Hi guys! Please check out my new blog for the final year of my Fine Art with Sculpture BA!
http://www.noelgasmchi3rd.wordpress.com
Thanks, enjoy! 😀
Ceramics- Scaling up
In order to start producing my larger work in Clay I needed a template first, I scaled it up previously by drawing larger lines around the original (shown in Foam work-previous post), but this didn’t work very well- it suddenly came to me to try and use a projector! I placed the paper on the screen and adjusted the size, then drew round of the projected shadow.
Doing this activity also made me think I could use a Projector in order to display some of my smaller works!
The images of this are shown below:
Projector
Projected image
Close up
Drawn line
Finished drawn line
Cut out plus scale
Cutting up for kiln
Once the template was made I then had to measure the inside of our Kiln at the University and cut the stencil down accordingly. Then came the clay work:
Rolling
Drawing round stencil
cling filmed work
Different shape
Cut out
Holes
Marking on the side
Some together….
Drying out on the shelf
Each section took a while to make as it’s hard to roll large slabs of clay out by hand. On the side of each I marked a number and an arrow to show me which section is which and which way up each one goes. To make each of the holes I pushed a small circular tool into both sides of the clay and then made each one look more presentable using a paint brush and clay slip. Once I had waited for each piece to dry out a bit this happened to my largest section:
close up crack
This crack most likely happened due to the size of the work, as the Buff Clay dries out it shrinks. I didn’t fix this large crack as I ran out of time for this project and to fix such a large crack in slab Clay would be very difficult.
Now I have finished scaling up the work, I’m currently waiting for the last piece to be fired. I will then put each tile together using metal wire and Pliers,for now here are all the pieces so far laid together.
Two pieces broke off of two sections that had been fired. I just glued them back together as I do not intend to glaze this piece of work. Two sections also broke off from the large section that’s still drying out before it can be fired. I will have to fire the three separate pieces and glue them back together afterwards. It’s also interesting to see how much more the larger piece has warped in comparison to the smaller sections. A lucky tip for next time I scale up.
Once the final section has been fired I will join them all together. Please stay posted.
Ceramics-preparing to scale up
Hello all, to start off with here are the fired pieces of work from my last set of experimentation:
Now that each piece is fired I can take the joint testing works and put them together, as shown:
Wiring the holes
the joined piece
gaps
gaps
gaps
Looped piece with sticks
front view
After putting these pieces together I have realised that I really like using the holes and wire; the duality of two materials works really well in my opinion and the gaps in between bring another angle into this work. I think the sticks and loops haven’t worked very well, the pieces aren’t joined rigidly enough.
I also started making another joint testing piece using holes in the width and pegs to place into the holes, as shown:
Once I made this I then waited for it to dry out and be fired. Here is the fired version:
Fired tiles
trying to join them
rolled paper pin
I feel that the shrinkage between tiles for this tester wasn’t too bad, however all of the holes poked in the sides were slightly different shapes and sizes due to shrinkage. I tried to make ‘pins’ to fit into each hole by rolling up small lengths of paper and wedging them into each set of holes. However the paper wasn’t a strong enough medium to hold the weight of both tiles. Therefore, at least for now I will dismiss this method of joining as it’s too difficult to make ‘pins’ that fit and hold the tiles.
Next I wanted to figure out roughly what shape and size I want my scaled up piece to be so I made two foam templates to have a play with the size and form. I did this by sewing a length of metal wire into the base of the foam and bending it loosely into different shapes. The pictures of this experimentation are shown below:
I decided that I like the larger sized cut out and I like form 5 the most which resembles a zigzag shape. I decided to try and make this shape as it will be easier to make than a curved piece as I can make each section flat but introduce the zigzag shape by the way I join each tile with the metal wire.
From here I will start making this larger piece of work.
Ceramics- experimentation continued….
Although I have made a few different forms of 3D shadow casts I want to keep experimenting with forms so that I know the final forms I choose will be the right ones to use. I have made these pieces in the same way as the others; using slab clay, cross hatching sections together etc….
Paper cut out
Drawn line
Removing excess clay
Cut out shape
Curved form
Top view
This is a far smaller version of a full body shadow that I drew from one of my models. With this small piece I wanted to experiment with the curve of the body shape.
Here are a mixture of other bodily forms, shown below:
Ear
curved
hand
cut out hand
Upper fingers
joining
all attached
Human figure in ‘s’ shape
With this piece I wanted to see the effect that layering up three identical layers (of different thicknesses) on each other but at an angle and with curves added in on the top.
I also wanted to explore the ways that one of my fired compilations could be displayed, I made each layer with a few holes poked through so I could experiment with hanging them but unfortunately I didn’t make the holes big enough and as the clay shrunk in the kiln they did not poke all the way through. I tried to poke a needle through them but it was no use…..
