22.10.20 - 3D Workshop and Creating Larger Embellished Beetle

Today I de-moulded my concrete objects and I think the flower worked best. This might be because I put a thicker layer of the concrete and water coat in the flower mould, whereas on the snail there are lots of areas where the sand shows through and only the top of the shell is very smooth because the initial coat must have run down to the bottom of the mould. 

 

I made some more plaster versions and compared to the concrete, they look much brighter in colour and have a less bumpy texture, so I prefer those ones, but if i wanted to make a piece to go outside I would use concrete because it would last longer against the weather.

While these set, I tried more vacuum forming, first using the clay stars. This was unsuccessful in two ways: one, the lever was not pushed right down so the objects were not high enough for the plastic to fully reach them; two, the clay did not tolerate the heat and pressure and actually shattered! I still got the rough star shapes but I don't think they will be useful for my project. 

For my next attempt I took some scrap off-cuts of plastic that were completely flat and these worked really well. The plastic went really smoothly over the items and gave nice defined edges, and the shapes have a funky abstract appearance that I like. The star shape could be useful if I want to make some replacement stars as I can use it as a mould.

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In this picture, I tried to organise my pink objects by their status. At one end I put cheap looking objects made from low quality materials like plastic which have little status. I placed my skeleton leaves in the middle because I think they are quite neutral , but they are really delicate so for me that elevates them a bit, and at the high end I put buttons, necklace charms and a brooch - these have highly decorative values as they accessorise our clothes and enhance their appearance. I think combining all of these items in one piece will make quite an odd but intriguing thing for the eyes to explore; I think there will be a sense of lightheartedness that will be really endearing and create positive reactions.

I got a block of air dry clay and started carving out the general shape of the stag beetle, and was able to put more detail in than the smaller ones, but kept in mind that pressing things into it would distort the shape slightly and cover up any textural details. I pressed the larger objects in first so that I could work around them with the smaller ones and it started to transform into something really charming compared to the original form. I was unable to press the skeleton leaves into the clay but I could incorporate them another way, for instance hanging them up with the smaller figures to add some diversity.

To make thicker legs, I decided to plait together three strands of string and again tie knots at the end for feet, and I think this has worked because the thickness looks proportional and the plaits have a feminine and childlike quality which suits the rest of the piece.

I really like these close up photographs because there are so many different objects in each frame and they create such a bizarre texture, plus I find the colours really appealing aesthetically.