And now it is time for my second blogging attempt. I shall start with where I am at the moment. It just so happens that I am about to commence construction for my final piece, the great plan that will eventually amount to: the work.
Firstly, I have never built anything larger or more complicated than a 1.5 x 1.5 meter canvas; and secondly, I am particularly terrified of anything that looks like it could potentially maim, kill, or rob someone of a limb (for this I have Walk the Line to thank, with the exceptionally gruesome scene at the start of the film that involves a circular saw). So far I have managed to avoid using the circular saw at Brookes, thanks to a smaller and friendlier-looking machine, but I highly doubt I will be able to avoid it once putting together a whopping great cylinder structure that will be (just) over two meters in diameter. Watch this space.
It is, however, very exciting to be attempting such a mammoth task, and I am sure that after several crucial moments and drill-related mistakes, I will probably feel very accomplished. There is a small thought nagging at me, trying to tell me that the building will be the easy part. It is the lighting that poses the biggest problem, as I am using natural light, therefore linking the ‘sublime’ of the embroideries to sunlight, and ultimately space and the cosmos. Having explored every possibility, as well as very expensive sun-tubes, I decided on natural spotlights, for which I have yet to make a model to see if my theory of how the light will behave is correct.
The rest of this week has also been rather exciting. I have, today, been wasting a lot of time playing with a small sheet of brass that makes a delightful warbling noise whenever I wobble it. Not just any brass, but the brass that I will be chopping up and engraving to accompany my several embroideries. I have also gathered a meter roll of black, matt vinyl (for which I have great plans), have started to create a ‘creative text’ and am hoping to make a book involving images of my work thus far. All of these goodies are going to be developed over the next few weeks as I continue to strive for the final piece.
So how is it progressing? Well, I am very enthusiastic about the embroidery that I am sewing at the moment, though that probably has something to do with the thread being blue (it’s a nice break from orange and brown for the two embroideries of volcanoes on Venus). There is thread everywhere. This is quite an issue as it likes taking the clumped up form of a knot of smaller strings, which from a distance always makes it look like a spider, especially if it is one of the darker colours. They always stick to the bed.
I plan to investigate Europa next as I’ve developed a particular interest in the surfaces of moons, as they are visually (and chemically) much more interesting to me than any of the main planets, apart from Jupiter.
Right this moment, however, amongst phone calls left right and centre dealing with a rather problematic letting agency I have the misfortune of renting under, I am drawing maps again of deep space and plotting out routes between the stars. I will post one of these crude blueprints up, as long as you remember it’s the design for something grander. I’m thinking vinyl.
