Action Plan made

Today I met with Petter in the gallery to assess the progress I have made since he last was in the gallery, and to talk through some ideas.

At the moment I have made 37 floor tiles, but need to make more. I also need to cast more blocks for the shelves.

I coated the casts that had most recently been removed from their moulds in the polymer solution that adds strength and helps the casts retain their colour.

I have drafted a rough action plan for the 9 days that remain before the exhibition opens. It is rather scary to think how much still needs to be done!

Running out of polymer

In order to achieve the vibrant, strong colours of the plaster, I add polymer to the plaster, water and pigment mix. The polymer has two functions; one is to strengthen the cast and the other is to retain the intensity of the colour.

Also, once a cast has been removed from its mould, I dilute some polymer with water and dip the cast into the liquid, turning it round to ensure that all sides have been covered in the polymer dilution.

The rate at which I have been going through plaster, polymer and pigment has surprised me, and while I wait for my next delivery of materials, I have had to reduce the amount of polymer and pigment I have been using.

As one can see from the latest batch of casts, this reduction in polymer and pigment produces chalky, pale colours. These are the tones that are often associated with plaster.

Hopefully my order of materials will be delivered tomorrow, and I can go back to creating bold colours.

Casts are polymered

I'm pleased with how the casts are turning out, and am liking the colour combinations and the mixture of hard lines separating the different layers and blurrings of the boundaries. It is always exciting when removing the casts from the moulds as I do not know what to expect. When I am working on numerous casts at the same time it is hard to keep a track of which colours I have added to each mould, and so it really is a surprise when the casts are revealed.

I am conscious that the casts are rather delicate and, when positioned next to each other, they easily mark and pick up bits of plaster from the other cast. The nature of the installation means that I will be testing out placing different casts next to each other and moving them around. In order to make the casts more durable and reduce the chances of them marking when butted next to each other, I am going to coat each cast in a diluted polymer solution. This will seal the surface of the cast, making it less crumbly. It also helps the colours retain their vibrancy and tone, preventing them from becoming 'chalky' and pale. The polymer gives the surface a slight sheen, but as I will be using a diluted polymer mix, it shouln't be too obvious.

I will mix the polymer dilution in a bucket and then dip each cast into the solution. I will then submerge the other end of the cast in the polymer, ensuring that the whole cast has been coated in polymer. By dipping the casts into the polymer, I do not add any brush marks or texture on the surface.

I set up my production line with buckets of polymer and tracklines to rest the casts on once polymered, and one by one, covered each cast.

Monday 2nd September - Batons attached!

As the start of my exhibition at Motherwell Concert Hall and Theatre and draws closer, I am now doing the final preparations to the work ready for the install on Wednesday.

I drilled holes in the batons to be inserted into the back of the casts. The screws on the rods that the work will hang from will then go into the batons.

Some of the casts needed a bit of sanding on the back, so I made good use of my rasp.

Batons have been glued into the backs of the works

 

I glued the batons into the majority of the casts, and coated the backs of the remaining four casts in diluted polymer.

I tried to match the front colour of each of the casts with a paint sample card and experimented with different orders of colour. As much as it is useful to do such an exercise without the work (the more I move the casts, the more likely they are to get damaged), the final order will ultimately be decided upon on Wednesday when I have them in the space and decide how many to include and see how they interact with the gallery surroundings.

 

Experimenting with the order of colours

Sunday 1st September - casts revealed

The moment of truth - taking the casts out of the moulds - is always rather daunting, but exciting too.

Casts removed from their moulds and left out to dry

 

Thankfully, yesterday's fears of the plaster not setting were not necessary. I am pleased with the colours, and they work well with the other casts.

I wrapped the other casts to protect them, and when they were piled on top of each other, the layers really complement each other.

 The casts wrapped and piled on top of each other

  The casts wrapped and piled on top of each other

  The casts wrapped and piled on top of each other

I applied more of the diluted polymer to the casts, doing the backs of the casts that I had added polymer to yesterday, and coating the fronts of the casts that I removed from the moulds earlier today.

  The casts laid out to dry after they had been coated in diluted polymer 

I am slightly concerned that the newest casts are still fairly damp as they were only just removed from their moulds. In an ideal world I would wait until they have fully dried before installing, and I hope that adding the polymer to the surfaces while they are still moist will not be problematic.

Saturday 31st August - casting continues

Since my last batch of casts did not set properly, I have been slightly set back from my intended production schedule.

I spent today producing some new moulds, and then creating another batch of 'object paintings'. Hopefully these will set in time!

 Base layer of plaster in the new moulds

I also coated the surface of the other 'object paintings' that I intend to exhibit with diluted polymer. I wiped this on rather than brushing it on as I don't want any brush marks showing.

 'Object paintings' drying once they have been coated with the polymer dilution

There are a few reasons why I am coating the surface with the diluted polymer:

- the surface develops a slight sheen which then emphasises the texture of the mould
- the surface becomes stronger and does not scratch as easily
- the surface becomes waterproof
- the colours retain their vibrancy and tone (as opposed to fading)
 

'Object paintings' drying once they have been coated with the polymer dilution 

As is usually the case before an exhibition, my studio is rather full, and it is getting more difficult to find places to leave work to dry. I certainly need to be careful when walking around the studio.
 

Tuesday 27th August

Today I tested out different concentrations of polymer : water to cover the casts. Although I have added polymer into the plaster, I want to add an extra layer of diluted polymer so that the works will be stronger, the surface will be protected, the colours will retain their vibrancy, and to enhance the sheen on the surface.

 I tested the different dilutions on this scrap sheet of plaster

The stronger the polymer concentrations, the more it seemed like an added layer, and it also became cracked, so I will use a more diluted version.

 This image shows where the polymer has cracked

I also began a new batch of casts, and these are some of the colours I used.

Colours of plaster mixed today

A happy accident...

Sometimes some of the best work comes from accidents or mistakes. Accidents and mistakes often happen at the worst of times (such as just before an exhibition), and although they are stressful at the time, they can actually help take the work in a new direction and open up more possibilities and ideas.

I came across a problem today as one of my batches of casts has completely dried out and some of the layers have separated from each other.

The top layer separated from the other layers, leaving this kind of frame.

Ongoing work arising from a happy accident!

Ongoing work arising from a happy accident!

Ongoing work arising from a happy accident!

Paintings are often displayed in frames, but in this case the frame / edge becomes the work!

This is something I want to work my with - perhaps creating large scale versions, rather like doors. At the moment I am busy getting ready for the exhibition in Motherwell which I am hanging on Wednesday, and so I will need to store the idea until an appropriate time.