Monday 12th - Tuesday 13th January
What I did
-modeled my final idea on a mannequin using masking tape and rope
-visualized the final idea from all perspectives
-sampled materials (wire and metal plate)
-attempted at modeling my final idea on a person (however was unable to complete, due to the wrong choice of materials)
-rethought my choice of materials
General reflection
-the worst part of today was when I hammered the wire (4m) and then when tried putting it on a person it kept on being very flimsy and kept snapping. This was very annoying because it meant that I can't do what i want to and either have to rethink the design or the materials. I have decided to rethink the materials and chose to use steel rods which can be spot welded together and are covered by copper, so they will still look like my copper plates.
-the best part of today was when I made the perfect shaped round copper plates and fired them with borax which created a beautiful oxidation pattern. This was very pleasing because I really felt like I was making something beautiful with my own hands.
-I have learnt the technique of soldering in a Solder Workshop and decided to apply this technique to my piece (to attach the copper plates to the copper wire using solder). However as I had to change to steel rods, it meant that I can no longer solder. Nonetheless, I used the by product of this technique - purposely created the oxidation process
-my time management for these two days was overall satisfactory because I have done all the preparation processes an estimated that I will have enough time on a Thursday to carry lout the making process
Modeling process:
Materials preparation process:
Wednesday 14th January
What I did
-carried out secondary research (http://vrresearchcsm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/memories-contained-within-secondary.html) into some of the themes of my final outcome concept to place it into a more familiar concept for the viewers
Thursday 15th January
What I did
-made the final outcome
General reflection
-the most difficult part was attaching the copper plates to the steel rods, because I was unable to solder these two metals as they have different heating temperatures, therefore I had to use glue, which was also a pain, because it had to be mixed from two different tubes and then it had to set for 20 minutes
-the best part of today was getting the final outcome and feeling satisfied with it
-I have learnt the metal glueing techniques today and have done spot welding for the first time without any help
-my time management was excellent today, because I finished one hour prior to the end of the lesson and did not feel time pressured at all
The making process:
-for the Memories Contained Within project I have created a conceptual (non-functional) pieces completed in copper (and copper covered steel). It resembles a wire system which links and accentuates various parts of the female body. The wire lies flat on the skin, repeating all the 3D shapes it passes. The piece starts from the "fossa" (top inner area of the ear) with a round (2cm diameter) copper plate completed with oxidation texture using borax and heat. It extends with a number of steel rods spot welded together in a continuos line. the line starts from the fossa, circles the ear at the back (how the piece holds up), follows the jaw line, drops down just before reaching the chin, bounces of the collar bone, streaks down the indentation between to collar bones into the cleavage, circles the bust and comes out on the side (10 cm below the armpit) on to the back where it follows the shoulder blade and suddenly drops down (from an upward movement along the shoulder blade) where the line becomes parallel to the spine. it drops all the way to the sacrum are where it circles (outwards) the indentations and the uncompleted circle brakes up at the top and flows to the side of the waist. here the line entries the from area and runs from the waist to the top of the navel, starts circling the navel, but doesn't finish the circle and at the bottom shots up in a straight line right up to the navel which is covered by another copper plate (also oxidized). Exactly the same is repeated on the other side of the body. the piece consists of two structures which are made to be symmetrical (of course, because ether are 100% hand made they are not perfectly symmetrical).
-the piece is put on individually from each side (the top bit hoops on to the ear and the rest of the body is inserted side ways into the metal frame. The two sections are inserted by the ends on the navel area into a lock at the back of the navel copper plate.
-the piece constricts the movement of the upper body of the wearer, especially, the individual cannot move their neck at all.
-this idea is that when this piece is put on (if it was functional) the inner electric current will pass through the wire structure and link up the three areas - fossa, sacrum and navel - the interaction of which will result in complete memory reenactment.
-I am very satisfied with the outcome, because it looks minimalistic but decorative at the same time, it 100% represents what I pictured it coming out like in my head. It also evokes interest amongst the observers because its purpose is not at all clear from just looking at it, therefore, viewers want to explore its concepts.
-if I was to improve this piece I would not use welding and find a continues pieces of wire. But above all, I wold of course make it functional however this requires a lot of scientific research and first of all scientific qualification. however, maybe in future I will be able to collaborate with a scientist to bring my childhood ambition finally to life!
