Just when I thought that our research residency couldn’t of gotten any more exciting, it did! We started to make our designs with glass-blower Steve Williams in the lab and it is proven to be very re-warding for both parties. We are certainly pushing the material to it’s limits and I am reminded of it’s fragility.
I am also reminded that all the wonderful possibilities of developing a material or design is in the making process. As blowing scientific glass is a new process for us, it was equally exhilarating and hypnotic.
We are attempting to create a more tactile presence to the glass for handling, so have started to develop ways to give the glass, finger smears and ripples on it’s surface:
We also had a Meeting with Scientist Zoe Schnepp http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/chemistry/schnepp-zoe.aspx
Where she shared with us her exciting research. Zoe uses a lot of biopolymers, including alginate and she has also done extensive research with gelatine as well as using spherification in her teaching demos. I now see gelatine in a different way and my mind is completely brimming with ideas.
Equally as inspiring was our meeting with mixologist Rob Wood https://twitter.com/inrobwetrust
Rob’s impassioned historical knowledge of ingredients and alcohol is remarkable and our day of designing concept cocktails to match our three different glassware vessels, flew by. Our intention is to play with your perceptions and senses, when handling the glass and consuming it’s delicious content.
The consumption of the food is as important to the piece as the sculptural nature of the vessels. The combination of the two allows us to make it a performative, participatory piece rather than something you encounter for contemplation. Considering the food’s textures, weight and aesthetics, just as we are the object’s, and then to combine the two, to create a sensual experience really delights and fascinates me. I am really looking forward on continuing to develop this research and it’s collaborations.
