Raku results.
Posted: May 29, 2014 Filed under: Context, Subject | Tags: arduino, arianrhod, art, cardiff school of art and design, celtic, ceramics, design, light, mabinogion, student Leave a comment
These are the beautiful results of the raku kiln I did today. I’ve used a white crackle tin glaze with a copper matt and a copper glossy glaze. The matt I had not used before, the results are better than I expected them to be. The colours could have been more vivid if the flames were fanned for longer, but I wanted to smoke them for the white crackle to develop. If I refired them I could improve the results, but as I have decided not to use them as the final piece I will not be doing that in the time I have left.
The copper gloss glaze has come out better than I could have hoped for. I wanted the purple and blue to be prominent as they are the colours associated with the celtic deity Arianrhod. I chose to put the copper on the bottom because it has texture that will be unexpected and cannot be thoroughly looked at because of the design. It keeps the mystery of the Celtic deities and reminds us of the unknown.
Medal experiments.
Posted: December 2, 2013 Filed under: Process, Skills, Subject | Tags: 3D printing, arduino, art, celtic, ceramic, Csad, design, light, mabinogion, porcelain, wales, welsh Leave a comment
Medal development. I’ve been quite busy developing my medal ideas and aesthetics. I have successfully 3D printed a circular lithopane and taken a mould, which l have then cast porcelain. These are test pieces, so I can see how much they shrink in the kilns at different temperatures. Also, to test the opacity. From my adventures in porcelain last year I believe they will work. I hope.
The next step is to look at glazes and methods of getting the text, which translates to ‘presence is more than being’, on to the pieces. I think I want the text to obstruct the image, this can only be decided through experimentation though.
I’m hoping that glazing will happen this week.
Let there be light.
Posted: May 7, 2013 Filed under: Skills | Tags: arduino, art, cardiff met, cardiff school of art and design, ceramics, design, Ikea, mixed media., student, texture Leave a comment
Finally, I have got my work from the firing at 1280 that took place at the end of the previous week. Two days before the submission date for my project I am delighted to find that the concept I have been working towards actually works. Pictures of the instillation will follow, hopefully tomorrow.
Just hanging about.
Posted: May 4, 2013 Filed under: Ideas, Process | Tags: arduino, cardiff school of art and design, ceramics, Ikea, invisible thread, mixed media., student, textiles, weaving Leave a comment
Holding devices for ceramic lighting. I have changed my mind about the way I want to hang my work. I feel that the wire structures were too intrusive. The hard, dark metal took away from the pure white, smooth objects. I have decided to use invisible thread which I am weaving to create little nets to hold the lighting in place. I feel they appear more mysterious now as you cannot exactly see how they are hung.
Porcelain firing.
Posted: March 14, 2013 Filed under: Process | Tags: arduino, art, cardiff school of art and design, ceramics, design, Ikea, student, texture Leave a comment
Porcelain lights. I put these into the kiln today, so they should be out over the weekend. Then I get to play with the lights and arduino, which I have been waiting for for so long. The debris that is left after firing may create some interesting shadows within the work, but we will have to wait until next week to find out.
A change of direction.
Posted: March 6, 2013 Filed under: Context, Creative Strategies, Ideas | Tags: arduino, art, cardiff school of art and design, Cardiff., ceramics, clay, conceptual art, design, Ikea, Jacob's antique market, paper, texture Leave a comment
I have chosen to re-assess my original concept and outcome of this project. Originally I was planning to create Ikea inspired lights with a Jacob’s Market twist. Unfortunately I have become so involved in the making of the objects my connection to Jacob’s has become weak. I also think that my love of the place was overpowering my work and enticing me to continue to make reference.
My “new” concept has been there all along – it has just taken six weeks to work its way out of the abyss. So, now I am focusing on the made object, the raw material. The impurities that are inevitable are an intrinsic part of this. I am hanging a cluster or the lights with ultra bright LED’s inside to give a warm glow. The lights will also contribute to showing the thickness of the porcelain and where it is thicker. From a distance there will be a cloudy appearance to the work. As the onlooker gets closer to inspect the finer details the lights will dim and eventually switch off using a programmed arduino. This created a smooth and lifeless object. I think this will surprise the viewer. I also hope it can delight.
My reason for turning off the lights is simple. As you walk around Ikea your eye is caught by what seems to be an interesting object or piece of furniture that you believe you must have to improve your life. Upon closer inspection the shopper usually discovers the object is plain with no character, just like everything else the shop has to offer. This is because of the mass marketing industry that has become a part of so many of our lives.
First arduino set up.
Posted: February 19, 2013 Filed under: Skills, Technical | Tags: arduino, art, Csad, design, kinetic art, student Leave a comment
Playing with a basic set up of movement using a knob as the sensor and a cervo motor as an actuator, now I have a basic understanding of programming and that I want to play with LED lights, motion sensors and my ceramic work to project images onto the “shells”.
Fork bending fun.
Posted: November 6, 2012 Filed under: Ideas | Tags: arduino, art, Csad, design, fork, laser cutting., perspex, student Leave a comment
Perspex laser cut fork that has been heated and manipulated. The process of this was quite simple, I drew the shape on rhino and then used the software linked to the laser cutter to finish the drawing ready for print. The machine to heat the perspex was simple, a low heat is better than heating instantly as the material bubbles. I like the finish on the fork, its such a simple piece. I’m hoping to use ardunio to make it more interactive and develop a way to progress my design.
Alice's ArtVenture 
