New Designers

I have just got back from a long, busy week in the big smoke.

New Designers is a graduate exhibition in London that showcases the work of 3,500 students working across a variety of disciplines ranging from jewellery, sculpture, ceramics, glass, furniture, textiles and many more.

There was a hectic start to the week whereby we had to unload the van, build the stand and then set up the display but it was all worth it and the University College Falmouth stand looked great.

More photos will follow so wach this space!

Bank holiday sanding

I have been busy joining my sections together, positioning my glass and finishing off the two flat surfaces.

The outside shell have 30% marble and 70% granite in the mix but for the flat surfaces I have only added marble as it is much finer and will give a smoother finish and compliment the outer shell more.

I am pleased with how they have turned out but now have to go through the ‘bagging up’ process and finish by working through the different grits and sanding them to give an ultra smooth, soft finish.

The finish is very important and so sanding them thoroughly is vital!

Progress so far

Here are three of the shells so far. I have now got to fill them to support them further, position the glass and pour the flat layers for each section.

Each piece has a different sized section with a differnt amount of glass showing which relates back to my original concept.

Kathy Dalwood

“I just love that raw quality” says London sculptor Kathy Dalwood, who maanges to make concrete charming.

This tile/frieze collection developed with reference to Baroque sculpture, especially the figurative detail used to adorn the facades of 18th century buildings like the voluptuous garlands of fruit and sculpted swags which frame portals and windows.

Applying a contemporary twist, these motifs are indented into a perfectly flat surface and cast in industrial concrete.

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Knitted concrete

Believe it or not, this is knitted concrete and was created by Hazel Hewitt who is really pushing the boundaries of both concrete and textiles.

She states that:

"I was researching 3D knitting and attended Rachael Matthews 3D knitting course held in Fabrications shop in Broadway Market. It was a great short course learning from someone so enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

I was then able to put the skills learnt during that course to create my own concrete model concepts and ideas. I was busy researching how to use textile and surface techniques with concrete as part of my design and research work during MA Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins”.

Vac form moulds

I am pleased to say that the vac form moulds are working reall well.

I made a total of five moulds so that I can be working on several pieces whilst they are all at different stages.

I have started by firstly doing half a sphere and have then worked out the angle and shape for the top section before moving onto complete that section.

Yasemen Hussein

This is a detail shot of a concrete textured panel by Yasemen Hussein.

Although I have been able to find out very little about her, it states in an article in The London Evening Standard that she lines her moulds with fabric, wallpaper and wood and then adds inlays of resin, leather and vinyl.

Testing, testing

This week I have been doing loads of tests including strength, joining and colour tests.

My tests were successful on a small scale but now I have tried to work on my final pieces which are on a much larger scale, I am having problems.

I am having issues de-moulding from the plaster mould and I have had to chisel the plaster off which is damaging the pieces.

I have tried different sealants and release agents including shellac, PVA, wax release (gel and spray) and have tried these methods on both wet and dry moulds but still haven’t had any luck.

Today, I am going to try and vac form over my original models to give me a acrylic mould which hopefully will work successfully so fingers crossed.

Concrete and glass

I came across these whilst in the library doing some research. They were made by Anna Baroti as part of her graduate work and were titled ‘Herpes’.

It’s really nice to find other artists combining concrete and glass as it seems such a rare combination.

I reall like the piece above as it’s more sculptural and leaves more to the imagination.

Not a good start to the week

Today is not a good day! 

After endless testing I started to make my final pieces but am having major issues with de-moulding them once they have set.

I have spoke to my tutor and sveral of the technical instructors and everything they have suggested hasn’t worked.

I have now called the manufacturer for advice and am awaiting a phone call back so hopefully they’ll have some answers and advice.

This weekend I am cleaning up my glass. I will use the dremel to remove any shards etc... and then work down throught the grits to polish them and finally finsh them off at the end by polishing them with armour oil which gives a lovely finish without being too shiny.

Combining concrete and textiles

I really like the combination of materials here- the soft, fragile textiles in contrast with the raw, harsh concrete.

I find it really exciting putting unusual combinations of materials together and try to combine concrete and knitted textiles within my own work which is why this probably appeals to me.

Tactility Factory was co-founded by a textiles designer and an architect.

On their website they state that:

'Tactility Factory is an innovative company that mainstreams tactility in the built environment. It does this through a range of innovative products and processes that can be used in a variety of contexts.'

