Plaster Mold |
If I got Time27.94 cm x 17.78 cm x 12.7cm
Plaster mold with clay elements January-February 2020 Inspired by the works of Johnson Tsang as well as aspect of Eduardo Paolozzi´s work this piece depicts the disillusionment between what one likes doing and what has to e done such as work school etc. |
Planning
Inspiration
My main inspiration was Johnson Tsang's ceramic sculptures depicting heads that are usually manipulated or have other abstractions applied to them. The two pieces that inspired my artwork were Here and there as well as Falling in love both of which take note of the mind with these surreal elements taking place near the mind. In the case of Tsang's Falling in love it appears someone is drowning in a sea, this can translate to the person very much being in regret from falling in love or the feeling that the other person doesn't have interest in the subject. These assumptions are supported by the face that the subject has on and the distress that can be seen in the gesture of the hands being very almost helpless. Here and there is very much a piece I admire from a visual stand point and the concept of the mind being like a building intrigued me throughout my research and led me to Eduardo Paolozzi. Man Holds the key by Eduardo Paolozzi is a piece I have a tremendous adoration for because of the bold lines mechanic colors and the structure of piece is very visually appealing with the manner all the components fit together. But aside from all of the mechanical aspects I praised Paolozzi for the way he handled the brain almost like a office work space with different rooms for different functions of the mind. This idea of compartments in the brain was a huge inspiration in my work.
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For me another personal inspiration was that of the movie 9 from 2009 which was a very interesting movie to me with the main characters consisting of puppets brought to life by a scientist. The way this is done is by the scientist putting a part of his soul into the dolls giving them life. The design of these dolls inspired the little clay men in my head, I used the purpose of the dolls in my piece by having them symbolize the different parts of myself with the artistic one having to do with the feelings i have in my head about art, leisure, and creativity. The other little guy is the part of me that has to deal with the different aspect of life that must be done such as work, school, organizing, and responsibilities.
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Planning Sketches
Experimentation
The main experimentation for this piece was the use of sculpey since this is my first time using it for a piece. It wasn't easy getting the basics down but I was able to find an efficant way to work with it. When sculpting I subtracted rather than added to the little clay men. The fake boxs and painting where made by cutting ad gluing pieces of cardboard in the shape of a canvas and easel. The books where just folded paper glued into a cardboard rectangle. Other experimentation that was directly related to the mold making process was fixing the botched nose which required some semi wet plaster. To fix this hiccup I made some new plaster and applied it to areas that needed that attention i.e the nose. This was a nessecary experience in my eyes at the end of the day since it showed me how to deal with these things and develop as a problem solver.
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Process
I began the process by cutting up some plaster strips. while doing this i had my seat prepared and i put on my swimming cap. to make the mold slip off better I had to lather myself with petroleum jelly on my neck and face and all over to assure the mold will come off smoothly. After all these preparations i sat in the chair and two of the woman who help the students with their art helped my apply the plaster strips onto my face after dipping them in warm water. After applying the strips all over my face I waited for the mold to set and solidify which took about 30 min and then we would cautiously wait for the mold to set fully.
After waiting around a day or two for the mold to set in my case an entire week we would eventually set up a place for the molds and a place to start making the plaster to pour into the mold. As far as making the plaster I took the powdered plaster and put it into a bucket of water. After doing this for a while I looked for a consistency akin to that of pancake batter. when you achieve this liquid like and somewhat thick consistency I poured it into the molds. Waiting almost a whole week I used a various assortment of tools trying to get the cast out of the mold, using my hands to free the cast was a lot more effective than screwdrivers and picks. After freeing the cast I began chipping away at the top of the head with the a hacksaw. I transported the head from MVP to My house and began work on the clay elements this didn't take as much time as the other process but it was the one that devoted the most of my attention. The elements themselves though small still required a good amount of detail. After completing all of the elements I proceeded to put them on a baking pan lined with aluminum foil and baked them for around 17 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. After this i used gorilla glue to attach these elements to the empty cavity in the head where they were needed. Then I started working on the small cardboard elements such as the canvas small painting and books. The books were a simple 3 piece design with folded paper in between the pieces. The canvas consisted of a triangular piece with small cuts to create 3 folds that went up to the top which was flat, from here I folded the middle fold back and then glued 2 small pieces together to act as the lower horizontal member. Then I painted over it with a light brown to make it seem like wood. From here I made the painting by painting a small square of cardboard with a piece of paper glued to the back. After everything was glued the piece was finished.
