DAY 1- SYNTHETICS
Nylon rope
The first material I worked it was nylon rope.
EXPERIMENT 1- The very first thing I did was pull apart the nylon rope down to its fibres. While breaking down the nylon rope I noticed how pulling a fibre quickly creates tangles, knots and even bunches of fibres. I used this to create a tangled hair ball like structure. It impressed me how despite being tangled, each and every fibre has its own personality that is visible. The fibres despite being pulled maintained there wavy texture.
EXPERIMENT 2- I extracted a single nylon fibre. Due to the weaving of the rope it was waved and I could not straighten it up. Thus I decided to use this property to create an interesting effect. I weaved the fibre through a needle and then stitched a pattern onto a plastic mosquito mesh. The raised bumps of the fibre created a 3D embroidery. In some cases I Pulled the fibre too hard, and this tore the mosquito mesh. I also found it difficult to tie a knot at the end of the fibre due to its curve as well as the large size of the mosquito mesh whole.
EXPERIMENT 3- I wrapped my nylon rope around OHP sheet to create a cylindrical shape. I then poured elfy on top of it. I noticed how the nylon rope soaked in all the elfy, This Slowed the sticking process. However once it was done absorbing the adhesive, it became hard and I was able to stick it. I was worried about the OHP sticking to the nylon rope however I was able to remove it easily
EXPERIMENT 4- I heated my nylon rope with a hair dryer. I noticed how the tiny extruding fibres started to shift and settle as soon as it started heating up. The rope became brittle and and could be pulled apart and broken into two pieces. By applying appropriate amount of heat I was able to make the rope hard and stiff.
EXPERIMENT 5- This made me wonder what would happen when I burn the rope all together. I started to burn my rope with a candle. At the ends I noticed the fibres unravelling and then contracting as they cooled. This caused the rope to become twisted. This was a really cool effect. The twists in the rope were all created on its own without any manipulation by me.
EXPERIMENT 6- while thinking about ideas, i was fiddling with rope. I ended up repeatedly tying knots on the rope. This created a cool effect and i decided to include this in my explorations.
Rubber water hose
EXPERIMENT 1- I created cuts along the length of the hose. I then created half cuts below that and inserted the strips in the half cuts. My hose, being made of rubber was pretty tough. I was able to cut it with a sharp pair of scissors and had to stab it with an exact-o-knife to create the half cuts. The insertion also required a lot of force.
I created horizontal half cuts on one side, and vertical half cuts on the other.
EXPERIMENT 2- I tried to heat, melt and thus join two ends of the water hose however I was unable to achieve it, thus it was a failed experiment.
EXPERIMENT 3- I cut the hose along it’s length to create a rectangular piece. I then burned the tube. I expected the tube to burn rather quickly, due to my previous experiments. But Instead the rubber hose burned really slowly. I noticed that holding the flames in different directions created different textures, Like holding the hose on top of the flame created peaks while holding the flame on top of the hose created crevices. There was a kind of oily residue in the tube, this is perhaps what caused the flamed to extinguish when held on the surface for a long time.
Plastic Mosquito mesh
EXPERIMENT 1- My first instinct when I saw the mosquito mesh was to tear it. However I didn’t feel like just recklessly tearing it. Instead I wanted to have more control tears. So I took out my quilling tool and started to pull out the mesh from the middle. It was interesting how pulling a little part unravelled the adjacent mesh, like a domino effect. Thus the final hole was always ended up being larger than the one made.
EXPERIMENT 2- While heating the mesh with a candle I noticed how it ends ups disintegrating as soon as it comes in direct contact with the heat, which is typical to the nature of plastic. It created a lot of smoke and I had to wear a mask.
EXPERIMENT 3- I also noticed how controlled heating of the plastic, caused it to contract creating unique textured patterns. I heated multiple pieces of the plastic mesh this way and it created a very interesting crumpled look. This was my favourite exploration of the day because I see a lot of scope and possibilities in it.
PVC conduct
EXPERIMENT 1- I started of simple by making half cuts in the PVC. Initially I was Using a hacksaw and a G clamp to make the cuts however my G clamp kept getting loose and I was worried I might cut myself. My PVC was also very brittle and got cracked due to the pressure of the clamp. Therefore came up with a new solution. I used my exact-o-knife to make tiny incisions along my PVC, I then used a pair of tiny scissors to make the half cut. The created uneven cuts. If I were to do it again i would, use the exact-o-knife to cut the entire thing out, or perhaps get a better G clamp. Once I was done with the half cuts I heated it on a flame to create a slight bend. I noticed how heating created discolouration on the pipe. To prevent this I started to heat it from a distance. It was difficult to get even heating due to the longitudinal nature of the tube, it had to be moved constantly.
