Evaluation
Throughout this brief I have revised my rationale a number of times, mainly due to constantly changing my mind about what it was I actually wanted to be doing. Initially I had a number of live client briefs arranged, and wanted to work in a way that allowed me to get one completed every couple of weeks to produce a body of work displaying a variety of my design and Illustration skills. However, due to my bad time management and a lack of motivation in certain areas (which ended up proving to me exactly what it is I don’t want to be doing) I didn’t follow my work plan through in the way I had anticipated.
The first client brief I did was the Illustration for Leeds Roller Dolls. After getting in contact with one of the coordinators of the team and linking them to an online portfolio of previous work I set up, they asked me to provide them with a series of Illustrations that could be used in conjunction with any text and titles they wanted to add. I spent a few weeks sending them examples of work and emailing back and forth, making any adjustments they wanted to my images. However, when it came close to the deadline they had provided me with I stopped hearing back from them and when I did hear back, it was last minute to say they had gone with another artist’s work. I understand this can happen when working for unreliable clients, but I feel this knocked me back early on in the project and made me lose a lot of confidence in my work. Originally I had planned to take the brief further by screen printing a couple of the images even once I had completed the work for the team, but I scrapped this and decided to move on to something else.
After this I decided I didn’t want to work on client briefs just yet, and so screen printed a couple of Illustrations for Paul Price to sell at a craft fair in the Hifi club in the city centre. I found myself enjoying something again, and realised it’s because it was a more relaxed, open brief and I didn’t have to compromise my style and typical gruesome themes. I used the subject of odd ingredients and unusual food as a theme (as this also related to a photo shoot I had recently modelled for and helped come with the idea, for a third year Viscom student). However the fair they were to be sold it had a very poor turn out due to lack of advertising and a high entry fee, so it was closed early. This was disappointing as it would have been a good opportunity to see an audience react to my work, and find out how many I could sell.
Following this, I had a crit with Graham and he commented on how he would like to see one of my Illustrations to come to life as a 3D object. This made me consider the idea of trying my hand at sculpture and casting again, as I used to enjoy being more hands on with my work. I spoke to Oliver Frend in third year as I had seen his sculpture work before, and he advised me to take a sketch of the turkey stuffed with fingers I planned to make down to the tutors in the 3D room and ask them for help. Andy and Dom were both very helpful with advising me on the possible ways of casting and constructing my sculpture, and they allowed me to get on with it myself in as many ways that I could, lending a hand along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed the learning process of how to cast properly, despite having a number of things go wrong, and felt like I was learning some useful skills in an area I would possibly want to explore going in to in the future; prosthetics and prop making. An important part on completion of my turkey sculpture would have been to exhibit it and have some form of feedback to note down. However, as the deadline became close I had to accept that it wasn’t realistic to expect to have it finished and on display in time. So, rather than rush it I carried on with the various sculpting processes and have decided that I will carry on with this as a personal project over the summer, and plan to exhibit my sculpture in July/August time in Brighton. The exhibition will be with 3 other art student friends, studying at various colleges around the country. We have found a couple of possible locations, one of which is an independent pub called the Hobgoblin in Brighton town centre that attracts a largely art student based crowd. However, the feedback I have received is that of Dom and Andy, the 3D technicians. They have expressed how impressed they are with my final sculpture, and that I’ve been learning and putting in to practice techniques usually only mastered in third year, which is a positive reaction.
One of the main things these briefs have taught me is that I need to build up more confidence in my work and in my ideas. I also need to start recording ideas in sketchbook form, as I always let me myself down when it comes to putting ideas in to action. Time management has also been a big problem for me, as I have dedicated four days a week to a part-time job this term and I have noticed the negative effect it has had on my work. That is something I need to reconsider when I start the third year of this course. One of the positives that have come from this brief is that I have re-discovered a love for sculpture and casting that had previously been forgotten. I plan to take me gruesome food sculpture project on in to third year, and hope to improve my skills to a much higher level.
