Beads

More ideas for using "found objects" - see yesterday's blog.

I want to capture the decorative features on this Parisian building. I'm thinking of the embossments one finds running above and below windows.

You can just about see such features in this photograph.

I was thinking of using beads and other jewellery bits and pieces to capture them.

Whether the beads can be embedded in the clay when it is soft and then survive a firing in the kiln or whether they would have to be pasted on after the firing I'll have to investigate.

***********************************************************************************
BBC Radio 3 Choral Evensong:

Listening to a broadcast of Choral Evening Prayer from Neresheim Abbey in southern Germany.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Small portions and using up items out of freezer or larder.

(The plate is small which makes the portions look bigger than they are.)

Hake, sweet potato and asparagus.

Found objects

As you probably know there is a whole approach to art that uses "found objects".

I'm going to add features to my ceramic building using "found objects".

For example, I'll want railings outside most of the windows. So, what objects could I find that I could use to suggest railings? I haven't done any serious looking yet, but one possibility that springs to my mind is those plastic hair clasps that one occasionally sees.

In the sketch below, I haven't been able to rotate the "clasp" to the horizontal so it looks a bit wonky. But, I hope you get the idea.

 

I think it's highly unlikely that I will use hair-clasps but perhaps you can see the potential in the "found objects" approach.

***********************************************************************************
Today's music:

the commercial radio station (I think it's either Real Radio or Radio Clyde) that plays non-stop in the office. It plays a mixture of up to the minute pop songs interspersed with songs from 3 or 4 years ago. I really enjoy it. There is vastly less chatter than on Radio 1.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

self evident

An example of the new policy of smaller portions.

Unfortunately, ate a Fry's Cream after it.

Ceramics class resumed.

Fascinating first evening back at the ceramics class.

Made a card mock-up of the building I wish to produce and then discussed it with Pauline the excellent teacher.

I have fairly strong views on what makes a good teacher. I don't think those views are based on narrow or rigid rules.

Basically, Pauline deals effortlessly with a variety of standards of student competence. Into the mix one has to add that each student has their own distinctive aesthetic opinions and wishes about what they want to make.

She matches up all these factors to facilitate a happy class wherein each student moves forwards in their desired fashion.

Anyway, her comments about the mock-up were that instead of realising all the features of the building only in clay, we could take a multi-media approach.

Here's the mock-up.

There are several structural issues to consider but I'll deal only with one of them today: window frames.

Consider this:

Pauline suggested that we could have hollowed out windows and back them with a thin sheet of clear plastic. I thought it would be time consuming carving out all these frames and also wondered whether the clay would be strong enough to form the thin verticals and horizontals of each frame.

Her solution was to cut out the entire outline of the frame and then, once fired, insert individual frames made of something other than clay.

Step1:

Step 2:

Then, once the clay is dry but before firing one fits the cut-out back in to the aperture so that the whole piece keeps its shape whilst in the kiln.

Step 3:

Once fired (and cooled down) one removes the clay insert and fits some kind of window frame.

**********************************************************************************
Listening to:

A variety of recordings by Daniel San:

I've no idea what the connection is between the artist and the above cover. Seems he might come from New Zealand.

Ceramics Class Tonight!

Great excitement in the Morris household tonight.

Me: I'm going to my ceramics class.
My wife: he's going to his ceramics class.

I'm fairly confident that this paper mock-up of the building I hope to model is to scale.

A selection of photos taken 2 minutes ago.

**********************************************************************************
No music today except dribs and drabs from Radio 3 in the car to and from work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Chicken curry and boiled rice - no photo.

Preparing for the Ceramics Class

In a bit of a rush and left things to the last minute for tomorrow night's ceramics class.

Fished out the small scale sketch I did some weeks ago of a Parisien/Haussmann style block of  shops and apartments.

And held it next to a larger cut-out building.

My feeling is that the larger one is too large and that a compromise between the two is what is required.

So I used the photocopier to enlarge the more detailed smaller version by a factor of 135% and then 150%.

I then placed them each next to an HO scale car and an HO scale tree.

The tree and car both seem slightly too large against the 135% expansion.

135% expansion

The car seems OK against the 150% expansion but the tree seems too big.

150% expansion


I'll have to fish out some photographs of real trees next to real buildings.

 

Bearing in mind that my HO scale trees represent fairly mature large leaved trees, I think my conclusion is that the model will have to be expanded to 175%.

175% expansion

 

I think the 175% expansion looks about right.

***********************************************************************************
Two vows:

1) From now on, I'm going to cook smaller portions for dinner (and that means buying smaller portions in the first place).

2) Never again see a film at the cinema based on a recommendation in either the Guardian or Observer newspapers. Since I know where the percentage key is on the laptop I can say that over many years  I have been duped by these newspapers 100% of the time. BUT NEVER AGAIN.

The Power of the Rough Sketch

I was listening to a discussion on Radio 3 this morning during the course of which, and just as an aside, one of the participants said that they had always been impressed by the unfinished or draft sketches of artists. They had a certain power and in her view merited being framed and put on a wall.

I feel exactly the same and, might I add, often on coming across a preliminary sketch by an artist and then looking forward to seeing the finished article have then been disappointed and wished that the artist had stopped 3 weeks earlier with the preliminary sketch.

One could speculate as to why this is the case. Perhaps because the sketch is executed near in time to the creation of the original idea it thus reflects the power of that creative impulse. Further development of the sketch then suppresses and constrains the evidence of that creative power through the application of rational (and perhaps, laboured) technique.

Anyway, what I had intended as a rough 'sketch', so to speak, of a city apartment block in late 1950s France now seems to me a perfect fulfilment of what I've been aiming at. Why try to improve it by turning it into a piece of ceramics?

On the other hand, I believe that there is a straight-forward technique, available in my ceramics class, for transferring photographs onto ceramics. Maybe that would give the best of both worlds.

A reminder of the current state of play.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:

Quite frankly, in terms of quantity, a disgrace, I must cut down on portion size.

Hake, scallops, black pudding, sweet potato and peas.

*********************************************************************************
Lily Allen:

Yesterday, downloaded on iTunes 3 Lily Allen songs: Smile; Not Fair; and The Fear.

The Fear is a great pop song. Would not have been out of place if released back in the 60s.

Rolling Stones vs Stone Roses

Further tinkering with church:

Applied a few more details to my cardboard church facade - I think it's improved. Have still not changed the vehicles around to drive on the RHS of the road.

Now driving on the correct side of the road.

***********************************************************************************
Stone Roses:

Frequently in pop music polls, The Stone Roses' first album from 1989 entitled "Stone Roses" is voted one of the best if not the best album of all time. This usually excites a lot of ridicule/amazement/sneering etc from some music fans.

I think it is one of the greatest albums of all time. It has only 11 or 12 tracks on it but 6 or 7 of them are utterly brilliant and original.

One could compare them with other more illustrious acts eg The Rolling Stones, who have given me enormous pleasure over the years but I would be hard pushed to find more than half a dozen of their tracks that I think are utterly brilliant and original and they are scattered over a dozen separate albums.

Two great album covers:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night's dinner:


Home made chicken curry washed down with water.