EXPERIMENT 2- In the second attempt I created cuts along the length of the tube, I then heated them and twisted to them create spirals. I did this by twisting them with a pair of nose pliers. Once again heating the PVC uniformly was difficult due to its longitudinal nature.
Sunboard
EXPERIMENT 1- I never burned sunboard during the M2M project and thus I was very curious about the outcome. I first created a vertical grid on the sunboard and then manipulated the form to add some dimensions. I was not able to ensure uniform heating, this resulted in uneven curves. The smoke produced by burning of sunboard was also extremely pungent. It almost made my throat hurt.
EXPERIMENT 2- During the first experiment I noticed an interesting texture on the side of sunboard that was close to the flame. I thus burn the entire surface to create a sample of the texture. Burning the surface created deep cracks and colour variations.
Acrylic sheet
Since it was my first time working with the acrylic sheet I had to get used to the material first.
I had some difficulty in cutting the sheet, I had to make many cuts and apply a lot of pressure.
EXPERIMENT 1- My first experiment was done to understand the medium. For a more even heating I used my gas stove. I burned and twisted the sheet to create some textures and variations. I very quickly understood that the sheet cools and hardens very quickly after being removed from the heat. Initially I was quite scared of touching the hot plastic and used scissors and pliers. However I realised that I can manipulate the material with gloves though I still have to work fast.
EXPERIMENT 2- During my first attempt I noticed how keeping the acrylic sheet too close to the flame for an extended period of time created bubbles on the surface. I thought the texture was quite unique so I covered the entire surface with the bubbles. The Bubbles always started around the corners and then extended to the centre. The bubbly look makes the acrylic sheet look like a papad.
EXPERIMENT 3- I kept the acrylic sheet further away from the flame to prevent bubbles. I heated it and then used gloves to create two folds. My goals was to create a structure that can stand on its own. The gloves however absorbed the heat from the sheet making it harden even faster.
Polyester felt
EXPERIMENT 1- I used my quilling tool to scrape the felt sheet into felt. It surprised me seeing how the felt fibres just stick to each other instead of disintegrating into indivisible fibres.
EXPERIMENT 2- I created cuts on the felt and braided it to add some three dimensionality. Sticking the felt was surprising very difficult as it absorbed all the adhesives. In the end I used a rubber based adhesives called fevibond and stapler. Braiding the felt sheet was also difficult as it was less flexible than what I had expected.
EXPERIMENT 3- I burned my felt sheet, unlike other synthetic mediums, the felt sheet didn’t disintegrate immediately. Instead it melted and became sticky. I was able to notice some melted threads Emerging from the sheet.
Rubber foam
EXPERIMENT 1- I was very interested in seeing the inside of the foam. So I created vertical and horizontal half cuts on the surfaces of my foams. I noticed how the cutting along the foam horizontally was slightly tougher than cutting it vertically. I finally rolled the foam into a cylinder so the cuts would be visible.
EXPERIMENT 2- Since I had a very tiny piece of foam, I trimmed a small section from the previous experiments. On heating it, the foamy and squishy texture deflated into a flat and hard piece of plastic. It was as if the heat took out all the air from the foam
OHP sheet
EXPERIMENT 1- I have burned OHP sheet during M2M project but I wanted to do it again to refresh my memory and perhaps make some new observations. OHP sheet like always created a very interesting bubbly look. OHP sheet catches fire rather quickly, and holding it close to the flame and cause discolouration. Over hearing caused it to disintegrate instead of creating a nice bubbly texture
LOG BOOK FOR DAY 1
DAY 2- ALUMINIUM & METALS
Aluminium sheet
EXPERIMENT 1- I began by doing a bunch of miscellaneous tests, such as cutting the sheet into strips, rolling them, quilling them, crumpling them. I hoped that this would help me understand the material better. I observed that the edges of the sheet are really sharp and that I would have to careful in order to prevent cutting my hand. My aluminium was slightly on the thicker side thus cutting it with scissors required a lot of pressure and it didn’t cut straight, the weight of the metal also caused my cuts to bend a little. I tried a paper cutter however it didn’t help. cutting with scissors was my best option so I went ahead with it.
EXPERIMENT 2- I wanted to see if half cuts would work on a thicker gauge aluminium sheet. I used my exact-o-knife to create some cuts along the diagonals as well the length and the breadth. During my first attempt I made the cut, a little too deep and snapped my sheet hard causing it to break. During the second attempt I applied less pressure. This time around I wasn’t able to bend the sheet at all. I did a few more alternations but I couldn’t get the desired result.