Holes on the front
No holes on the back
Poking through
Squashy pads
Layering pads up (3)
Placing on top layer
Fully layered
gaps
gaps
gaps
gaps
I decided instead to place small pieces of foam in-between each layer to see if the ‘contour’ look had any merit with gaps in-between. I positioned the foam pieces so that each gap was larger than the last in order to see which gap size was best suited. Through doing this you can see that each layer isn’t perfectly flat and I think that perhaps it looks a little too scruffy.
Now that I have completed some further experimentation I think I am confident in which forms I want to portray on a larger scale. Next is figuring out how to scale a piece of work up……
University of Chichester
Hello all, this is a post about my own experience of life at Chichester Uni and the course I’m on.
I am currently doing an Undergraduate degree in Fine Art with Sculpture. I had chosen to specialize in Sculpture before I started at this uni as this is my preferred area of practice. The great thing about this course is that you can flick between mediums. If you’re doing general Fine Art you don’t necessarily need to classify yourself as just one thing e.g. “I’m a painter, sculptor, textiles artist”. In the first year of the degree the work you’re set is quite directed to bring you up to scratch in terms of your physical practice but also so you’re mentally capable of understanding your own art practice, why people work in the way that they do, what being an artist means and also how to read others work and understand it in more depth. In the second and third year it’s much more student lead work- you can expand your own practice from that point onwards. They allow you to do a lot of physical work as you only get set one piece of written work (presentations and essays) per semester, this is far less than you will find on other Art courses so if you’re not keen on written work this might be the course for you!
As you may or may not know this is known as a teaching and Sports university, there are courses in other things too such as Theatre, Music etc. The great thing about being at a Sports uni is the societies, there are tonnes of sports societies that run regularly here e.g. I’m a member of the Adventure Sports society- I go Climbing in the on campus bouldering area, Kayaking sessions are available, also surfing, windsurfing and occasionally other things. This is just one society!
In terms of Chichester as a place to live I would say it’s quite a quiet place as it’s not a very big city, however there are still things to do here-you won’t get bored! There are loads of Pubs and Restaurants in the town centre. There’s also a Bowling Ally, Cinema, Gyms and a fair few Art galleries.
White Walls Gallery
Pallant House Gallery
The Novium Museum
The Oxmarket Gallery
The Cathedral is also a great place to visit, it’s full of Holy Art works, beautiful stained Glass windows, funny features and it has a huge garden section behind it. Here are a few photos:
Chichester Cathedral
Facial feature
Bishop drain pipe
Stained-glass window
Stained-glass window
Tower view
Stained-glass window
Stained glass window
Silent prayer area
Sculpture
Tower view
Chichester is great because you can find any landscape pretty easily, town center is great for shops and old buildings, you’re a short walk away from the Canal and also some lake systems with magnificent wildlife variation. Brighton and London are a short trip on the train-great for the odd day out! There are also several beaches just a short bus or train ride away e.g. West Witterings beach, Bognor Regis, Portsmouth and Southsea etc……
Bognor Regis beach
Water spray
Ivy Lake
Swans
Lake
Local wildlife
The rooms in Halls of residence are really decent too! If you put this uni as your top choice on your UCAS form the uni will guarantee you a place in Halls. Here’s a photo of my bedroom from first year (Mainline):
Door, desk, mirror
Bed, chest of draws and wardrobe
Things I would have liked to have known before starting here:
- The housing market is expensive here
- It’s a quiet area- if you like the big city I would go somewhere else
- The Campus is small but it’s easier to meet people when there’s fewer people
- The sports facilities are fantastic!
- It’s really easy to book tutorials if you need help- in London Universities tutorials are far more over-subscribed.
- There are no nightclubs in Chichester- there are loads of pubs though!
- The uni runs shuttle buses at night so if you go to the SU (Student Union) you can get home easily and safely
- The Students Union is really cheap and it runs loads of themed nights per week (Evolve Mondays, WISHIE Wednesdays, karaoke nights etc)
- The crime rate in Chichester is really low.
- There’s a really great level of student support e.g. if you have learning or mental health difficulties.
I hope this has helped if you were considering coming to Chichester University.
Studio- Fired Clay
The Clay pieces I made from Buff Clay in myfirst post have been fired! Here they are:
Curled piece
curled head
Curled hand
Curled hand
Curled hand
Separate hands (to be hung)
Layered hand
Contour head
Contour head
Contour head
Staggered head
Staggered head
Staggered heads
Front view
The images shown below are of the blended hand that has finally been fired, although it had cracked considerably. I have learned that I should have removed some of the clay from the center of each layer so it could have dried out more easily and therefore would have fired properly- although I like the way it looks cracked.