The first client brief I did was the Illustration for Leeds Roller Dolls. After getting in contact with one of the coordinators of the team and linking them to an online portfolio of previous work I set up, they asked me to provide them with a series of Illustrations that could be used in conjunction with any text and titles they wanted to add. I spent a few weeks sending them examples of work and emailing back and forth, making any adjustments they wanted to my images. However, when it came close to the deadline they had provided me with I stopped hearing back from them and when I did hear back, it was last minute to say they had gone with another artist’s work. I understand this can happen when working for unreliable clients, but I feel this knocked me back early on in the project and made me lose a lot of confidence in my work. Originally I had planned to take the brief further by screen printing a couple of the images even once I had completed the work for the team, but I scrapped this and decided to move on to something else.
After this I decided I didn’t want to work on client briefs just yet, and so screen printed a couple of Illustrations for Paul Price to sell at a craft fair in the Hifi club in the city centre. I found myself enjoying something again, and realised it’s because it was a more relaxed, open brief and I didn’t have to compromise my style and typical gruesome themes. I used the subject of odd ingredients and unusual food as a theme (as this also related to a photo shoot I had recently modelled for and helped come with the idea, for a third year Viscom student). However the fair they were to be sold it had a very poor turn out due to lack of advertising and a high entry fee, so it was closed early. This was disappointing as it would have been a good opportunity to see an audience react to my work, and find out how many I could sell.
Following this, I had a crit with Graham and he commented on how he would like to see one of my Illustrations to come to life as a 3D object. This made me consider the idea of trying my hand at sculpture and casting again, as I used to enjoy being more hands on with my work. I spoke to Oliver Frend in third year as I had seen his sculpture work before, and he advised me to take a sketch of the turkey stuffed with fingers I planned to make down to the tutors in the 3D room and ask them for help. Andy and Dom were both very helpful with advising me on the possible ways of casting and constructing my sculpture, and they allowed me to get on with it myself in as many ways that I could, lending a hand along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed the learning process of how to cast properly, despite having a number of things go wrong, and felt like I was learning some useful skills in an area I would possibly want to explore going in to in the future; prosthetics and prop making. An important part on completion of my turkey sculpture would have been to exhibit it and have some form of feedback to note down. However, as the deadline became close I had to accept that it wasn’t realistic to expect to have it finished and on display in time. So, rather than rush it I carried on with the various sculpting processes and have decided that I will carry on with this as a personal project over the summer, and plan to exhibit my sculpture in July/August time in Brighton. The exhibition will be with 3 other art student friends, studying at various colleges around the country. We have found a couple of possible locations, one of which is an independent pub called the Hobgoblin in Brighton town centre that attracts a largely art student based crowd. However, the feedback I have received is that of Dom and Andy, the 3D technicians. They have expressed how impressed they are with my final sculpture, and that I’ve been learning and putting in to practice techniques usually only mastered in third year, which is a positive reaction.
One of the main things these briefs have taught me is that I need to build up more confidence in my work and in my ideas. I also need to start recording ideas in sketchbook form, as I always let me myself down when it comes to putting ideas in to action. Time management has also been a big problem for me, as I have dedicated four days a week to a part-time job this term and I have noticed the negative effect it has had on my work. That is something I need to reconsider when I start the third year of this course. One of the positives that have come from this brief is that I have re-discovered a love for sculpture and casting that had previously been forgotten. I plan to take me gruesome food sculpture project on in to third year, and hope to improve my skills to a much higher level.
Exhibition in Brighton
In August, Myself and 3 friends from London who are all studying at various art colleges around the country, are going to put on an exhibition. There are a couple of venues in Brighton which are a possibility, one of which is a pub called the Hobgoblin. It often attracts art students and would be a good place to publicly exhibit a mixture of sculpture, painting, illustration and moving image work. I plan to exhibit my turkey and a series of illustrations as part of this.