EXPERIMENT 3- Next I tried to twist the sheet from the edges. This was difficult and I noticed how the edges unravelled if not done tightly. This showed me that the material has a tendency to change and regain its shape after being moulded.
EXPERIMENT 4- I tried to heat the sheet. I knew that it would not be possible for me to burn it or convert it into its liquid ore. But I was hoping to heat it up enough to ensure easier manipulation of the material.
However after a long time of holding it on the flame, I noticed no change in the flexibility of the sheet. The only change that occurred was the accumulation of black soot on the bottom of the aluminium sheet.
EXPERIMENT 5- I decided to start simple by doing a fan fold. I created folds in varying sizes and lengths in order to create a gradation. Creating the fold in the smaller sized pieces was harder than the one created on the layer pieces due to its compact size. I noticed how the aluminium sheet has a tendency to slide when it is not held tightly. I was more careful about this during the later fold to ensure uniformity.
EXPERIMENT 6- I took strips of the aluminium sheet and twisted them to create an abstract cone. I made multiple of these and then placed them upside down to create a tornado like structure. I used nose pliers to create the shape as it ensures a better grip and prevents the slipping of the strips.
EXPERIMENT 7- I cut out long vertical strips of aluminium sheet. I took a pair of nose pliers and crimped along the width of the vertical strip. This made a thin strip that resembles a clasp. However pressing along the width required a lot of pressure.
Aluminium Wire
EXPERIMENT 1- I first began by doing the most basic experiments that is, rolling the wire to create a spiral. I used soft wire and a pair of nose pliers for this task. I wrapped the wire around a pencil to help it maintain its shape. I used the edges of the pliers to create waves in the wire. I tried to entangle two or more waved wires to create a pattern similar to knitted fabric however I couldn’t achieve that outcome.
EXPERIMENT 2- I used wire to create a hollow square frame. I was familiar with this technique from my F2F project. I wrapped the wire along the edges to add strength.
EXPERIMENT 3 - I took a long piece of the wire and starting from one end, I started adding Twists in it with the help of nose pliers. It resembled quilling. I have to be careful to ensure that I didn’t roll the wire on top of each other while twisting it.
EXPERIMENT 4- I took a wire and created vertical wave like variations in it. I repeated the same with wire of different lengths to create waves of different sizes. In the end they were pasted together with elfy.
EXPERIMENT 5- I created conical springs by wrapping my wire on the tip of a nose pliers. I made multiple cones and added them all upside down on a sunboard. Due to there uneven Tips, they were relatively difficult to stick and I have to use rubber based adhesive like fevi bond.
EXPERIMENT 6- I rolled my wire into a circle and added a handle for easy holding. I then tried to heat it. Like expected, nothing happened except accumulation of black soot.
Steel mosquito mesh
EXPERIMENT 1- I first unravelled the mosquito mesh to understand it’s making. I observed that they mesh was weaved by many pieces of steel threads. The metal has sharp edges and can hurt you if cut improperly. This mesh reminds me of the arrangement in a casement fabric. I was able to cut the mesh with a pair of scissors.
EXPERIMENT 2- I created a template with the help of the mesh and joined it together to create a cube. I had initially planned to use some form of re-enforcement around the edges, but the pokey ends of the mesh just got stuck together without being attached in any way. I also noticed how once a mesh has been bent in one direction, it would carry a trace of that bend no matter how well it’s straightener (something that I figured out due to a few wrong folds)
EXPERIMENT 3- I took a long strip of mesh, I kept cutting triangles on the mesh and twisting them as I go up. This created a spiral like effect that resembles a DNA sample.
Aluminium foil
EXPERIMENT 1- I crumpled the aluminium foil to create a ball, then I flattened 4 sides to turn it into a square. This is the easiest way to turn aluminium into a 3D form and I use it on a day to day bases for my 3D modelling
EXPERIMENT 2- While weaving the aluminium foil I noticed how cutting the foil horizontally caused more tears are compared to vertical cuts. Due to the brittleness of the paper I wasn’t able to weave the layers and strips properly. It kept on tearing. This was on of my failed attempts.
EXPERIMENT 3- I embossed coins onto the Surface of the aluminium foil to create some interesting results. Surprisingly, the non Shiney surface captures the textures better than the Shiney end.
EXPERIMENTS 4- I heated aluminium foil. I had initially expected that foil would burn easily due to this thinness, however I was wrong. Once again the only thing that changed was the surface colour of the foil.
EXPERIMENT 5- I rolled the aluminium in a flat rope to explore 2 dimensionality of this materials. I wanted to make longer ropes and braid them followed by some hammering but I ended up getting short of aluminium foil.