Happy happy happy!

I am sooo ridiculously happy... after a failed first attempt my glass pieces came out the kiln yesterday and they have cast beautifully. 

Making the models and moulds the second time around, I made sure that I cleaned the wax models up really well and also the moulds- ensuring that they were perfectly steamed and cleaned to give the best possible cast. Next, I am going to clean up any glass shards on each of the pieces with a dremel before beginning to polish them. At this stage, I am thinking that I will highly polish three of them as they have colour in but I am thinking that I will only part polish the others as it gives a really great finish if you have used clear gaffer and only work partly through the grits

But, come tomorrow that could all change so watch this space!

Combining concrete and silver

These pieces of functional tableware are designed and made by Victoria Kershaw. I really like her interesting and unique combination of materials, in particular, silver and concrete.

In an interview with Kershaw she states that:

"I quite like to challenge people's preconceived ideas of materials, and silver already comes with quite a high value, whereas concrete can be seen as quite cheap. But when you're working with them in a different way or put them together, you get a totally new style of work. Inspiration for my work can come through derelict sites where you find things like concrete and run-down areas, and then working with them in a different way to make them more precious."

Mould making day

Today I have been in uni making refractory moulds.

I managed to get ten moulds made, steamed and in the drying room ready to go in the kiln on Monday morning.

It was a good days work but now it’s time for some work in my technical notebook before a thai curry and a glass of wine!

Model behaviour

Today, I have been making wax models and mould making. From these models, I can then make refractory moulds, before steaming the wax out and putting them into the kiln to cast glass into them. 

I have scaled my original model down as they are only tests and having spent £350 on glass yesterday, smaller is definitely cheaper at this stage.

I lathed the original plaster model yesterday and for the first time I lathed to a profile and also lathed the feed as part of the model. This gives a much more precise, tidier mould and I am really pleased with the results.

Disaster strikes!

I returned from the Easter break excited about removing my work from the kiln only to find that out of 7 moulds, only one worked.
I was devastated to say the least but must remain positive and it’s onwards and upwards- I guess it’s going to be a long bank holiday weekend filled with mould-making in the garage!

Jingle Jangle

Anyone that knows me will know that I just luuurve jingle jangle... bracelets, necklaces, earrings... and the bigger the better too!

I just love this picture with her random collection of jewellery and lots of it... who said less is more?

These are the most recent addition to my collection. They were an Easter pressie from one of my friends and certainly far more appreciated than any egg. There’s a bit of a story behind them and they were hard to track down so every time I put them in no doubt I’ll remember the story behind them and smile... good effort Miss.Gray!

Concrete Course

I was luckily enough to enrol on a course with local artist Carole Vincent who works primarily in concrete.

Carole creates some incredible pieces and is renowned for her ‘secret recipes’ for producing an amazing pallette of colour.

It was an intensive 5 day course in which I learnt valuable information and techniques that has proved crucial to my studies. It was really inspiring to work along side both Carole and the other students on the course and I had a really great time.

Update of ancient crafts

I came across this whilst doing some research and really liked it as it’s simple but effective. It was part of an exhibition that looked at contemporary updates of ancient crafts.

(Lace in Translation, The Design Center at Philadelphia University).

Perfect studio or mini retreat?

In our third year at uni we have to do a compulsory element called ‘Professional Practice’, which is basically researching into possible options for when we graduate.

One of my options was to set-up a studio and whilst browsing the net I came across this...

... it’s been renovated into a tiny Victorian cottage by Sandra Foster but was originally a hunters cabin.

I just love the shabby chic and romantic details and it would be the perfect inspirational retreat!

This is another one that I came across and is a far easier and more realistic option.

Some of my recent works...

This piece is titled ‘Bound By Protection’ and is a combination of concrete, cast glass and textiles and was created specifically for an exhibition at ’The Poly’ in Falmouth. 

Close up shot showing the cast glass encased in concrete which is then supported and protected by the outer layer of knitted textiles.

Although it cannot be seen from this image, one of these is made completely solid whilst the other is hollow. This was an experiment to see which gave the better result and they have been finished by adding knitted textiles.

Welcome to my blog!

Well, I’m new to this and would like to welcome you to my blog.
This is a place where I intend to share ideas, document my working journeys and anything else that might be relevant or of interest to me.