Filling the turkey with wax
Once I had the open cavity, I placed a thin line of clay around the base on the turkey and fixed it on to some white board. This was so there was a base to hold the red wax in that I was going to fill it with, and make it easily movable when transferring in to the metal plate I plan on exhibiting it on. Because there was a lot of space to bulk out in the turkey, I tilted it on it's side and poured large amounts of wax in every 20 minutes, to allow each one to cool. I also screwed up some scrap paper to put in and then cover in wax, to fill more space. Once I got to the crucial part of filling the front section with wax (the one that will be visible with the fingers coming out of it) I decided to leave it until tomorrow. This is because as I'd seen the rest of the red wax cooling, I realised the shade was far too bright to bed blood-like. In the morning I am going to buy some more crayons with deeper shades of red to add.
(colour testing various mixes of wax colour)
(colour testing various mixes of wax colour)
Creating cavity in the turkey
One of the main reasons I chose to cast the turkey in wax is because it would be easier to removed the back section of it when it came to filling it and placing the fingers in.
I tried slicing in to it using a scalpel and then using a saw to hack away at it, but this was a little too harsh on the wax and didn't want to risk slicing off the wrong bits. so, I got a small device from one of the casting technicians that gives off a constant flame that I used to keep heating the scalpel and other various metal tools, making it a lot easier to slice through the wax. The other more rounded tools were good to remove any bits of plaster and silicone that had got wedged in the wax, as I could use them to scrape them off then heat it up and blend over the blemished surface.
I tried slicing in to it using a scalpel and then using a saw to hack away at it, but this was a little too harsh on the wax and didn't want to risk slicing off the wrong bits. so, I got a small device from one of the casting technicians that gives off a constant flame that I used to keep heating the scalpel and other various metal tools, making it a lot easier to slice through the wax. The other more rounded tools were good to remove any bits of plaster and silicone that had got wedged in the wax, as I could use them to scrape them off then heat it up and blend over the blemished surface.
New coloured cast
After the failure of my previous wax and latex turkey cast, I decided to leave the latex skin out and see if a simple wax cast would be more successful. I also went and bought a load of wax crayons, which happen to work just a well as proper wax colourants, and mix a much warmer, brown wax colour. I started by mixing a light colour in one of the smaller wax melting pots, so it would be just enough for an all over thin layer of colour to swill around the mold.
After This layer has been poured in and cooled a little, I mixed a deeper shade of brown, which I used the heat gun to melt areas of the already existing wax layer in areas I wanted to blend with the darker shade. I then used the darker wax to pour in another couple of layers, followed by a layer or two of clear wax, just to thicken it up.
I left the layers of wax overnight to cool and dry properly. When I came back in this morning and removed the jacket and silicone carefully, I was very pleased with the result. I knew that it would be impossible to make a completely realistic looking cooked turkey, especially considering I started with very little knowledge in the various casting processes, but it looks a hell of a lot more desirable than my last one.
After This layer has been poured in and cooled a little, I mixed a deeper shade of brown, which I used the heat gun to melt areas of the already existing wax layer in areas I wanted to blend with the darker shade. I then used the darker wax to pour in another couple of layers, followed by a layer or two of clear wax, just to thicken it up.
I left the layers of wax overnight to cool and dry properly. When I came back in this morning and removed the jacket and silicone carefully, I was very pleased with the result. I knew that it would be impossible to make a completely realistic looking cooked turkey, especially considering I started with very little knowledge in the various casting processes, but it looks a hell of a lot more desirable than my last one.
Turkey new wax cast (flame)
One of the main reasons I chose to cast the turkey in wax is because it would be easier to removed the back section of it when it came to filling it and placing the fingers in.
I tried slicing in to it using a scalpel and then using a saw to hack away at it, but this was a little too harsh on the wax and didn't want to risk slicing off the wrong bits. so, I got a small device from one of the casting technicians that gives off a constant flame that I used to keep heating the scalpel and other various metal tools, making it a lot easier to slice through the wax. The other more rounded tools were good to remove any bits of plaster and silicone that had got wedged in the wax, as I could use them to scrape them off then heat it up and blend over the blemished surface.
