creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

16/5/22

Final Outcomes- within the degree space

I am delighted and proud of the work I have created during this module. I think it's representative of myself as an artist and also is conceptually strong, creating a narrative surrounding the everyday and how we interact and acknowledge it.

The way in which I have chosen to display my work feels as architecturally heavy as the work itself. Using directional lines to help the viewers navigate the space.

I decided to only display three pieces of work, which meant I heavily curated my own work and chose the work I felt best represented my concept. I had considered adding prints and further sculptural developments to allow a clear narrative to be formed. But I believe the curated work to be conceptually strong enough to form the narrative of the everyday on it's own.

Choosing 3 pieces of work is actually quite daunting, as I have constantly questioned whether it's enough to fill the space, but I believe it is. I think being able to curate my work to only these outcomes speaks of the new-found confidence I have as an artist.

This of course, wouldn't have been possible without the guidance, patience and dedication I have received from my lecturers over the last two years. I feel I have developed both within my academic and practical skills significantly over the last two years and this wouldn't have been possible without them.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

14/4/22

Final outcome- latex door

With more help from my lecturer I have been able to display my door within the degree show space. I am really satisfied with the outcome. It feels rich with religious symbolism but also brings into question weather the door is in fact inviting or foreboding. Within the space, it seems to glow, the light shines through the latex revealing the detail even more acutely.

Making this door as been emotionally and financially draining, but I have found a real sense of accomplishment completing and seeing the door in it's space.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

14/5/22

Final outcome- Casting corners

The glaze hadn't took to the clay as well as I had hoped which has has created this multi-tonal look to the cubes.

Initially when I had first seen them I had decided I didn't like them and wasn't going to include them in the show. I had taken some pictures and came home to spend some time looking at them and I think my initial reaction was due to the final outcome being so far way from what I had expected in my head.

Now looking at them within the space, I can appreciate them for what they are. They are really raw and truthful pieces of work. Which highlight the beauty of the corners and their details. I think now looking back on the images, even if the white glaze had reacted to the clay as I had hoped, all the piece would talk about was that they were white and museumy, which would have made all my previous developments and work somewhat redundant as it wouldn't be about the everyday anymore, only what pretty things I could create.

I wouldn't say the pieces are attractive, like I had initially planned, but they do invite curiosity and a sense of realness. Overall I am happy to present these at the degree show as I have found them to reflect my body of work, which has remained transparent and truthful throughout.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

13/5/22

The latex binding did bot work so the only other option was screws. The screws that were used were somewhat similar to the wood in the frame, so they don't take away from the piece itself. The wood has refrained from cracking and splintering, even at the corners where extra screws had to be placed as there was still some movement with the latex.

I am so happy with how it is looking and I believe the piece to be almost more refined when encased in the Perspex like this. I plan on removing the other blue film tomorrow and placing it within the exhibition space. I think I will be able to fully appreciate the work when it is stood upright and appearing like a door again.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

13/5/22

The door has been placed between the Perspex and stretched. Both sides of the frame have been coated in latex to hopefully act as a natural bonding agent to the door.

To stretch the door, a group of us worked in sections pulling the latex and clamping it into place. It is looking just now like the latex might not work as theres still significant movement when pulling on the latex.

I had hoped we would not need to use screws but it is seeming like the only option at the moment, which, could possibly splinter the frame as it is so thin.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

12/5/22

The two sides of the frame have been made with some substantial help from the lecturer and the Perspex has been sealed with silicone into the frame and is held together with clamps until it sets.

I am really excited and apprehensive of what the outcome is going to be, if this doesn't work it is a lot of wasted money. I am crossing my fingers and toes that everything goes to plan!

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

11/5/22

Final outcome- Transient movements

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

11/5/22

Further images with slightly better lighting,

I have began thinking about how I would like this piece to be displayed during the degree show. I think if it was on the floor it wouldn't translate the idea of walking through a door, I also think that suspending the piece without any wall behind it may make the fabric appear too translucent and I would loose a lot of the details that I have managed to capture.

