Materials « Everything is Not Black and White

Archive for the ‘Materials’ Category

Celebration 50th Birthday Piece In Progress

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Sometimes when I begin a project I make a layout in Flash. By making symbols for each letter and number I can quickly compose a layout while preventing errors in the code.

Vertical Layout 05111963

Horizontal Layout 05112013

Horizontal 2013 Over Vertical 1963

Layout With Dated Pennies

The piece is composed of wool, cotton, pennies, hardware cloth, burlap, and starch.

Piece in Wool

The knotted piece connects two pennies (1963 and 2013) is to be hung next to the woven piece. There is a sentiment in Morse Code substituting knots for dots, dashes, and spacers. Grey knots represent dots, cream knots represent dashes, and rust knots are used as spacers between letters of words and larger spaces between words.

Detail 1963 and 2013 Pennies

Detail of component to hang next to woven piece.

The next part of the process is to construct a cedar box/frame. The woven piece will probably be attached with brads. I haven’t decided on the hanger for the knotted component.

Posted in Art, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework | No Comments »

Celebration–A Mixed Media Piece

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

I am in the process of completing a personal project to celebrate the 40th birthday of a family member. I saw an image of nautical flags used for code and liked the idea of each flag representing a letter of the alphabet. I decided to make my own alphabet of stitched pieces for each letter of the alphabet, numbers from 0 to 9, and two types of spacers. I have included images of the actual stitched blocks that I used for this project. The blocks are composed of a piece of 1/4″ hardware cloth, a piece of starched burlap, and cotton embroidery floss.

I attached the blocks vertically together with jump rings just to get a notion of how they would look. Each block is approximately 1.5″ x 1.75″ and the spacers are .75″ and .5″ in height which makes the pieces if stitched together approximately 1.5″ wide and 63″ in height.

Detail

While the jump rings are a visual distraction, I do like the the vertical arrangement. When I decide for sure, I will build a narrow cedar box/frame to house the blocks. Currently the plan is to wax the blocks and attach them to the inside of the box with brads.

Block Number 0

Block Number 1

Block Number 2

Block Number 3

Block Number 4

Block Number 7

Block Number 9

Block Letter A

Block Letter B

Block Letter C

Block Letter D

Block Letter E

Block Letter H

Block Letter I

Block Letter L

Block Letter O

Block Letter R

Block Letter S

Block Letter T

Spacer 1

Spacer 2

Posted in Art, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, Processes | No Comments »

Unexpected Connections To The Past

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

Tim and I went to grad school at WSU in Pullman. Friday He rang me to say he was on his way to Pullman. One of his former students was having their thesis show. We caught up and reminisced. I can’t believe that it has been 20 years since I had my thesis show.

On Saturday I received a letter and the following newspaper clipping from Mark, my friend from my days at Ohio State. He saw the article and remembered how excited I would get whenever I opened a kiln to see what the kiln gods gave me.

Soda-Fired Article

Hearing from Tim, reading Mark’s letter, and seeing Dustin Harris’ soda-fired piece brought back memories of my own past firing experiences and my year as a research assistant working for Ann Christenson on her vapor glazing project.

Phone call and letter, coincidence and connections. I am fortunate to have such thoughtful friends.

Ann’s Work

More of Ann’s work can be viewed on her website.

Tim’s Work

An image from Tim’s Figures in Landscape series. You can see more on his website.

Dustin Harris Piece

More of Dustin Harris’ work can be seen here.

Posted in Art, Artists, Colleges, Glazes, Materials, Observations, Processes | No Comments »

Cracked and Melted Glass

Monday, April 8th, 2013

I subscribe to several craft blogs so that I am never short of ideas for craft projects while visiting my niece and nephew. Occasionally, I will read about a technique or material that might be reworked for a project that I might want to make. A few days ago I read a post about cracked glass stones on the Dollar Store Crafts blog. The instructions were simple–oven temperature 425º for 20 minutes and then an ice bath.

