I am feeling quite unsure of what I want to make in unit X so in order to trigger some ideas I started drawing. I know that in order to contextualise my work I need to think about how it could be seen in everyday life, where it might belong in the home.
By the end of S&R I had started to feel that my project had become slightly rigid. Of course this is no surprise because when so many hours are spent on one project it's likely to become slightly dull to the maker. However, this goes against the motivation behind my project so I want to find a way to reintroduce play into my project. In order to do this I thought I could start being spontaneous in the hotshop again. I tried using glass colour to trail and draw on the glass and I really liked the marks I made. Unfortunately, it cracked in the annealer and once it came out, the blue started cracking off. Perhaps due to the temperature difference when applied so it didn't form a strong connection. I was also trying out using different colours, I don't really think this colour, gold topaz, is helpful in me creating a playful visual language. I won't be using it again.
I decided to try out making bubbles that could be used as an alternative to the lenses that I cold worked into my pieces earlier on in the year. I wanted to try to find an alternative way to encourage the viewer to visually play with the pieces. The lenses I have done previously were really effective but very tiresome to make. If the process is tedious to the maker, this playful visual language I have been developing is lost. In order to make these, between gathers I poked holes into the glass so that when taking a second gather, the air gets stuck inside.
Repeating putting intentional bubbles into a piece with colour and increasing in size, getting more comfortable blowing bigger objects.
Although this process is much more playful than the coldworking the lenses, when making bigger objects, the bubbles blow out too big and the two layers of glass start to stick to each other. This is not the level of refinement I am looking for so I won't be doing this again.
At this point I was feeling a little lost so I began drawing again. I knew I wanted to make a series of vases because these could be smaller than my totems, therefore executed to a higher standard, see below.
I was thinking about different ways that I can play with the viewers perception of the pieces and turn these vases into more of an installation and playful experience for a viewer. I thought back to this photo I took in S+R (left). I wanted to find a way to encourage the viewer to look through something and see this distorted image. There is something inherently playful about the way that the image is warped through the glass, it reminds me of the mirrors that you would find at fun fairs. I also wanted to make something that could elevate this idea of distracting from the formality of the everyday and I started to think of a mobile. This plays into the motivation behind my work and I thought would be a nod to the nostalgic and childlike side to the project. The idea is that the mobile would sit in front of the pieces and act as a viewpoint to view the collection from.
With this in mind, I wanted to make something that could elevate this idea of distracting from the formality of the everyday, something not necessarily functional but something that could belong in the home. This lead me to start thinking about a mobile. This plays into the motivation behind my work and a nod to the nostalgic and childlike side to the project. The idea is that the mobile would sit in front of the pieces and act as a viewpoint to view the collection from.
Development of the mobile. There are many ways I could design and make this, I thought about trying to add small extruded craic pieces into the glass bubbles, having it standing off the floor and hanging like washing on a washing line (inspired by a scene in Pippi Longstocking when she's hanging out her washing in the rain). I think this form is something that could be really played with in my future practice but for now, I want to keep it simple. It is supposed to act as a viewpoint so I don't want it to distract from the pieces behind.
Exploring different ways to use the compressed air and porcelain. I tried using a bigger extrusion but it was too big, it ended up looking too sloppy, this is something I want to try in the future with drier slip and a smaller extrusion nozzle. Another thing I tried was doing the occasional bigger loop. I like this because it brings more playfulness into the pieces but it also looks accidental so i'm not sure i'll do it again.
Another test, I liked the combination of the blue and yellow but I didn't melt the yellow into the piece enough so it doesn't look smooth.
Playing with what I have made. Trying out different combinations.
This is when I started using colour rod to add contrasting colours to the glass. This was another way of bringing more colour into the pieces and I felt I could really play with using clashing colours because it was only a small amount. I have always found there to be something playful and a bit mischievous about clashing colours.
Testing out different forms, using my drawings as inspiration. I liked the idea of making taller pieces but decided that in combination with the ceramics, the bubble form that I have been using so far in s&r create a better balance between the two pieces.
Playing with using gradients in the hotshop again. Exploring using intentional bubbles and colour additions.
Informed by the time I had spent experimenting in the workshop, I started drawing again to design my final vases, I knew that these designs would change throughout the making process but I find it helpful to have an idea of what I want to make and then tweak it as I make it.
Making porcelain bases for glass vases. I have been using gradients in my glass work all year but something I wanted to try out was putting gradients into the porcelain components. I made this by starting off with a strong saturation of stain and gradually added more and more porcelain. I found that as long as you could see the gradient in the tube, there would be a gradient in the piece.
Bisqued porcelian components for vases. Grinding the top and bottom in order to make sure they sit flush with the glass vases.