I tried slicing in to it using a scalpel and then using a saw to hack away at it, but this was a little too harsh on the wax and didn't want to risk slicing off the wrong bits. so, I got a small device from one of the casting technicians that gives off a constant flame that I used to keep heating the scalpel and other various metal tools, making it a lot easier to slice through the wax. The other more rounded tools were good to remove any bits of plaster and silicone that had got wedged in the wax, as I could use them to scrape them off then heat it up and blend over the blemished surface.
Marina Bychkova
Marina Bychkova is a Russian doll maker. She says that as a child she became "became painfully aware and appalled at the mediocrity and the uninspired dullness of mass-produced dolls. This profound frustration coupled with my natural sensibilities inspired me to create my own dolls, suited to my own ideas of feminine beauty. A particular point of interest for me was not only the life-like articulation of the body, but also the beautiful balance between a delicate form and an extraordinary function of a doll."
She custom makes porcelain dolls for individual clients, who can choose all the detail down to eye and hair colour. However, she does state that ultimately, it is down to her to choose the final appearance of the doll. She has learnt a technique that works similar to tattoing skin, but you use an extremely sharp needle to scratch the surface of the porcelian and that fill it with special ink. However unlike tatoos, these never fade.
I love that her work not only works as individual beautiful scultpure pieces, but also function as a 'toy' or doll. These cost atleast £1,000 and the contrast between one of these delicate pieces and a normal plastic barbie is massive.
She custom makes porcelain dolls for individual clients, who can choose all the detail down to eye and hair colour. However, she does state that ultimately, it is down to her to choose the final appearance of the doll. She has learnt a technique that works similar to tattoing skin, but you use an extremely sharp needle to scratch the surface of the porcelian and that fill it with special ink. However unlike tatoos, these never fade.
I love that her work not only works as individual beautiful scultpure pieces, but also function as a 'toy' or doll. These cost atleast £1,000 and the contrast between one of these delicate pieces and a normal plastic barbie is massive.
Looking to exhibit my turkey
After looking in to exhibition spaces and toying with the idea of putting it on a table spread somewhere impromptu in the art college, I have to face the reality that it will simple not be finished in time to do so for this deadline. I am aware this is a large part of feedback etc. for this brief, but unfortunately I will not be able to do so in the time given without rushing my sculpture itself. However, I plan to carry on with this project past this deadline and eventually have it exhibited over the summer along with other food sculptures I plan to make, in Brighton. Myself and some other art student friends are lookiong for a space to exhibit in around the Brighton area.
This whole sculpture project has been a big learning curve for me. Not only have I found something I get satisfaction from, but also something that motivates me to be creative and put the effort and time in to getting something right. I don't know exactly how this will effect what I want to do as a career in the future, but I would love to eventually go on a course like the one in London, taught by the man responsible for a lot of the props and sculpture used in Doctor Who. It's a 7 weeks prosthetic and make up course, but they only taker 6 students each year and it is quite pricey. I want to spend the next year teaching myself as much as possible in this area first.
This whole sculpture project has been a big learning curve for me. Not only have I found something I get satisfaction from, but also something that motivates me to be creative and put the effort and time in to getting something right. I don't know exactly how this will effect what I want to do as a career in the future, but I would love to eventually go on a course like the one in London, taught by the man responsible for a lot of the props and sculpture used in Doctor Who. It's a 7 weeks prosthetic and make up course, but they only taker 6 students each year and it is quite pricey. I want to spend the next year teaching myself as much as possible in this area first.
Recasting the wax
Because I ran out of wax colouring on Friday, the colour of the dried wax I came back to this morning was a little undesirable. I removed the cast from the silicone and fortunately it took the latex skin with it. However it had gone a murky, green-tinted brown which is exactly what I didn't want. This is mainly because I ran out of brown wax to mix in before the weekend, so I substituted it with black. Therefore I have decided to make another wax cast, as I now have the proper colours and went out and bought some wax crayons which work just as well.
This time I will also have the help on Andy the technician so I will be able to swill the wax round a little easier.
This time I will also have the help on Andy the technician so I will be able to swill the wax round a little easier.
