Studio Project Exhibition at Market Gallery

This morning I made a few adjustments to the lighting in the exhibition, so as to ensure that all areas of the gallery is lit and to minimise any light shining directly into the viewers eye as they look at a work. I also tidied up the cables so that people would not trip over them. I was concerned that some people at the opening were not going into certain areas of the gallery because they needed to walk over lighting wires, and so tried to prevent this by moving the wires.

I like the dramatic effect that the lighting creates with it being from the floor as opposed to from above. It matches the angular nature of the sculptures, and makes for some interesting shadows.

I also reassembled the large birch plywood structure so that it stands, using strong wood contact adhesive to secure the two pieces together. I will monitor whether this proves to be an effective solution.

I was delighted that the exhibition was well attended on the first day of it being open, and pleased that people are enjoying the work.

I had a wonderful conversation with Jenny Brownrigg, the Exhibitions Director at Glasgow School of Art, who enjoyed being surprised by discovering more pieces in unusual places the longer that she spent in the space.

I told her that I was hoping to arrange for a kind of 'in conversation' event to be held whilst the exhibition is on. I would like the opportunity to talk with a selected group of artists about some fundamental elements that the exhibition raises such as materiality and colour. I am in discussions with the Market Gallery committee about making this happen, and will keep you posted.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 25

Today I had a session of experimental screenprinting with Roos and Nikki.

I wanted to use stencils and play with blending colours.

 

The initial test pieces on sugar paper were successful, and I tried printing onto a scrap piece of the birch plywood, which also worked well.

I then made a stencil to use on one of the large panels of birch plywood, and we used the big screen and squeegee to create the print.

I poured a line of clear base onto the screen along with the coloured inks because we wanted there to be enough fluid to allow the squeegee to travel over the screen easily.

Unfortunately we had a few problems, and I am not happy with the print made onto the birch plywood. I think the shape looks too small and polite, and the colours have not blended well. Also, the edges of the stencil are not crisp.

But, I am delighted with the image that was printed onto the paper surrounding the triangular cut-out.

The areas on the screen where the clear base was poured has acted as a barrier to the ink, and therefore created a fascinating stop-out pattern.

I think that this paper which was around he stencil is very interesting, and I intend to use this within the exhibition.

 I am keen to have at least one of the birch plywood panels with a screenprinted stencil, and am going to print over the image already printed onto the board. The ink that I made today was fairly transparent, so I am going to make it much more opaque tomorrow so that it covers the present image.

Market Gallery Residency - Day 20

Yesterday Liz asked whether I have tried using silicone paper to line my moulds, to which the answer is no. She recommended a silicon paper from Lakeland Plastics which she uses when she is baking. It is non-stick and can be used over and over again, and put in the dishwasher! I was rather overwhelmed at the range of non-stick sheets that are being sold at Lakeland Plastics, and after asking some advice, I bought a couple of non-stick materials to test out.

I rolled a couple of small cones from the two materials, and filled them to create solid cones. The 'non-stick baking parchment' with a lining of silicone was too thin and flimsy to hold its shape when filled, but I may be able to use this to wrap around solid forms such as the inside of a pipe.

The 'magic non-stick liner' was able to keep it's shape and was thicker and easier to form a cone with. The plaster was repelled by the surface, and so it would not be able to create a hollow form, but the plaster did set after time, and so could be used to create solid forms. I will see tomorrow if the plaster peels easily off the surface, and if this is the case, I may well be going back to the shop to see if they have large rolls of the material!

I am trying to create a form that has a solid single colour on the outside, but layers of colours on the inside. I want for the viewer to be surprised when they see inside. In order to be able to see the layers, the form will need to be bored into, and so I set up an experiment today whereby I inserted a cone wrapped in 'non-stick baking parchment' into the centre of the form. I had coated the outside of the would with a single colour of plaster, and will now fill around the outside of the cone with layers of coloured plaster.

I have been trying to create more 'polo' sculptures, but am finding this difficult as the plaster is not coming out of the mould easily, and in the process of trying to get the plaster out of the mould, the cast often breaks.

                                                                                                                                                
After my recent trip to Lakeland Plastics, I wonder whether a cake tin would be a good thing to use as a mould. I could line the cake tin with the baking parchment that I bought today.     

I added some more layers to the 'v-shaped' cardboard mould.                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                               
I am thinking of using the pipes as props within the exhibition, and started to pour layers of plaster around the edge of the pipe to create dribbles or spillages down the sides of the mould.                                                                                                

I worked on the grey outside of the corner cast, but am finding that each time I rotate the mould to cover another surface, the grey begins to peel off the other sides.

My experiment yesterday with adding the strengthening fabric to the sheet of plaster was very effective at adding strength. The cast could be removed from the mould without any breaking off, and the sheet is strong enough to be propped up against the wall.

I added a layer of the strengthening fabric to the breezeblock shaped casts from yesterday.

I am excited about the potential of using the strengthening fabric to create hanging sheets and also large sheets that stand up.