everyone who walked past kept asking what is it? what’s it going to be?
i think it was a very good thing for me to do to get out in a more public area of the school, i met a lot of staff and students who i didn’t know before and they all saw me doing stuff rather than just knowing i was in a room in the art department.
We had quite a few different pupils come and help us, it was hard to keep track they kind of dipped in and out depending on whether they had free lessons or not. it was easier with just a few at a time i think, it would have been chaos with a massive group.
it took shape quite quickly but i think it is the detail that is going to really bring it together that i think me and cath are going to meet up and try and do this week so its done for when the kids get back to school
so for the last week of term, having abandoned any hope of getting my sculpture finished as i still don’t have the copper foil, i launched into helping various small groups of pupils and Cath and Mike who run the art department build sculptures for a garden courtyard bit in the school.
inspired by a dragon made of willow in erddig that we went to see we have attempted to make a dragon for the school, which isn’t quite finished but i think looks great.
it was quite a learning curve having never made anything more than a basket or lantern out of willow and cath andmike being the same. but it was really fun and i managed to get some copper in there by getting the pupils to make scales for the dragon out of silver and copper wire, and wire mesh. We also made spines that look good out of the metal.
It did rain a lot though which slightly slowed things down, but we spent the time indoors making large flowers out of silver and copper wire also which are going to look great in the garden, we first need to get some tubing to help them stand up which will have to be done over the holidys now, as well as the dragons head.
on the 8th july the school had an achievement night where all the pupils got awarded certificates, it was held in the university building, we put up an exhibiton of work done by the pupils and i put a little display explaining about the residency..
I’ve been designing my copper sculpture, unfortunately it’s proving really hard to get copper foil in a large amount from anywhere that isn’t overseas, so i’ve ordered lots of small rolls that are from somewhere nearer and i’m going tohave to fix them all together i think, maybe parcel tape. i’ve been enjoying drawing on a large surface tho good to be working big again, i am planning an image of tree roots breaking up concrete in an urban environment.
plan after that is to ask a group of the students to write down what the word envirinment means to them and maybe using paper litho transfer their words, drawings onto the copper to blend in with my image that will be etched.
i’m thinking of using what i’ve learned from doing paper litho which is ink acts as a resist, and roll ink over the copper foil and draw through that then let it dry and etch it. its all a bit experimental and new but it should work in theory.
i’m running my research group in etching newt week so might use that as time to experiment a bit..