Attatching fake nails
Putting the nails on made such a difference to the look of the fingers. Just from other students/tutors reactions from leaving them out down in the casting room, I can tell they are a lot more life like and I've had quite a few people being openly grossed-out by them, which makes me really happy!
Casting the first layer of wax and making a latex skin
I decided to fill the silicone mold with a thin layer of latex before pouring in the wax, to create a kind of skin. I did this by pouring a little in at a time, then used a paintbrush to cover as much of the inner surface area as possible. I mixed a tiny bit of red paint in with the latex before coating, so when it dried it would have a slightly less yellow colour to it. Once this was dry, I was ready to go ahead with the wax. However, it was still a little wet in areas when I did this because it went on a little thicker than I had thought and would have taken a lot longer than I had to completely set.
The wax casting process was made a lot more difficult by the weight of the thick plaster jacket. I melted a load of wax, mixed with some harder, tougher form of wax and used a knife to scrape in bits of brown coloured wax to give it a slight colour. I was using the technique of using a ladel to pour small amounts in to the mold at a time, then picking up the mold and swilling it around to cover as much surface area as possible. This proved difficult because it was so heavy and because the sections of jacket were coming apart as I did so, but Jenny on 3rd year Fine Art helped me out by taping it as much as she could around the outside and helping me hold it. I've done one fairly thick layer but I need to buy some more coloured wax to mix up a darker colour for the next layer on Monday.
The wax casting process was made a lot more difficult by the weight of the thick plaster jacket. I melted a load of wax, mixed with some harder, tougher form of wax and used a knife to scrape in bits of brown coloured wax to give it a slight colour. I was using the technique of using a ladel to pour small amounts in to the mold at a time, then picking up the mold and swilling it around to cover as much surface area as possible. This proved difficult because it was so heavy and because the sections of jacket were coming apart as I did so, but Jenny on 3rd year Fine Art helped me out by taping it as much as she could around the outside and helping me hold it. I've done one fairly thick layer but I need to buy some more coloured wax to mix up a darker colour for the next layer on Monday.
Turkey practice cast
Now that I have re made another jacket for my turkey, it was time to remove the initial inner, broken plaster cast. I was a little nervous about seeing it because although it is just a practise, it was going to show me whether the silicone mold itself (which I've spent a very, very long time on) was actually successful. Fortunately, it has picked up the detail beautifully and with the exception of the snapped off turkey feet, could have potentially been used as a final cast. Although wax will be much easier to melt and chip in to and create an inside hole for the fingers to sit.
Making the fingers look more realistic
Whilst waiting for my plaster jacket to set, I've had some time to revisit the finger casts I did a few weeks ago. I considered re-casting some of them, but I decided I like the slightly rugged effect left on some of them (caused by ridges forming in the alginate when removing my actual fingers from it) as it adds to the gore of them and will make them more animated when covering them in latex.
So, I then mixed up a skin tone using various acrylics and experimenting with numerous acrylic:latex mixes. Eventually, after painting each one on to practice fingers and then repeating the process until the skin colour I desired, I got it to the colour I had imagined and dipped each finger in the cup of coloured latex. To allow them to dry properly I set a board up and covered it in lumps of clay which I could then wedge small edges of each finger casts in to, and let it stand once covered in latex.
I plan to go back tomorrow and attach fake nails to them to make them look even more realistic.
So, I then mixed up a skin tone using various acrylics and experimenting with numerous acrylic:latex mixes. Eventually, after painting each one on to practice fingers and then repeating the process until the skin colour I desired, I got it to the colour I had imagined and dipped each finger in the cup of coloured latex. To allow them to dry properly I set a board up and covered it in lumps of clay which I could then wedge small edges of each finger casts in to, and let it stand once covered in latex.
I plan to go back tomorrow and attach fake nails to them to make them look even more realistic.
Creating another plaster jacket....
