of new moulds with different surface patterns and textures.

I enjoy working with mundane materials, and for these tests I have made the moulds from cardboard. I like the subtle texture of the corregated cardboard, and at this experimental stage, cardboard is a cost-effective material to use.

I have made the moulds larger than any of the other square forms I have produced.

The mould below is a larger version of the moulds used for the Groovings exhibition; corregated cardboard covered in parcel tape.

The mould below has sides that are different to those ever used before. I made the sides by building up strips of cardboard and then taping them together. I then attached the sides to the square back. I am hoping that the layers of corregated cardboard are visible at the edges of the form.

To make the mould below I wrapped  the sheet of cardboard in bubblewrap, with the poppers towards the outside, so as to imprint on the parcel tape.                                                                                                                                                                        

The mould below was covered in bubble wrap with large bubbles. The bubbles are facing towards the inside of the mould, with the intention being that the imprint will be on the surface of the cast.

The mould below was covered in bubble wrap with small bubbles, in just the same way as the one above.

I poured the first layer of plaster in the moulds, as below.