I liked the idea of it, heating glass stones and then immersing them in ice water for a rapid cooling. This is not all that different from raku firing, remove work from a hot kiln, then cooling it quickly in a bucket of water. Quenching after raku firing is more dramatic, but a similar notion.

I thought that I would give it a try. Picked up a bag of glass stones at the local Dollar Tree. Surprised to find 100 stones in the bag.

Glass Stones Before

I lined the baking sheet with paper and spaced the stones a finger width apart.

Glass Stones After

The paper liner came in handy to lift and pour the hot stones into the ice bath.

Glass Stones in Ice Bath

Stones in the ice bath.

Glass Stones Cracked

The result is some nice and at times subtle fractures.

What are my plans? I was thinking about the possibility of using fractured glass bits as part of code in some of my work. I could use the color of the stones or the method for binding them to act as an aesthetic element which is also code.

I got to thinking about some tests that I did in a kiln firing with metal tins and glass beads. I had a bunch of beads left from some craft projects and thought might be able to somehow use them.

Glass Beads Fired in Kiln

Glass beads with a bit of metal mesh in tin fired to approximately cone 015.

Glass Beads and Pins Fired in Kiln

Glass beads and straight pins in tin fired to approximately cone 015.

I was hoping for some slumping of the glass over the metal bits. That didn’t happen, but there is always something positive with every test. Something to use in a different way or to build on. Sometimes I may not integrate the results into a project for several years. It is important to keep records. It saves a lot of time and testing in the future.

Posted in Art, Craft, Materials, Processes | No Comments »

See A Penny Jute Border

Sunday, March 31st, 2013

Before adding the jute border.

See Penny Before Jute Border

After adding the jute border.

See Penny After Jute Border

Corner Detail.

See Penny After Jute Border

Need to add some more jute stitches to the corners and then the piece will be ready for aging.

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My New Favorite Tool… a thimble

Friday, March 29th, 2013

I always had one of those metal thimbles in my sewing box. Never used it. I liked the look of it, but it didn’t really fit and felt bulky.

I recently ran across a silicone and metal thimble. Since I have been doing a lot of stitch work I decided to try it.

Thimble View 2

The thimble is comfortable and is great for pushing the needle through my work.

Thimble View 1

After several hours of work, I went to the kitchen for a snack. Started washing my hands and there it was. Had actually forgotten that I was wearing it.

It sure beats using pliers to pull the needle through my work. I suspect using the thimble will also extend the life of my needles.

Clover Protect and Grip Thimbles

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Potentially Dangerous Can Be Beautiful

Friday, March 29th, 2013

I recently snagged some Oleander pods from the parking lot of a neighborhood restaurant. In California it is common to have plantings in parking lots.

Oleander has a reputation for killing people and animals. Some stories have a valid science component, others lean toward myth and urban legend.

The pods I snagged have dried and opened exposing their lovely seeds.

Oleander Pod with Seeds

Why did I snag the seed pods? I use poison plant bits in my work. Some of the bits that I use are from plants banned in a few states. The reason for the ban is reactionary. A couple of kids decide to get high, use too much, have a bad reaction, and the plant is held responsible.

Each of the cups in my Poison Cup series has a small bag of bits from poisonous plants. These are a few of the bags included in the series.

Seed Bags

The title of the series is actually Preservation. While the cups refer to the tea ceremony and poison goblets, the cups have been perforated making them a nice vessel for seedlings.

PC09

Treat with Respect contains the seed bag in the upper right corner of the above graphic.
The bag contains 11 Castor Bean seeds.

Additional image of the series can be seen on my website.

The Poison Garden Website

The Merck Veterinary Manual

Posted in Art, Gardens, Materials, Misc Interests, Needlework, Observations, Plants, Rituals and Traditions | No Comments »

See a Penny… I will finish this piece?

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013

The following quote from François Truffaut’s film Day for Night comes to mind when thinking about the Penny piece.

“Making a film is like a stagecoach ride in the old west. When you start, you are hoping for a pleasant trip. By the halfway point, you just hope to survive.”