Metal soda can
EXPERIMENT 1- While searching for some interesting materials to use, I can across a metal soda can. I decided to make a jali cut on its surface. However the flimsy metal, the circular surface and my poor skills caused it to turn out slightly messed up. Though I don’t like the way it looks with the lights on, it looks cool without them.
LOG BOOK FOR DAY 2
DAY 3 - NATURAL MATERIAL
Jute rope
EXPERIMENT 1- I first began by pulling apart the jute rope down to its fibres. I noticed how the jute fibres itself were extremely brittle, which was completely in contrast to the rope as a whole. I was able to pull them apart easily creating soft and fluffy edges, which resembled a cotton candy. I arranged them in a circle and stuck them on an OHP sheet to give the illusion of a 3D structure.
EXPERIMENT 2- I pulled apart the 3 strands that made up the jute rope. Instead of twisting them to create a rope structure. I decided to braid the three strands together. This final “rope” was not as strong as the twisted jute rope as I could tear it apart with sufficient amount of pressure.
EXPERIMENT 3- I took a piece of jute fabric that I had cut out from a 24/7 bag. I then proceeded to pull out the individual fibres to create a textural variation.
My main objective behind using a jute fabric was to analyse the difference between a rope and an industrially produced outcome made with the same material. I noticed how the fibres that made up the jute fabric, were thinner, more compact, and much more stronger than the fibres that made up the jute rope. Even though the jute rope was stronger as a whole as compared to the fabric.
EXPERIMENT 4 - I rolled my rope in the shape of a square and added some elfy on top. I observed some sizzling noises, steam, and extreme heat coming from the heating on the material by the elfy. I also noticed how the rope absorbed the elfy pretty quickly causing it to harden.
EXPERIMENT 5 - I burned the jute rope as a final experiment. The jute rope which caught fire rather quickly also extinguished equally fast no matter how many times I burned it. After the fire was extinguished, the insides of the rope continued to burn revealing a red inner glow. This glow was visible to me due to the darkness of the night and was extremely beautiful. Unlike the plastic were I was left with some residue of the material, here I was left with nothing but ash. This emphasised the biodegradable nature of jute as a material.
Cotton cord
EXPERIMENT 1- I separated the cord down to its fibres. I layer it out on a sheet of OHP, and the poured elfy on top of the individual fibres. Unlike the jute, the cotton cord didn’t emit any steam, although it did heat up quit a bit. The fibres hardened a bit due to the elfy, however it was still malleable due to its extreme thinness. The final outcome resembled tree branches.
EXPERIMENT 2 - I wanted to create a circular structure using elfy and cotton cord. I decided to start by using a small Katori and cover it with Vaseline. I went around the katori twice to create one longitude and latitude each. Once they were hardened by the elfy, I removed the Katori and used these two, as a guide to add more rounds of the cord.
EXPERIMENT 3- I burned the cotton cord, like the jute, it caught on fire quickly, extinguished soon, and then displayed a red inner glow, leaving no residue except ash.
Coir
EXPERIMENT 1 - I separate the coir down to its fibres. Though it was easy to separate the 2 main strands, breaking those strands further proved to be a challenge due to its extremely compact nature. The final result resembled a worn out broom
EXPERIMENT 2- I made waves using elfy and coir. Due to its extreme thickness, it required a lot of elfy. It took a while to harden and had to be held in place between each curve. Upon the reaction it sizzled a lot. At one point I could see the the elfy bubbling and oozing out of the rope.
EXPERIMENT 3- I removed the individual fibres of the coir and then braided them together. The strength of this braided coir was lesser than that of the rolled coir
EXPERIMENT 4- Burning the coir produce the same result as the cotton and jute.
Wool
EXPERIMENT 1- I knitted the wool to create a small sample. Though I know how to knit I don’t know how to start and finish the piece so I took some help from my grandmother. I made a simple knit. The process was very therapeutic and allowed me to relax in the middle of the hectic project.
EXPERIMENT 2 - burning to wool surprised me a lot. I expected to have a result similar to the other ropes. However I noticed how the wool burned, and then curved. Following this the burned piece de-attached. It was like a crawling worm that sheds skin.
Sarkanda
EXPERIMENT 1- I slit the sarkanda into 5 slits. I then weaved a cotton cord through it. I wanted to see if it was possible to create a fabric like look with the sarkanda and thus I used this technique.
EXPERIMENT 2 - I created hexagonal shapes with sarkanda. I attached them using elfy and then hung them together with cotton cord to create a hanging structure.
I did not have any object or questions in my mind while doing these experiments I just went about them and let my hands so the job.