For this reason, I believe the piece should be hanging against a wall like in these images. I feel the piece overall seems more vibrant against the white also and the details are not lost.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

11/5/22

Final outcome cyanotype, dried and very creased

I am happy with the way this piece has turned out, it has kept it's vibrancy which I had wanted, although that is not outwardly evident in these images.

It really does emulate the idea of transitioning and moving, and I feel the colour speaks of this too. Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness and serenity which I have found this piece to contain.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

10/5/22

Further image of piece drying.

I also forgot to wash my hands during the whole process, and developed my hands alongside the fabric. An important lesson was learned as I have yet to get the blue tinge to leave my hands!

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

10/5/22

Washing the solution off the fabric and revealing the finished result.

I am so delighted as to how this turned out. This piece really captures the movement which I was hoping for and in many ways appears to be like a spirit or an aura in movement. I find it important to take pictures during the washing process as evidence. As sometimes details and vibrancy is lost as the piece dries.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

10/5/22

The process of developing the cyanotype.

As i wanted to capture the movement of walking through a door I found it imperative to use my body as the tool to convey this. As I wanted to display movement, I moved positions a few times and also moved the direction the cyanotype was facing so the sun was cast in different ways.

I lay out in the sun for 20ish minutes, until I could see the cyanotype had visibly began to darken and develop.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

10/5/22

Night-sight camera images

I turned my room into a dark room to coat the fabric in cyanotype and fashioned a make shift washing line out of twine to hang the fabric up and let it dry.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

10/5/22

Using an offcut of the muslin, I let it develop as a test piece. The longest time this had developed was 5 minutes. This is at 4pm when the UV rays aren't as strong. As the weather is set to turn tomorrow, I really have to develop this cyanotype today so I plan on letting it develop for around 20 minutes to keep the deep over-developed blue I want to achieve.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

9/5/22

Closer look at the thickness of the fabric, Image 2 is the Egyptian cotton which you can see is only slightly translucent with my hand being visible enough that you can decipher it as a hand.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

9/5/22

In preparation of creating a large scale cyanotype print. I have ordered a couple of metres of two fabrics. For the print, I wanted it to be developed on a material that was light, slightly translucent and would appear inviting. As I was wanting to capture the transient movements created whilst walking through a door, I felt like fabric would be the best option. This was due to the natural qualities of fabric, in many cases fabric is light weight and has the 'flowing' kind of texture I was looking for.

I researched ahead of time what fabrics would be suitable for cyanotype dying and found any natural fabric should take the dye and develop fine. I wanted a fabric with a fairly open weft to allow an element or translucency. Therefore I decided muslin may be a good option. I have bought a couple metres of Egyptian cotton muslin and a the normal muslin. As I was curious to see the difference and wanted to use the best fabric that would correspond better to my work. I found the Egyptian cotton fabric to have a silkier and natural feel with a slightly closer weft. The normal muslin felt synthetic in many ways and was much thinner with a more open weave.

I decided Egyptian cotton would be the best material to use within my cyanotype works.

[creativeenquirygeorgiamacdonald]

8/5/22

I have continued looking at academic papers throughout this module and recently found this paper to be of interest. It again discusses the symbolism of doors.

An excerpt from this paper reads as follows:

' A door, Jacques Lacan says, is not something fully real. To the contrary: "In its nature, a door belongs to the symbolic order...The door is the real symbol, the symbol of excellence, the symbol in which man's passing, through the cross it sketches , intersecting access and closure, can always be recognized.'

Jacques Lacan was a prevalent French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Whilst describing the symbolic qualities of doors the contrasting symbolism of access and symbolism is discussed. I think the door is so rich in symbolism due to it's contrasting meanings. I think the door symbolises something different for every person. Depending on where they are at in their lives.