Shifting Boundaries - first days

Our class 'Shifting Boundaries' with Silvia Levenson is well under way! We've got the first project firing away and the studio is buzzing. 

With 9 people in the class plus technical assistants and Silvia, we have come from all over the world - Argentina, Amsterdam, Italy, Scotland, England, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, Latvia and Australia. Some with extensive glass backgrounds, some trying it for the first time - nearly all fluent in at least three languages! 

.........

We started with a bunch of demos and talks. Although some in the group are experienced casters, it is always beneficial to be told the processes again by someone new - there's always something to pick up that is a variation to what you had been taught. 

Lots of amazing Australian artists showing up in powerpoints! We all shared slides of our own work, and influential makers. 

Alginate Demo 

Moulding Demo

The first project was using alginate - a seaweed based material that dentists use to take a mould of your teeth. It can also be smeared onto the body ( or anything else ) or you can press something into the alginate to make an exact replica. Alginate is brilliant for capturing really super fine details and it is flexible making it easy to remove the object, or your body when it is set. Once you have made an alginate form you can pour wax into it and then use the wax for casting. 

This is an older photo from 2015, but shows the way alginate can be used

Because taking waxes from the body is something I am quite familiar with, I tried to think about using them in a slightly different way - previously I had cast the wax as paper thin skins, this time I thought about the wax more as smaller three dimensional objects that are oddly shaped but can still allude to a form from the body.  I've taken alginate and then waxes from my elbow, wrist and heel. 

A short sweet little project to get everyone into the swing of things! These are now in the kiln at 830 degrees celsius. 

In between times, I've been doing plenty of exploring along country roads and down to the harbours. Very peaceful and big wide spaces. Loving the rows of stone walls and the dramatic clouds, always just hinting of rain! 

I'll update with some kiln results soon. 

Heading out from the studio - 9pm and still light!