EXPERIMENT 3- I burned the sarkanda. It caught on fire rapidly and burned aggressively. After the fire was extinguished I was left with a black stick made with ash, which had enough structural strength to maintain its shape but crumpled with a slight blow.
Corrugated sheet
EXPERIMENT 1- I trimmed strips of the corrugated sheet and quilled them together. It created a nice crimped look.
EXPERIMENT 2- the corrugated sheet burned quite aggressively, and had to be extinguished by blowing on it. The residue was a dark coloured ash.
Orange peel
EXPERIMENT 1- I was eating an orange while the faculty was talking about the difference between natural material and other materials used by us. This gave me an idea and I decided to use orange peel as my material. I cut the peel into a spiral with an exact-o-knife. I arranged them in a circular form and stuck them together with an elfy.
What interested me the most about orange peel was that it transforms with time. I am currently observing its decomposition as a part of the experiments.
EXPERIMENT 2- burning the peel with the outside close to the flame created sparks. I am not aware of the scientific reason behind such reaction but I’ll surely look into it.
Burning it with the inside near the flame caused the accumulation of black soot on it.
Radish stem
EXPERIMENT 1- I cut off a stem from a radish and plucked the leaves. I then curved the stem into circled and pasted them together with hot glue. My main object was to understand the reaction of such organic material when used for such purposes. I noticed that apart from the decomposition there is nothing that separates such materials from any other industrially produced raw materials.
LOG BOOK FOR DAY 3
DAY 4 - COMPOSITE MATERIAL
Resin
EXPERIMENT 1- my first thought while using the resin was to see how it would look when other items had been submerged in it. So I decided to add a few miscellaneous items in my resin. I used an ice cube tray, greased it with Vaseline and poured my resin. I then added a piece of paper in one of them. When I de-moulded the resin piece, the paper which was white to begin with had turned yellow. The surface also had the imprint of the Vaseline I had used to help release the resin pieces. The back side was clear with some of the paper protruding out which I thought was a very nice effect.
EXPERIMENT 2 - inspired from this I decided to add a dried flower petals to the resin. The outcome was similar, with the front being hazy due to the Vaseline and the back being clear.
EXPERIMENT 3- I added yarn to the resin. On de-moulding it I noticed how the yarn had hardened. This was my favourite piece due to the bright colour, texture on the back and the pattern on the front.
EXPERIMENT 4- after adding stuff to resin I wanted to see if I could colour it. The first thing I used was food colouring. It blended in the resin well giving it a dark green appearance, however there were still some unmixed spots.
EXPERIMENT 5- the next thing I used to colour the resin was a dye based red, fountain pen ink. This, being water based, did not combine well with the resin. After de-moulding I could see unmixed patches of colour. The colour itself was a pale orange instead of red.
EXPERIMENT 6- inspired by my first 5 experiments, I wanted to see how these items would feel if they were just dipped in resin instead of being hardened inside it.
I first took a piece of cotton cloth, dipped it in resin, strained the excess and kept it on a piece of OHP sheet. It was hard, but still felt brittle. I felt like I could break the fabric into two pieces by throwing it on the floor
EXPERIMENT 7- I dipped a piece of cotton cord in resin, drained the excess and laid it on an OHP sheet. One removing the thread was hard, but once again brittle and could be easily snapped into two pieces. The excess resin also created a clear outline around the cord.
EXPERIMENT 8 - after this I wanted to see how a material even more delicate than thread and cloth would react to resin. Thus I dipped a cotton ball in resin, strained the excess and laid it on an OHP sheet. The cotton ball, upon being cured was as solid as a rock. When I applied extremely pressure, I was able to create a small finger dent, which created a sound similar to crushing an apple.
EXPERIMENT 9 - I wanted to create a pyramid with resin. So I used OHP sheet to make a mould and added resin to it. Unfortunately the weight of the resin caused my pyramid to transform into a cone. I was able to de-mould it easily. It had quite a lot of air bubble. What impressed me the most about this cone was how it reflected light. Anything behind the cone was mirrored and flipped. As you can see in the image, the black background is at the bottom of the cone instead of the top.
EXPERIMENT 10 - I used a tiny baby bottle nipple and filled it with resin. My intention was to get something similar to a chess piece. However I removed this before the resin had cured. My finger prints were imprinted on the surface and it’s shape kept getting morphed after being removed.
EXPERIMENT 11- after my experience with the baby bottle nipple, I wanted to study more about the right timing to remove resin. I mixed up some more resin and poured it into two flat moulds, which were actually the lids of the take away plastic containers. I removed one of them at the 10 hour mark ( the cure time for my brand of resin for 24 hours) it was soft and mailable I could stretch it and rip it apart. The second batch was removed at the 20 hour mark. The resin though solid, ended up getting some cracks while being de-moulded. It’s surface was also a bit tacky causing a lot of my cats hair to get stuck on it.
EXPERIMENT 12- while I was cleaning my utensils with a tissue, I found myself wondering how it would feel once it hardened. Thus I added the tissue to my lists of experiments and kept it on an OHP sheet. This tissue was solid, and was tinted yellow like the paper. However unlike the cloth, cord or cotton it was not well coated with resin and was still crushable.
Wax
EXPERIMENT 1- like the resin I wanted to see what would happen if I added different substances to my wax. I used the same ice tray with Vaseline. I used a double Boiler to melt the wax and added it into the tray. The first thing I added was a dried rose. I was expecting to see the rose more clearly, but the wax was really foggy and the only part of the flower that was clearly visible, was the stem protruding from the back. Unfortunately this trend continued for all my future experiments
EXPERIMENT 2- I added some aluminium foil to the wax. Unfortunately this wasn’t visible upon being removed from the mould.
EXPERIMENT 3- I added some cotton cloth to the wax. Once again it was not visible, so much so that I couldn’t even identify what the item was after being removed from the mould.
EXPERIMENT 4- I added some kite paper to by wax. Due to the bright red colour of the paper you can see it through the hazy wax.
EXPERIMENT 5 - I wanted to see what would happen if I added something biodegradable in the hot wax. Thus I added some Lemon slices. I was hoping that the hot wax would react with the acid however nothing like that happened.
EXPERIMENT 6- due to my previous experiences with the wax. I decided to overpack my last wax cube with material, with the hope of seeing something through. I added the remaining kite paper and aluminium foil. Here you can finally see the material inside the wax.
EXPERIMENT 7- like the resin I also wanted to colour the wax. I used the same red dye based ink that I had used for the resin. However despite of mixing, the wax wouldn’t combine with the ink. When I de-moulded the cube, the ink was separate and still liquid
EXPERIMENT 8- another thing that I used for dying my wax was glass colours. I had hoped that the thick composition of the class colours would prevent an incident like with the ink. However the glass colour was also liquid and not combined when removed. I feel like the wax created an air pocket around the glass colours on the bottom, preventing them from getting combined.
EXPERIMENT 9- the last item used for colouring the wax was turmeric powder. This powder, did give a hazy yellow glow to the wax, however big chunks of the powder settles at the bottom.
EXPERIMENT 10- I added my wax to a empty packet of medicine strips. I wanted to see if the plastic would be a good mould for the hot wax. This worked surprisingly well and I was able to remove them easily.
EXPERIMENT 11- I wanted to create a flowy fabric like structure inspired by the lecture given by the faculty today, about expressing hardness with soft material, and softness with hard materials. I used an OHP sheet, I pinched it down the middle creating fabric like waves, with the help of a few Bobby pins I held them in place and added the wax. This was my favourite exploration of the day and I believe with a bit of refining I could really take this idea future.
EXPERIMENT 12- like the resin I wanted to know what would happen if I dipped a cloth in wax. So I took a piece of casement and dipped it in wax. The result reminded me of the clothes on the wax statues at madam Tussaud’s.
LOG BOOK FOR DAY 4
DAY 5 - COMBINATION
EXPERIMENT 1 - steel mesh + aluminium wire
I took a small piece of the steel mesh and weaved aluminium wires of varying thickness through it. I wanted to replicate rafukari taught to us during the one square yard project. However, my poor skills and the rigidness of the wire creates an outcome that was shabby looking.
EXPERIMENT 2 - steel mesh + nylon rope
I was trying to weave rope through the steel mesh. However , as soon as I passed it through the tiny weaves of the mesh, the rope disintegrated into tiny fibres. I decided to use this to my advantage and created this texture that remotely resembles fake grass.
EXPERIMENT 3 - steel mesh + wax
I make a cube out of steel Mesh and then coated it’s sides with come wax to block the mesh. I dipped the mesh in melted wax and then immediately dipped it in cold water to prevent dripping.
EXPERIMENT 4 - garden mesh + wax
I took a large garden mesh and laid it down on a tray. I then added wax inside the open divots. I wanted to take some process photos however working with hot wax that hardens quickly required a lot of concentration.
EXPERIMENT 5 - nylon rope + jute rope
I separated the individual strands that makes up the two ropes. I then used a nylon strand and 2 jute strands to braid them into a single rope. I added elfy for strength. After adding the elfi the rope became extremely hard and brittle and I could break it apart by snapping and pulling.
