Monday 01/07/19

• Did some more work on my aluminium pieces in the morning, but decided to leave them for now, to get my space ready as much as possible
• I’m not sure if it will be doable to finish them in time, as the aluminium has proven much more difficult to work with than the bronze- most of the bones have holes where they shouldn’t where the metal shrunk in the mould, there are feathered bits and lumps where there shouldn’t be any and I’m having to work entirely with hand tools
• I spoke to Ed about it, and he has offered to bring his dremel in tomorrow, so I may tackle them again once I have everything else set up

 

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• The rest of my day was spent prepping and installing, with Janet helping me sweep the space before I mopped it
• I tested out my objects on the blank table (forgot to take a pic) and I have decided on:

– the bronzes- most people will not get to touch bronze sculptures in galleries, and they have a weight to them that is really pleasing to hold

– ceramics- the familiarity of ceramic dishware, but the precious nature of them being sculptures is an interesting dynamic

– pink silicone- it’s a really fun material to play with and handle, and adds a splash of colour

– glass wax- there is something both familiar and unfamiliar about this material that I find really fascinating, and I think the audience will too

– plastic 3D prints- plastic is a familiar material to us all, but these 3D prints are made with tech that not many of us get the chance to use currently, and I feel that is an interesting dynamic

• When I laid these all out on the table I realised it didn’t leave enough room for the screen, so I have reverted to an earlier plan of the installation, with the Mac, keyboard, and mouse on top of two plinths, that I painted white today, against the back wall.
• This also solves the health and safety issue of the Mac wire, as the plug socket is high up on the wall next to the Mac
• I also filled the holes on my table and repainted it white today, before using a projector and my pre-made vector file of the river to draw the outlines of the river onto the table, before painting it blue
• (Had to get the paint mixed specially in the DIY store today)

 

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Tuesday 02/07/19

• touched up the paint on the table a little bit, and got it up onto the trestle legs
• worked some more on the aluminium pieces, but the dremel bit got instantly clogged with the aluminium, so I had to work with the files and saw again- they still aren’t up to my standards, but I have spent 3 days working on them and don’t have the time or willpower to finish them for the show, so they will not be featured
• It’s a shame that I wasn’t able to get them finished to the standard I wanted, but I would prefer not to put them in, rather than put them in half finished- especially given the high standard that I have finished my other objects to
• Close up photos of the bits that need fixing below

 

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• Downloaded Meshmixer onto the Mac I will be using in the exhibition today, and also made a 2 minute video demonstrating the basics of using Meshmixer- how to rotate the 3D model, how to zoom in and out, and some of the tools you can use on the programme and what they do- added below

• This is on the Mac in my room, on the desktop, alongside the bone file, which will be open on Meshmixer onscreen for the audience to play with
• All I need to do tomorrow is lay out my objects on the table top, and maybe try to find a cleaner keyboard and mouse for the Mac as the ones I have are very grubby and dirty looking- Jonathan is sorting out the stools for me
• I also painted the edges of the table white today, so that it looks more professional than the raw mdf

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• Picked up the other two big bone 3D prints today but they ran out of filament half way through printing, so I have two half prints
• It’s kind of interesting that you can see the internal structure- they aren’t solid, instead they are made up of a similar structure to the external supports, but more solid and closer together, to create a stronger structure

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Wednesday 03/07/19

• I have used the half finished big bone 3D prints to prop open the windows in my space- it’s very small and gets very stuffy, so if I want the audience to actually sit and interact with my work for any length of time the windows definitely need to be open!
• The objects are laid out on the table, and as I have left the aluminum pieces out I do not need to put gloves on the table
• Jonathan tracked down a cleaner mouse and keyboard for me, which I have set up in the space, and I have made the 3D bone model on Meshmixer full screen to encourage the audience to play with it, I just need the stools which Jonathan is tracking down, so otherwise my space is ready!