Littlewood

This is what I needed to find! An explanation about this new media I’ve decided to plunge myself into.

Wish me luck.

FRIDAY 15TH MAY

FRIDAY 15TH MAY

A couple of successful pieces of work that came from the last couple of days plaster casting. I had to make the plaster a lot thicker and gave the alginate a draining system to remove any extra water.

ALAN BIRCH TALK - John Ryland’s Library.

I went to the Library along with another student and Jill (tutor) the other week to have a talk with Alan Birch who’s recently just finished his series of modern day saints. He created all of these images by using a print method. I’ve not really used print myself in any previous body of work so it was interesting to see how good they can look, they’re also all hand coloured. 

CASTS.

My progress up to now from my casted hands.

After using a few different alginates from different suppliers, I’ve found one that works well for me and gives me the best results as it comes away from the plaster a lot easier as it is lighter in weight. However I am struggling with getting the full hand out of the mould without breaking the finger, I’m not 100% sure whether it’s because the alginate holds water, so doesn’t allow the plaster to fully set, or I’m just putting to much water into the plaster mix. I’m going to do another set over the next couple of days as I’m currently working up to the deadline of the John Rylands library which is 4th June, however I have to hand in for University on Friday. 

Our Feet are Heavy, Our Burden is Light

The dimly lit room contained 3786 small stones bound by red twine that surrounded a nine-foot diameter black pool filled with water.  Encircling the walls of the perimeter were hollow plaster casts of 48 pairs of holding hands and 2 single outstretched hands.  Ten round lamps hung in an ellipse above the pool and 2 sets of concrete feet stood at its edge on the stones.  Every three minutes, the silence of the room gave way to the quiet sound of a heartbeat that gradually sped up, followed by a small child's laughter.  As the laughter grew silent, the formerly still water in the pool would stir for several seconds, then become still again in the absolute silence of the room.