I have been trying to keep costs to a minimum during the course of this project, yet at the same time I have been trying to use materials that will have sustainability.
There have been more changes in my idea which I will be discussing throughout this entry. Just a quick note so you understand what I am writing about, there is no longer 4 main branches with 4 organs that act as sensors. There are no other additional branches that extend off the top of the trunk. There is only now 1 main branch with 1 main source of interaction. Again I will be explaining more during the course of this entry.
The frame work of trunk has been constructed entirely out of chicken wire, ensuring that all the measure requirements are met so that when the time comes the projector can fit neatly inside with enough space between it and the walls of the trunk.
Giving this spacial divide together with the ventilation access will give some reassurance of there being less chance of any kinds of over heating/fires.
The trunk has been made in two sections, the first part consisting of the base which is were the roots of the tree lie, working its way up just surpassing where the projector will rest. This part stands just under 6ft tall.
The second part is a lot smaller as it is only a connection between the trunk and the branch of the tree where the organ sensor will be displayed.
It has been made in two individual parts so that it makes the process of connecting the projector and the circuity of the Arduino kit through the branch of the tree a much simpler job. Also it means I don't have to have a projector constantly inside it, or be working around it. That would virtually be impossible because it's the University's equipment that I will be using.
Section One
Section one (as I will be referring it to as) started off with me making 3 individual circular shapes from the chicken wire. I gave each shape 2 layers of chicken wire so it was more durable and less flimsy when it came to building up the layers of plaster/modroc.
All 3 parts where then stacked upon one another, each being slightly inserted to the one it was vertically adjacent to so that they could then be connected securely.
With copper wire I began to tie the parts together, and then for extra support I inserted wooden beams into each connecting sector.
Once this had been completed I rapped the chicken wire frame with cellophane, this was to seal off the holes of the chicken wire and create a much smoother and workable surface for me to be able to add the modroc later on.
My next step was to add a wooden board underneath the trunk that I had built so far. This was to create a work surface for me to be able to start creating the roots of the tree. Not only that but it would act as a supportable way to be able to pick up the structure and transport it with ease.
For the build of the roots I began by making another circular frame with the chicken wire, then cutting sections out which I could then mould into separate shapes that I thought would reassemble the characteristics of the roots of a tree.
Once I had made them and secured them with copper wire I then inserted my feet casts, and then started to bend and shape the chicken wire around the cast so they would form some fluidity between the cast and the wire.
Each root was then filled with crumbled up news paper to give volume to the hollow shapes, then they were covered with cellophane in the same was as the rest of the trunk. So far everything had merged together to create this almost transparent tree like object, with roots that seemed to morph into human feet.
It was a milestone at this point to see everything coming together finally.
My next task was the enjoyable part, covering the whole thing in modroc. I decided to encase it all in modroc first not only to give it that added layer of strength, but also to act as a better surface for the plaster to be added.
I gave the the whole thing 2 layers of modroc and then left a day before I started adding the plaster and face casts just to ensure that it had fully dried out.
This was the moment I had been waiting for, the part where I would finally see what I had envisioned in my head come to reality. It was an exciting yet slow moving process when it came to adding the plaster/face casts.
I had my friend Ashley Walker to help me out during this time as it would have been at least 3 or 4 days before I had finished this part of the project if I had done it on my own. Together we completed it all within the space of 2 days.
We started adding plaster to the bottom first and worked our way up. The faces were added by applying No More Nails to the back of them, then any crack or gaps around the edges of the faces were sealed up with the appliance of more No More Nails or modroc if needed (this depended on the size of the gap).
We would work our way around, using each individual circular shape as an boundary to work from. Once we had come full circle we would begin adding the plaster around the set of faces that we had just set to the structure of the trunk.
Whilst Ashley applied the plaster I would use my spatula to scrape away any excess plaster, and try my best to merge the two together to make it look like a more realistic transition of the faces pushing their way out of the trunk of the tree.
Obviously I had to create a space for the projector to rest and be able to peer out so earlier on I had created a shelf within the trunk that sits on the wooden beams I had used to connect the chicken wire together.
The hole was cut out to suit the measurements of where the lens it situated on the projector itself. Again I made it that much bigger than the actual measurement so that there is room for error/movement.
The face cast I had created for this section had to be split in half, separating the jaw and then re-plastering it back to the face. I did this so that the space the projector would have to use to showcase the visuals would be larger. I just wanted to make sure the projections would not be obstructed because I felt the size of my mouth on the cast was too small.
After nearly 2 weeks of non stop work and a lot of dedication that was driven by the passion to create something beautiful I was left with what you see below as the completion of section one.
I don't think in my whole life I have created something artistically that I have been pleased of before. I have always felt that I have these great ideas but my execution has been awful due to the lack of dedication, the sloppiness of my work and my sheer laziness.
However this is something I have been really passionate about. It is a work of art that I have been wanting to do for such a long time, and after quitting my art course in a previous University I thought I would never get the opportunity to do this. Fortunately I have been given the chance and I have put my everything into it, and I am pleased to say that I am proud of what I have made.
Now comes the tragedy!
My project is an installation piece so that means I need a room for my work to be exhibited in, but also constructed in as it is in 2 separate pieces and can only really be put together in the room it is going to be shown in.
So since September when I first pitched my idea of what I wanted to accomplish with this project to my tutors, I have been telling them and asking for a room. Even if the room was temporary that was fine, I just needed a room for it to go in and be put together and worked on slightly.
They told me not to worry about rooms and they'll come back to it at a later date. Well I have to worry because having a room is a major part of this project. Plus I have no room in the house I am currently doing my project to start the build of the second section.
So I persisted and EVENTUALLY they offered me a room for me to be able to put section one of the tree so that I could then begin the next part.
The only thing is the room they have offered me is for storage use only! This means once it is in there I am not allowed to work on it at all.
Now I know rooms are hard to come by at this time of year due to other people doing projects and exhibitions, but I just think if they had looked for a room for me when I first asked then there potentially could have been space for me to not only store my work but also be able to work on it.
To add insult to injury I was then told it would then be marked in this room, the room where I am not allowed to do any further work on it once it is in there, meaning it won't even be put together when it gets marked!
They say they'll find me a proper room when it comes to my exhibition but I just feel slightly gutted that it will get marked UNFINISHED in my eyes.
I obliged and accepted this room in the end because I have no other option really.
It gets worse though!!!
When transporting the first section to University the roots of the tree cracked during the car journey and also when carrying it around, and a foot came loose and fell off which was so disheartening. It made the whole structure of the tree less sturdy because they had cracked quite substantially.
I felt like being sick. It was as if my whole world was collapsing in on itself. I had finally put all this work and effort into creating something that I was proud of and it was all falling apart in front of me.
To be fair it is easily fixable but the fact it is sitting in a room where I can't do anything to it, a room where it will now be marked BROKEN, it just really bums me out.
I feel as though my motivation to complete the work as been sucked out of me in one in one fell swoop. However I must persevere, be patient, and not let these events steer the direction of my hard work in the wrong direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment