Reflections

Instructions

I wanted to branch out and use materials I wasn't used to with a more hands-on approach. I liked the industrial concept of concrete contrasting with the more gentle feminine medium of fabric and how a flowy material could be stopped and solidified by a permanent medium. I found inspiration in Pinterest images where artists compressed and shaped clothes with resin, pressing the fabrics into colourful layers and forming them into captivating patterns. I used concrete instead of resin as a cheaper alternative but it is still a material I would like to work with in the future.

For the first sculpture, I used a washing up tub as a mold and old fabric I had already. I picked out colours that represented one of the collages I had made previously but the result made this difficult to see. When I turned the tub upside down, the fabric layers broke apart with large gaps and it took ages to dry as I used too much water.

To address this, for the second sculpture I downsized the mold by using a smaller plastic container. This allowed for a quicker drying time and a more solid structure. The layers in the first sculpture were much too thin and barely visible, I improved this for the second sculpture by bundling the fabric into thick layers.

I sieved stones out of the conrete to make a smoother paste as before the stones had stopped areas from drying. In order to keep it together, I then turned the mold upside down and cut a hole in the bottom. Filling concrete on both sides would ensure it could be held together from both ends.

Experimentation and Development

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