Practice Curation
One of the narratives running through my work is playing with the perceived. Therefore, I thought it could be interesting to have my pieces displayed on a mirror. The first two photos (above) was my practice at home (the pieces are from last year) and I thought it worked really well, it was interesting how you couldn't tell where the piece finished and the reflection began. However, after some negative feedback in the crit I realised that this vision did not translate into what I displayed at uni. The pieces were on a very small shelf and the mirror itself was too small too, this visually cheapened the work I had displayed. I still like the concept of the mirror for the degree show but this is something I will have to figure out.
Making the glass clouds for the mobile. In order for the mobile to balance properly, I had to make them in pairs of a similar size so that the weight would be evenly distributed.
The beginnings of my mobile. I was quite wary to start making the structure of the mobile because I was intimidated at the idea of learning a whole new discipline this late on in my degree but once I got started and learned the basics I was happy that I had taken the jump to develop some new skills.
However, due to the fact I have very little experience in metal, I wanted to make sure that I made this using a simple method so that I could execute it to a refined standard. I also wanted the mobile to be very delicate. I chose to use some thick brass wire for the horizontal parts of the structure, I flattened them so that I could drill small holes into them and push through some smaller wire which I then heated up the ends of once connected so that it would ball up and be joined to the pieces above but flexible.
Finishing my mobile. As the piece got bigger and bigger it git harder and harder to manage, trying to balance it all so that it would sit in the right place when I was melting the wire and fitting it into the pickle was quite a struggle. I decided to give it a brushed finish so used wet and dry and wire wool to polish. In order to make sure the piece was refined I filled every edge. I added a wet oil to keep it from tarnishing in the week before it is marked. I was thinking about using a lacquer but because of the moving joins if i added anything that would dry hard, gradually it would start to flake away at the joins. This also means that I'll be able to re-polish before the degree show and ND.
Development and refinement of the hooks, adding this extra bend in the hook makes the piece more stable when holding the glass and also makes the piece look more intentional and finished.
Finished Mobile.
I am pleased with the way the mobiles and the vases come together. The juxtaposition of the delicacy and simplicity of the mobile and the flamboyant, playful vases encompasses my approach to this project.
As I have said previously, I wanted to see how delicacy, playfulness, order and chaos can come together to create a sense of lightness. I feel that this body of work is an accurate reflection of this thought process. However, I want this to be a considered collection and at the moment, to me, it doesn't feel that way. I am happy with the blue and orange vases, they are complete. But having two vases the same orange colour feels a little uninspired and the pink gradient glass with the lenses doesn't have the same sense of character as the others do. I think my practice has evolved away from the lenses. Therefore I will remake the glass components for both the green and pink bases.
Refining my final forms and colours through the process of designing. Using sketching to find a balance in colour and form. Because the porcelain components are made and fired before the glass is blown, I design each piece in reaction to each component. There is always an initial idea but sometimes pieces come out slightly different in colour r shape than I had first imagined. This exhibits my process led methodology.
Blowing the pink and red vase. I was much happier with this piece compared to the lighter pink vase with lenses.
Blowing a cream and orange vase for the green porcelain base. The colours ended up being a little off with this one, the cream was too white when next to the porcelain and the orange came out almost neon, I sandblasted the orange bits in the hope that it would mute the colour but it didn't really work and I didn't like the effect of the sandblasted glass.
Making a tool to use to record my video. For the video I wanted to film it as if it was filmed through one of the borosilicate glass clouds that I have been making in order to invite the viewer to see my work through this lense and play with the percieved even further.
These are the first few shots I filmed using the lense I had lampworked as an instrument for play and a tool to play with the perceived. I was trying to portray a feeling of playfulness and I think I kind of did that but it felt like a process video rather than a context video. I started to think about how I could play with the objects I had made rather than the materials I used to make them.
I wanted to make something quite immersive. I saw this as an opportunity to play with the objects I have made and explore colour. I was inspired by an exhibition by Pippilotti Rist, Open My glade that I saw a few years ago in at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark and left feeling utterly inspired. Her work is bizzare and beautiful, it didn't make any sense but it equally didn't feel pointless, it was visceral. I can't find any original footage but I've found some videos online so that you can get a feeling of the videos in the exhibition. Click here.
I seemingly managed to capture the exact feeling that I have been trying to portray all year, the colours are bright and its all a bit silly but theres also something quite charming about it. However, CJ quite rightly pointed out that the dark background was off putting. I needed to make it again with a white background.
However, recreating this clip proved to be more difficult than imagined. I tried to re record it many times and it didn't have the same light and colour quality.
Final Film
I am happy with the final video, I feel that I portrayed the context of my project whilst also making a new piece of work, rather than a video explaining what I have done.
Final Collection