After waiting around a day or two for the mold to set in my case an entire week we would eventually set up a place for the molds and a place to start making the plaster to pour into the mold. As far as making the plaster I took the powdered plaster and put it into a bucket of water. After doing this for a while I looked for a consistency akin to that of pancake batter. when you achieve this liquid like and somewhat thick consistency I poured it into the molds. Waiting almost a whole week I used a various assortment of tools trying to get the cast out of the mold, using my hands to free the cast was a lot more effective than screwdrivers and picks. After freeing the cast I began chipping away at the top of the head with the a hacksaw. I transported the head from MVP to My house and began work on the clay elements this didn't take as much time as the other process but it was the one that devoted the most of my attention. The elements themselves though small still required a good amount of detail. After completing all of the elements I proceeded to put them on a baking pan lined with aluminum foil and baked them for around 17 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. After this i used gorilla glue to attach these elements to the empty cavity in the head where they were needed. Then I started working on the small cardboard elements such as the canvas small painting and books. The books were a simple 3 piece design with folded paper in between the pieces. The canvas consisted of a triangular piece with small cuts to create 3 folds that went up to the top which was flat, from here I folded the middle fold back and then glued 2 small pieces together to act as the lower horizontal member. Then I painted over it with a light brown to make it seem like wood. From here I made the painting by painting a small square of cardboard with a piece of paper glued to the back. After everything was glued the piece was finished.
Reflection
Now that I look back I believe I will clean up the more rouged out edges as well as painting the whole face white. The product of My little experiment gave me a tremendous sense of satisfaction with the way it turned out. The way that the process went could have been slightly better but the end product was near flawless, now on to the clay elements. Now the way that these clay elements came out could have gone way better my mistake was to start painting after gluing everything together but with a finer brush I will go over these little mishaps. Looking back on it the whole process many went right especially with the idea of applying semi hardened plaster to the cracked mold. My satisfaction with the piece couldn't be higher as this was a very Risk-Reward process of art making.
Compare and contrast
Comparisons:
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ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
The Inspiration which was yayoi Kusama effected my work and color choice by making me reflect on how I could manipulate color to make the viewer feel a certain way.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The sites I used for the most part just showed the artwork and the information regarding dimensions but those that talked about the art and the artists spoke much of Yayoi's mental state and the way Edward built his paintings.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I drew the conclusion that many artist such as Yayoi kusama make art as a way to cope with different aspects whether for mental health or to deliver a message about the hectic nature of the work day.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is that of inquiry and reflection of whether work and monetary gain is worth the stress
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can conclude from my research that when we work we have to keep focused because if not we will never have the time we need to reflect on our decisions,
The Inspiration which was yayoi Kusama effected my work and color choice by making me reflect on how I could manipulate color to make the viewer feel a certain way.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The sites I used for the most part just showed the artwork and the information regarding dimensions but those that talked about the art and the artists spoke much of Yayoi's mental state and the way Edward built his paintings.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I drew the conclusion that many artist such as Yayoi kusama make art as a way to cope with different aspects whether for mental health or to deliver a message about the hectic nature of the work day.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea is that of inquiry and reflection of whether work and monetary gain is worth the stress
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can conclude from my research that when we work we have to keep focused because if not we will never have the time we need to reflect on our decisions,
Bibliography
Madman. (2009). 9.
Shovava. (2019, February 9). Surreal Sculptures of Contorted Clay Faces Reinterpret Reality. Retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/johnson-tsang-lucid-dream-ii/
Tate. (1972, January 1). '28. Man Holds the Key', Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, 1972. Retrieved from https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/paolozzi-28-man-holds-the-key-p02048
Shovava. (2019, February 9). Surreal Sculptures of Contorted Clay Faces Reinterpret Reality. Retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/johnson-tsang-lucid-dream-ii/
Tate. (1972, January 1). '28. Man Holds the Key', Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, 1972. Retrieved from https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/paolozzi-28-man-holds-the-key-p02048