It took me another couple of days to apply enough layers of thicksotropic silicone to form a more rounded shape over the legs of the turkey. Once these had dried, I had to make another plaster jacket to fit the new shape. I realised last time I had forgotten quite an important part of this process, which is adding a layer scrim over the first thing layer of plaster before building it up completely. I also decided with Andy that it would be better to make four section of the jacket this time round, rather than 3, so it would hopefully make them easier to remove and allow me to be more careful about it (so as not to disturb the cast inside next time!).
You make the four jacket section by building a clay barrier around a section at a time, then removing it and building on from there (making small indents on each one so the jacket sections will slot in to each other eventually). Once one section of plaster has been built up and allowed to set for about 30 minutes, it's important to remember to paint the exposed edge of plaster in either a clay and water mix, or simply coat it in Vaseline. This is to stop the sections of plaster jacket sticking to each other when it comes to removing them.
I am will now go in tomorrow and separate the layers and hopefully get my first cast. This time round I plan to initially swirl a thin layer of latex around the silicone cast to form a skin for the turkey, which I plan to cast in wax.
You make the four jacket section by building a clay barrier around a section at a time, then removing it and building on from there (making small indents on each one so the jacket sections will slot in to each other eventually). Once one section of plaster has been built up and allowed to set for about 30 minutes, it's important to remember to paint the exposed edge of plaster in either a clay and water mix, or simply coat it in Vaseline. This is to stop the sections of plaster jacket sticking to each other when it comes to removing them.
I am will now go in tomorrow and separate the layers and hopefully get my first cast. This time round I plan to initially swirl a thin layer of latex around the silicone cast to form a skin for the turkey, which I plan to cast in wax.
Final Crit with Graham
One of the first things Graham picked up on was the type on the back of my printed cards. He pointed out that it was too big and the font and colour didn't go with the illustration on the card. He also said that the cards felt like they needed more than just two to make a proper set. This si alwaso important so I can see a variety of reactions and then select the most successful cards, rather rather than just presenting people with the designs I strictly like.
One of the main things he said I need to focus on is getting an exhibition space for my turkey once its finished. I mentioned that I wanted to contact 'art in unusual spaces' in Leeds and see if I could get one of their spaces. With the actual turkey itself, from my explanation and looking at the Illustration, Grayam said he felt it needed to look more realistic and edible to make the aspect of the human fingers coming out more shocking.
One of the main things he said I need to focus on is getting an exhibition space for my turkey once its finished. I mentioned that I wanted to contact 'art in unusual spaces' in Leeds and see if I could get one of their spaces. With the actual turkey itself, from my explanation and looking at the Illustration, Grayam said he felt it needed to look more realistic and edible to make the aspect of the human fingers coming out more shocking.
More Prints...
- I want to expand on my theme of unusual food fillings and create 2 limited edition 3 colour prints to sell in either the next Handmade, or present to Off The Wall.
- Create a poster for a burlesque and music night happening in June in London.
- Create a poster for a burlesque and music night happening in June in London.
Revised Rationale
After discovering that client based briefs aren't what I want to be doing at this point, I aim to produce a variety of prints using Illustration, which I can then expand on and experiment with using other forms of media that involve a more hands on, 3D approach. I would also like to focus on exhibiting these in one of the 'art in unusual space's in Leeds city centre. I hope this to result in having some form of live feedback from an audience looking at my work in a public space, and have a number of final outcomes that could be used in my portfolio to display a range of skills.
Art In Unusual Spaces
I plan to exhibit my turkey along with a cast of a pie filled with pig snouts I plan to make, in one of the spaces in Leeds that can be used through the 'art in unusual spaces' group.
Ebony Andrews
Ebony Andrews is a practicing taxidermist, who experiments with it by bringing it back to life in unusual and alternative ways. We received an email from Dorrie King at the art college asking if anyone would be interested in attending a talk by her, because if so they may be able to fund it. I emailed back straight away but haven't heard anything as of yet. Included in the email was Ebony Andrews direct contact email address though, so if I still don't hear anything back from Dorrie soon I'm going to email her myself.
First Cast Gone Wrong....
