Rustnstuff: 02/15

Friday, February 27, 2015

Wings tips, mountains - travel and home

I have finished one of my small sculptural pieces for the next COMA exhibition. This one tells a story of travel that gives joy and inspiration; but also returning home for the views of the mountains in the valley below and also the place to create and be nurtured by nature.

One side of the triptych is representative of the wings of and aircraft.

The other side suggests mountains and valleys.

And of course the three objects are just beautiful forms.

A few for the photos are a bit grainy - all about rushing. This Friday has been a full art day: photographing finished work; making bowls for ladles; discussing quotes for a community installation; and installing the book bench (more on that later). It is time to stop, have a single malt and eat a little risotto.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Like walking through water

This morning's walk was through mist and misty rain. A bit on the damp side from a walking perspective.

But there were droplets and fungi delights to be had.

And colour of course and droplets.

So it was worth braving the day after all.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Making a start

On Saturday I made a start on one of the small 3D pieces I'm hoping to do for the Collaboration of Maleny Artists (COMA) exhibition that is to be held from 21 May-18 June.

I want to do at least one piece that relates to flight and travel - possibly called Fragments of Flight. The idea is to make three small wing tips from wood and partly clad them in polished aluminium. The idea is that they will stand as a group; and reflect travel to inspirational and salubrious destinations.

The task started with some Camphor Laurel timber - an environmental pest.

I cut and roughly formed the three wooden wing tips. The tallest is about 220mm high and the shortest about 150mm high.

They were sanded into shape; and I gave the top of the wing tips an oil as this will be exposed in the design.

And then I began the gladding process. I'm using small stainless steel screws as imitation aircraft rivets. Drilling and screwing takes quite a while as there will be at test 100 screws in each of the wing tips.

I think the finished group of three wing tips of polished wood and polished aluminium will look quite intriguing. But there is still quite a bit of work yet to be done.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Discovery regarding book stacks

My word for today was discovery; and discover I did.

I had two commissions for book stacks - one a set of three; and another a triple stack bench seat. As you know my book stack in the main are made from hard covered books, such as encyclopaedias and year books that are on their way to the rubbish tip. The woman who wanted the set of three stacks has provided her own encyclopaedias that had been in the family for a long time; and she wanted to repurpose them for sentimental reasons.

I tend to just let the stacks quietly degrade over about 5+ years. But both people who commissioned the stacks were not keen on the natural degrading process. They wanted to keep the books looking more in their original state for longer. I suggested we could spray them with a sealant (yuk); or we could coat them with pure beeswax. They went for the latter. The trick was I had not done that before. So after making the stacks I decided to paint them with molten wax. Fiona lent me her wax wok; and some of the wax we bought recently from a garage sale.

The painting process left a rough wax texture - I wasn't keen on that. I asked Fiona if I could borrow her heat gun so I could melt the wax onto the books like one does with some encaustic work. As you can see from the photo below the heat gun worked a treat.

So after a few hours I had painted and melted and ended up with all the stacks coated in wax - hopefully preserved for a while.

I must say it was a good learning for me; and I will use the technique again - when folk want stacks that don't degrade so quickly. And you can see the wax brings out the colour and detail of the encyclopaedias. I also went for a modified design with these stacks. Instead of drilling holes through the books I put the rods external to the books - hoping to maintain the integrity of the books; and I think it looks a bit finer. These smaller stacks can be used inside the house or in the garden

Enough of that - it is time for a red wine.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The difference a couple of days makes

My morning walk on Monday was after overnight rain - a clear crisp morning as you can see from the photo below. But this morning was not for walking - misty and rain showers as you can see from photos at the end of the post.

Monday was the day for capturing some fragments of the beauty of nature on the walk. Some colour for those currently in winter snow.

Today was for capturing the white-out and the webs.

We believe that the next few days are going to be filled with torrential rain and wind - not looking forward to that part of nature.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Leaf Sculptures finished

As indicated on Friday I intended to finish the leaf sculpture (Bending 3) for Fiona made from the recycled leaves fro the Leaf Spiral post sculpture; and also finish a new version of this sculpture - Bending 4.

A few photos of Bending 3 installed at the entrance to our house. It looks like it just belongs there. I can see why Fiona was not so keen to sell the last version (Bending 2).

If you look closely you can see the nail holes where the leaves were attached to the post.

And we have installed three leaves on the right hand side of the entrance - connects well to the set of 14 on the left hand (as you enter).

The new version (Bending 4) has 15 leaves in all. The leaves are slightly smaller (about 220mm long). Bending 4 will stay out in the open curing - it has no sealant over the patina.

It takes a bit of time to make these installations - not only the forming and working and applying the patina to the leaf forms; but also cutting and forming the rods and then riveting the leaves onto the rods with solid copper rivets. I was pleased with this as a weekend outcome.

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