EXPERIMENT 6 - polyester felt sheets + cotton
I wanted to create a blend between polyester felt and cotton. I began by felting the polyester sheets. Then I slowly added cotton to it. However the cotton would not blend with the felt no matter how much I tugged at it. Thus this experiment was a failure.
EXPERIMENT 7 - polyester Felt sheets + wool
I decided to create a variation upon my previous attempt by using wool instead of cotton. Since wool is commonly used for felting I though that this would work well. Though the wool was integrated into the wool, it required a lot of effort and the blend was not proper. The wool fibres shinned separately from the rest of the felt making it look odd.
EXPERIMENT 8 - polyester felt sheet + jute
I did this because I had some left over jute fibres from day 3. I didn’t expect it to work due to the differences in the composition of wool and felt. However this blended beautifully giving a nice golden streak to my orange felt. This was also surprising my easy to blend as the jute fibres separate easily.
EXPERIMENT 9 - egg shell + cotton cord
While making my self an omelette I decided to shave the egg shell for some interesting experiment. I had initially planned on using aluminium wire however due to the brittleness of the shell, and the lack of back up eggs in my refrigerator, led me to settle with cotton cord. I made two holes in the bottom and top of the shell and weaved my cotton cord through it to create longitudes. I then weaved the small cord horizontally for the latitudes. I had to store it quite carefully in order to prevent it from breaking
EXPERIMENT 10 - paper straw + corrugated sheet
This was an on the spot experiment. I was working with whatever I could see infront of me doing whatever I want. I glued together some paper straws and created half cuts through them. I didn’t know what to do next so i trimmed some thin strips from corrugated sheet and weaved them through these cuts. More than the front, I was fascinated by the top view of the straws with the half cuts looking like an opening
EXPERIMENT 11 - coir + aluminium wire
I took some coir and inserted a wire through its core. My object was to add flexibility and rigidity to the wire without the use of elfy, since I had to use large quantities of elfy on coir. I was quite satisfied with the result as I can see myself using this in the future.
EXPERIMENT 12 - coir + aluminium wire + wax
I wanted to create a dripping effect with the wax. To do this I first created a base using coir with aluminium wire inserted inside. I tried to create the dripping effect by dipping the base into hot wax and then immediately in cold water. However I could not get what I envisioned. Thus I decided to remove the wax and start from the scratch. This time I used hot glue gun to create the drips. This allowed me to have more control. I then dipped this contraption in wax. In some places the hot glue got stuck together creating a U shape, this is not what I wanted by now I am more aware of the things that could happen if I take up this experiment in future.
EXPERIMENT 13 - cloth + wax
I dipped a thick polyester fabric in wax. The fabric can be snapped but not torn. I tore this fabric from the centre, I was hoping that the wax would fill up the tear and create an air pocket but that didn’t happen.
EXPERIMENT 14 - OHP sheet + wax
Heating the OHP sheet creates very interesting curves, crevices and bubbles. This is one of my most favourite textures. I took this bubbly OHP sheet and dipped it in hot wax, my intention was to exaggerate the texture of the OHP sheet that’s usually not visible due to its transparent nature. This is my favourite exploration of the day. It appears like a wet, soapy, translucent fabric.
EXPERIMENT 15- plastic mesh + wire
one of my favourite exploration till date was the heating of the plastic mosquito mesh. This heating created a crumpling effect on the net. I wanted to recreate this effect without the heat. I decided to do this by tying and bunching up the fabric from the middle with the help of aluminium wires. I looped the wire through two distant holes and them tied them together creating bunches.
EXPERIMENT 16- sun board + aluminium sheet
I wanted to weave the aluminium sheet in a way that was different than the typical straight weave. Since my aluminium sheet was quite thick this was the maximum flexibility I could get out of it without cutting myself. I created diagonal cuts along my sunboard. I then took a small square of my sheet and weaved it through these diagonal cuts. This reminds me of the inside of an oven for some reason
EXPERIMENT 17 - can + aluminium sheet
Last time I had failed to create a weave in my soda can. This time I decided to take the challenge again, but in a more strategic manner. I marked my points at equal distance on the cab (something that I ignored last time), instead of trying to cut them with the exact-o-knife which created jagged edges, I used the knife to just stab holes. I then used a sharp pair of scissors to make clean cuts. I weaved this with strips of aluminium sheet.
EXPERIMENT 18 - wax + plastic utensil scrub
last time I was really disappointed with my wax cube as non of my suspended materials were visible inside it. I decided to give this one more shot. I poured the wax in an ice cube tray and then stuffed it with as much chopped up plastic utensil scrub as I could. The texture on the top was quite smooth, with a hazy green glow. However it was the backside that yielded the real treasure with an amazing ragged texture.