I have been living with the penny piece hanging in my studio. Before I wax the piece and construct a cedar box/frame/crate for it, I must be happy with the border.
See A Penny

It is not substantial enough so I decided to make an I-cord to bind onto the edge.

I-cord

When I finished the I-cord and placed it next to the piece it didn’t work for me. Too many different stitches and too many colors of cotton. The wax application will help integrate the materials, but the I-cord does not add what I had hoped.

I-cord with piece

Decided rather than the border as just the edge, it will include the few inches to the edge. Added jute and coconut fiber to the piece to define the “new” border and to add some color.

Jute and Coconutfiber

If you haven’t used coconut fiber, be prepared to wear safety gear—mask, goggles, and gloves. The fiber is quite sharp and dirty. Actually it is a good idea to wear a mask when working with jute and some other fiber.

This is how the I-cord looks now.
I-cord on Piece

The current plan is to insert jute rope through the I-cord and then bind the lot to the piece with a combination of cotton and jute.

Jute Rope

When I bought jute rope the blurb stated it was treated to prevent rot. I asked the representative from the company what that meant. He said the rope was treated with kerosene. I knew it was a bit dangerous using a hot wax technique and torching the lot, but the word kerosene gave me pause.

Why hadn’t I set myself on fire?

When using hot wax and a torch I always keep a fire extinguisher at the ready. I was using bamboo as part of the structure for some pieces and apparently the interior of bamboo can be in flames before the exterior. Rather exciting to see it happen.

La Nuit Américaine (Day for Night) is a film within a film, the director is the actor playing the director, and there are loads of bits about filmmaking. And day for night is a technique for shooting film during the day to give the illusion of night.

François Truffaut
Hack Writers
François Truffaut – the man who loved actors
Day for Night

Posted in Art, Fiber, Films, Materials, Needlework, Processes | No Comments »

Thoughtful Gift and Packing Materials

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

Last night a package arrived from Dave, my brother-in-law. He sent us three jars of the jam he has been making. That in itself is very cool, but the I thing I was more excited about was how he packed them.

When I dug through the sea of white, I found this–

Jam Out of the Package

I love the packing materials which have now been added to my stash of potential art materials.

Jam Packing Materials

The last time Dave visited he brought me tea tins that he thought I might like to use in my work. Words cannot express how it feels to have such a thoughtful and supportive person in my life.

Posted in Materials, Observations | No Comments »

Moths, Conservation, Cold Wax…

Thursday, February 7th, 2013

I am still fighting case making moths. Last night I opened a jar of small pieces that I made for testing, to find moths living amongst them. I hate killing things, but I am getting quite frustrated with not knowing where or when I will find critters. I am pretty sure that I brought them into the house in hay for the bunnies.

On the Conservation Center site I found this information about a moth infestation of a Tibetan Ladahki Headdress. I had originally read that the only way to kill the moth cycle was heat. Not a good solution, since I previously used wax on some of my pieces. This is the method used–

…frozen to prevent contamination of the other objects in the lab and to kill moth activity, including all adults, larvae and eggs. After remaining in a freezer at -20˚C for one and a half months…

I have been reading a bit about artifacts and conservation looking for information as to how to age/distress components added to artifacts. Thought perhaps some interesting materials or methods to use them might be appropriate for some of my work.

I feel like I am constantly learning new things about, well just about everything. I don’t want to alter the color of the wool pieces too much, but I do need to distress them. Perhaps the solution for future pieces is to distress the wool before I use it, or not use it at all. When I have used hot wax on wool the result is a rather plastic appearance.

I ordered a variety of waxes and am attempting to use cold wax processes. I am liking d-limonene with white and amber microcrystalline, but I do not like that my studio has the odor of orange oil.

White Microcrystalline Wax with d-Limonene

Waxed Pieces

Displaying the finished wool pieces is another problem that I have been thinking about. I was planning to build boxes/crates to house/display the pieces, but then how to keep the pieces in place? I generally opt for nails straight through with a head that I like.

This would be a great option–