Fired hand
upper cracked layer
Close up
Studio- Photography
In order to continue my ceramic work I now need to do some more shadow photography. I wanted to try and use as many different models as possible to get a real range of body shapes.
Below are the photos I took, some of which I drew also.
Body lengths and main bulk:
Hands and feet:
Full body:
Once I had done all of the photography I laid all the drawings onto the floor and then sorted them into piles, far left is ones I definitely want to use, the middle is the maybe and the right is the no pile.
floor layout
piles
Then I cut out definitely pile which I will use in my Ceramics works soon. Here are the cut outs:
Da daaaaa!
Studio- 3D transcription experimentation
Hello all, just to recap this is a post of my experimentation work following on from a previous post on my old blog (www.noelgasmart2.wordpress.com). I have previously drawn round the edges of peoples shadows and I am now attempting to transcribe these 2D drawings into a sculptural form. This experimentation is shown below.
At first I tried to make a 3D object using thin metal galvanized wire, I felt that this went badly, although it gave me an idea of what to try next.
First outline/layer
Both layers joined
covered in string
I attempted to make two wire layers of outlines of shadow drawings- then I thought I could do the same in Clay to make it appear as contours. This is shown below:
Stage 1: Traditional style contours
I cut out the drawings and took photos of them and printed them out smaller. I then placed the small cut out onto the rolled clay and cut out each layer making each one smaller and smaller and therefore adding in new layers of distortion. I then joined each layer by cross hatching both sides and painting slip onto them, then placing the layers together and wiggling them so the grooves sit together. I then touched it up with a bit of slip.
I quite liked the visual effect this produced and I’m thinking of making more.
Stage 2: Separate layers
I made layers in the same way as above but I chose to keep each layer separate so that when fired I can experiment with the display of them. I also placed small holes in each layer so I could hang them if need be. The process I went through to make these is shown below:
Clay
Hand cut out
original cut out hand
drawing second layer
second layer
cutting out third layer
cutting out fourth layer
All layers displayed together
Stage 3: Curly cut outs
I wondered what both of these shapes would look like if they were entirely rolled up, so I made one of each and rolled them, as shown.
drawn hand
original cut out hand
Cut out head
Rolled hand
rolled hand
Rolled head
Rolled head
Rolled head
Rolled head
I wasn’t that keen on how the rolled head looked but I thought the rolled hand looked really interesting; you can imagine the hand coming alive and rolling itself into that form!
Stage 4: Blended contour
Next I wanted to try a contoured piece like the first one shown, but with the edges blended in so it didn’t look as staggered. This process is shown below:
Drawing the hands
drawing round
cutting out
cross hatch and slip joining
layers joined together
Side angle
blending with my thumb
side view
blending further
I really liked this outcome, I asked a few people their opinions and they said this one seems a lot more fleshy and creepy than the others. I think if I was to pursue this method of making I would like to try a mixture of body shapes using this technique and the first perhaps.
Stage 5: CurvingÂ
Once I had made all of these contoured pieces I suddenly realised how generally flat they are so I thought I would make each layer separately again but add slightly more shape to them and also make them so they will stand up. In order to do this I would have to cut each layer slightly differently as one side would have to be straight in order to stand. This is shown below:
Drawing/cutting out
First layer
Back view
Drawing second layer
Drawing third layer
Placing all four together
Top view
Front view
Side view
Side view
5th layer
all 5
all 5 front
Once I had made this five piece work I thought it would look great on a huge scale. I also like the fact that each angle gives you a different idea about what the work represents/is about.
After a few days of my first Clay piece drying out I decided to use it as a mould for an idea I had. I had seen previously someone heating up some synthetic material draped over an upside down bowl with a heat gun; the material melted and became solid and rigid once it had cooled. I wanted to try this same process using my clay work as a mould rather than a bowl, this is shown here.
Dried clay mould
synthetic canvas
melted material N.o. 1
comparison
N.o. 2
burnt holes
extractor fan set up
N.o. 3
N.o. 4
N.o. 5
burnt holes
N.o. 6
I tried this process with as many different samples of synthetic material possible but unfortunately none of them quite captured the level of detail that I was after. Perhaps I need a specific type of fabric or perhaps the mould was too complicated for this process.
I then thought about contouring using thick corrogated cardboard instead of Clay, afterall its a lot cheaper and less labour intensive.
Drawing the hand
cut out hand
I tried cutting out the hand with a knife but I found it too difficult to cut it out in a precise and professional way. Therefore I’m not going to continue with this material.
Now I’ve tried these methods of experimentation I think I would like to continue with some of the methods I have used in Clay but on a larger scale and with a wider range of drawings- this means I will have to pull more models in!
Please stay posted….. ta!
Noelgasm Chichester Fine Art 