Childish Experiments
With a research and development project it’s sometimes hard to know where to start, for with so many possible avenues to explore, the possibilities are endless.
A recently rediscovered book from my childhood has been supplying me with my current inspiration. It was written in the 1980s, an era in which, I guess, we as children must have been much more innocent and easily pleased than the children of today. Activities include such gems as how to make a mouse and twirling ballerina out of a pocket handkerchief. My attention was caught however, by a recipe to make an image transfer medium using white spirit and soap.
While I can’t say that the images I transferred using this method were entirely successful, they have led me to an interesting line of enquiry around the capturing of images for insertion into resins.
I’m particularly keen on the idea of physically ‘capturing’ the ink from a page as opposed to reprinting or copying the page as I love the idea that the removal of the ink and its encapsulation is extracting and preserving the soul or essence of the book/newspaper/printed words; somehow more pleasing to me than simple reproduction. My next step will be to experiment with solvents/alcohols to see whether I can dissolve the ink from the page. Any suggestions as to what may work would be gratefully received!