EXPERIMENT 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23 (failed experiments): I added some burnt plastic mesh, plastic utensil scrub, jute fibres, ashes of burnt coconut coir to the resin in a ice cube tray. I also dipped a piece of cloth in the resin to do some tests. I wanted my resin to cure quicker and hence I increase the proportion of the hardener. To my surprise, instead of hardening quicker, my resin ended up taking longer and was sticky when touched. I couldn’t even de-mould it, it was all gooey. I later found of that it was probably due not being mixed correctly.
LOG BOOK FOR DAY 5
DAY 6 - FEELINGS
1. Love - Represented with crushed soap to give the idea of “butterflies in stomach”.
The butterflied in my stomach
2.Love - represented by the a wire to give the idea of “tying the knot”.
Tying the knot
3. Happiness- represented by a spiral of colourful corrugated sheet
The circle of life
4. Embarrassment- represented by melted pink wax
spilled it!
5. Pain - represented by an abstraction of a removed bandage
Ouch!
6. Confusion- made with a hot glue gun.
Mind web
7. Confusion - represented by up and down spirals of wire
Trapped
8. Optimism- represented by a nylon rope which transforms from tangled to “untangled”
Untangled
9. Persistence - represented by a piece of cloth held together with a single thread
Hold on!
10. Shyness - represented by a piece of metal sheet that’s close or reserved like a flower bud waiting to blossom
A closed bud
11. Shyness- made with an aluminium foil ball to represent the “real me” trapped inside a shield
Real me
12. Anger - represented by a delicate piece of cloth that has been shattered
The wrath of my wreath
13. Anger- represented by a piece of sunboard that has been bitten.
Bite my head off!
14. Calmness and anxiety - represented with shaving foam having two sides like the yin and yang
The calm before the storm
15. Loneliness- represented by a sole bindi
The dot.
16. Patience- represented by the act of darning a fabric
One stitch at a time.
17. Determination- represented by the inner glow of a burning cotton thread
Fire on the inside.
18. Rudeness- represented by shards of OHP sheets
Stab it!
19. Happiness - represented by spirals of rainbow tie dyed tissue.
Rain of bows.
20. Shyness - represented by domes of bond paper and elfy
Inside out.
LOG BOOK FOR DAY 6
DAY 7 - DOODLING
SONDER
I started by doodling on the word Sonder.
Sonder is the realisation that every passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as yours. I wanted to showcase our self centric nature as a red ball with something going around it.
SAMPLE
SCHIZOPHRENIA
The next theme I worked on was schizophrenia. In order to showcase the mental disorder, I decided to represent the person through a red ball, with some spares poking at it, as a personification of the delusions.
SAMPLE
MEDUSA
The next theme was inspired by Medusa, the Greek mythological creature that could turn people to stone via her looks. Once again I represented her through a red ball. I wanted to add some abstract elements like wings to showcase the birth of Pegasus and well as the beheading of Medusa.
SAMPLE
GREEK MYTHOLOGY- MORTAL VS IMMORTAL
The final theme was inspired by Greek mythology in general, particularly revolving around the mortals that were punished by the immortals or the gods for challenging the limits of what humans could do.
Though all these ideas, the red ball was universal, indicating an egocentric source of power.
DAY 8 - DRAWING
FINAL DRAWING (REJECTED)
Rejected
I made my final form inspired by the Greek mythology, particularly about the mortals that were punished by the immortals or the gods, for challenging the limits of what humans could do. It was an elaborate piece with multiple natural, synthetic, and metallic materials. I spent 3 days working on this model. However I didn’t like it, infact like is a modest word, I absolutely hated it.
REFLECTION- what I learned from my failure
Surprisingly, I wasn’t shocked when I didn’t like the form. I was fascinated by the idea behind my form, the stories that I wanted to include in the form, the number of references in the form, but not the form. However since the idea was so unique and close to me I wanted to take it ahead despite of my unsureness about the physical model. During my first one on one session with the faculty I mentioned that “even if I don’t like it I know I would have enough time to make something else”. I found myself assuring my mind with this excuse with every minute I spent on this project. I knew I wouldn’t like it, I knew I would try something else, but I didn’t want to give up on the idea. I forcefully completed the form to give myself some mental satisfaction. I wanted a physical proof that my idea was not going to work. However, everything happens for a reason. One of the experiments I did for the central core (the red ball) of this model, involving rubber foam, ended up becoming the base for my final form. In fact I bought material for this form before I even finished my rejected form because I knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to do.
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