Realize Further Development

20 February 2020 During our editorial meeting, Francesca and I discussed the possibility of collaborating on the further development of our respective realize projects. Francesca had proposed a branching light fixture in her community food library, suspended above a branching meal table. I wondered if I could plate and crystallize one of the branching structures,… Continue reading Realize Further Development

Mary Evans – Materials Lab Lecture, RCA Kensington

30 January 2020 Original work - painting, offset printing with stencils Experience of racism in Amsterdam shattered her sense of place, made her question her identity, rootsImages as pictograms of African Men and Women, repeated in varying sizes for perspective, hand cut from kraft paperReferences silhouettes of architectural elements in some worksAdopted kraft paper used… Continue reading Mary Evans – Materials Lab Lecture, RCA Kensington

Reading: The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals

Richard Huges and Michael Rowe 27 January 2020 The book contextualizes patination in art and craft through historical times, and mentions some achievements in patination techniques in French, Japanese and Chinese crafts movements. Beyond this, it is a kind of recipe book, showing images of patinated plates and directing the user to the 'recipe' to… Continue reading Reading: The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals

Week 2 – Testing absorbents

15 January 2020 Following the success of the acrylic butterfly, where i coated an electroformed laser cut butterfly object with sawdust, to allow absorptive crystallization and colours from copper corrosion, I decided to flip the materials inside out - using absorbents as base for electroforming and patination, to allow for patination on electroformed surfaces.. I… Continue reading Week 2 – Testing absorbents

Crystals and Crystallization Reading

14 December 2019 History, nature, nhm, existing documentation, synthetic growth, my direction - dendrites? internship bookmarks on crystal reading Crystal & gem / written by Dr R.F.Symes and Dr R.R.Harding. https://sciencing.com/create-synthetic-rubies-6788778.html http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Synthetic-Ruby.html https://www.gemsociety.org/article/understanding-gem-synthetics-treatments-imitations-part-4-synthetic-gemstone-guide/ Crystal growers make use of certain fundamental aspects of natural laws; these laws govern the states of matter and the interactions of… Continue reading Crystals and Crystallization Reading

Further Experiments: scale, light, nature, organics

12 January 2020 Outcomes: Colours and shapes of recovered crystalsHardier blue crystalsAcrylic butterfly - light fixture?Absrption from flowers?Salt screenSalt screen against lightCopper crystal ringAJ wearing Copper crystal ringPotential dynamic screen - growth and interactionScaling up stirring stick sculpture - absorption and evaporation in the outdoorsCopper sulphate crystallization on a found twig Processes: Plating a Laser… Continue reading Further Experiments: scale, light, nature, organics

Natural Crystal Formations

10 December 2019 Dead Sea, Jordan Valley High salinity levels combined with no outlets for water leave the dead sea with transient salt formations, their shapes depending on the kinds of minerals in the water and environmental factors. Photo: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/09/strange-salt-formations-in-dead-sea.html Delicate, slow accumulation, transient Naica Caves, Chihuahua, Mexico Enormous crystals of the mineral gypsum (hydrated… Continue reading Natural Crystal Formations

Cauliflower/Fern Crystals

10 December 2019 This science experiment is the first I have come across, depicting the mechanism of formation of cauliflower/fern shaped salt crystals. It uses ammonia and water combined with a colloidal bluing suspension, to cause capillarity, evaporation and crystal deposition, in shapes closest to my salt crystals. (I'm not sure exposing kids to ammonia… Continue reading Cauliflower/Fern Crystals

Potential Applications: combining materials and forms

07 December 2019 Submerging electroformed plastic drawing in copper sulphate solution - to crop crystals at strategic points 2. Suspending my electroformed plastic drawing over salt vinegar solution, introducing wood sticks with wound copper sheets between the copper and salt solution for absorption and deposition of crystals near surface of copper drawing.. 3. Hollow Brass… Continue reading Potential Applications: combining materials and forms