So, the next stage was to place the 3 sections of the plaster jacket together and fix them together tightly with a rubber tie. I then was able to fit the silicone mold in to the jacket, tucking the sticking-out bits (such as the legs and wings) in to their indents. I decided that plaster would be the best material to try first as it was the quickest and easiest, and that way I could see how successful my casts would be and if there were any leaks in the silicone or plaster jacket. As Andy, from casting, poured my thick plaster mix in to the mold, I created a 'splash' layer, using my hand to coat all the inside surfaces of the silicone before it filled up completely.
After waiting 45 minutes, I came back and we attempted to remove the plaster jackets. It took quite a while because of the sticking-out details of the turkey and the fact that they were embedded in the jacket. Eventually, we managed to pull them all off with the help of a screwdriver. However, to my disappointment, the plaster had crumbled in the legs and the wings of the cast. I could feel it through the silicone. Andy said it would be a good idea to leave the plaster cast inside to bulk it out, and add more layers of thicksotropic silicone to those areas to make them more of a full shape, which would support them more. I also decided to use a scalpel to slice off the wings and silicone over them.
After waiting 45 minutes, I came back and we attempted to remove the plaster jackets. It took quite a while because of the sticking-out details of the turkey and the fact that they were embedded in the jacket. Eventually, we managed to pull them all off with the help of a screwdriver. However, to my disappointment, the plaster had crumbled in the legs and the wings of the cast. I could feel it through the silicone. Andy said it would be a good idea to leave the plaster cast inside to bulk it out, and add more layers of thicksotropic silicone to those areas to make them more of a full shape, which would support them more. I also decided to use a scalpel to slice off the wings and silicone over them.
Making a jacket for the Turkey.....
Today I had the beautiful job of removing the rotted turkey from inside the silicone. Because the coating process was so delayed and I had to wait for a few hours each time for it to dry, it took a good few days. With the much appreciated help of Oli Frend, some face masks, rubber gloves, and outside skip and A LOT of fairy liquid, the remains of Terry the turkey were binned and I was left with my (wonderfully scented) silcione cast in all it's glory.
Finger Casting
I have also completed the plaster finger casts to stuff the turkey with. I used mine and Oli's hands, holding them in cups of alginate for about 5 minutes, until it formed a solid around our hands and we could slowly pull them out. I then filled the finger holes with plaster and removed once dried. I have about 20 fingers which should be ok, because you wont be able to see most of them as I plan to fix them inside the turkey using red wax, with a few of them creeping out of the opening on the turkeys back.
I wanted the fingers to look as if they were trying to escape and had been in positions of anguish or struggle when they were removed so I made sure we bend our fingers and made them pretty rigid when casting them.
I wanted the fingers to look as if they were trying to escape and had been in positions of anguish or struggle when they were removed so I made sure we bend our fingers and made them pretty rigid when casting them.
Narrative Illustration
There's an Illustration competition that is running through Cheltenham University, as part of the Cheltenham Illustration Awards. The deadline in the 14th May, and 'entries are invited on CD with a print size up to A3 per image. You may send as many images as you like under one entry as long as they form part of a sequential narrative. The limit of five entries will mean five separate projects or narratives per person.'
I don't want to create anything too cartoon strip style, so it could be interesting to explore other ways of showing a narrative through a visual. It does state in the guidelines that the work can be as 'obscure or abstract' as you like.
I don't want to create anything too cartoon strip style, so it could be interesting to explore other ways of showing a narrative through a visual. It does state in the guidelines that the work can be as 'obscure or abstract' as you like.
Coating the Turkey
After getting hold of a turkey from the market, I ran it under warm water in college for a while so it defrosted slightly which made it easier to cut in to and create the open wound along the back, leaving space for the fingers to be stuffed in. I used a scalpel to cut in to the splayed skin and make it look like it had been ripped open. After coating it in a thin layer of silicone I left it on the viscom balcony over the weekend to dry. It's now been 3 days and I am preparing to coat it in another thin layer of silicone. Once that has cured, I'll add a super thick layer to seal it.
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