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Project Evaluation

8th May 2017

I feel that in this module I learnt many new skills, improved my making skills, achieved all my goals and targets and did a wide range of research. Overall, I feel I managed this project well regardless my absence at the end the module. I mainly focused on research, developing ideas and skills, experimenting and finding right materials and processes. I often had to use materials and methodologies from different areas to achieve desired effects and master some techniques. 

In this project I used different research resources (magazine, books, online journals and articles and video tutorials) to help me to develop my ideas and to learn new skills. It also helped me to understand the processes of making and explore new skills and possibilities. There was many new processes that I tried for the first time and which required knowledge of materials and skills such as mould making and casting objects, body casting or working with new materials like resin, isomalt, jesmonite, brass or silver. Researching throughout the whole project helped me refine and develop further my ideas. I really enjoyed the making and experimenting whether it was successful or not.

I put a great importance to testing materials and finding the right one that would be food safe, set fast, hard, effective and cheap ans well as learning new techniques and processes to achieve the best finish possible. I feel that casting was the best decision I made as it allowed me to make multiple copies in short period of time and save a lot of money. I feel it was the most appropriate and effective way. 

The weakness of this module lied in bad communication, different working methods within fine art and art&design group and misunderstand which resulted in conflicts and frustration. Another aspect I didn’t really like was the fact that each decision had to through all group instead of leaving decision making on competent sub-group. In my case, it was deciding what tableware will be used for each course. Sometimes I felt that the tableware chosen by group didn’t really match the character of Greek god or didn’t compliment the food that well. I was always looking at those things and tried my best to those elements work together. Another issue I had to face was minimal feedback from the group. Few time, the feedback was told behind my back and came to me when it was too late. I found it very discouraging and quite unfair. 

Overall, I feel I did my best and managed to solve all problems with the best results possible. 

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Final Decisions

6th-7th May 2017

I met with Fadhila when I arrived back to England and we went through and finalised what will each course be served in. 

1. There was in issue with ceramic group; we were told they can’t make the pots for the appetizers so in my absence, the group has decided that they would be served in small plastic pots and displayed on trays.

2. The first course will be served in real oyster shells which can Amy get from her work. It’s effective because it cost us anything.

3. The second course will be served in mirror plates which reflect on the character of goddess of vanity. I felt it fitted in very well and whole group agreed on it. I’ll get those from Wilko for £1 each.

4. To my knowledge, next course was meant to be served on wine leaves however Fadhila just told me that Chris found it tricky in some way and suggested using slate plates. Again, it would be effective, bring in some exciting textures and wouldn’t cost anything as we would borrow those from Chris.

5. In this course, 6 performers will give away 6 paddles (made by Sarah) and the rest will be served in sugar shells decorated in glitter. We felt it would be an interesting contrast and would add to the aesthetics.

6. The last course would be given out from basket by one of the performers. Guests would be either fed directly or could re-use the sugar shell from previous course.

 More shells will be used as decorations on table. While I was away, Fadhila managed to meet up with Chris and show him my mould and some of our experiments. She was told that these should be made 5 days prior to the event and stored safely. I think it’s manageable and we can make plenty in 5 days. 

Most of the tableware will be borrowed from Chris and Kaye to lower our expenses. It’s better that buying all new stuff and wasting money. I think we made good decisions as a group and worked very effective and responsibly.

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Isomalt Casting

27th April 2017

Fadhila joined me today and together we experimented with Isomalt Sugar. We never used it before so we weren’t sure what to expect. The instructions in the packaging were Italian so we had to research the right directions. We found information we needed on this website http://www.cake-decorating-corner.com/blogs/terri/what-isomalt-and-how-cook-it and we able to move forward. First we poured some of the sugar into our small silicone mould and used it as our measure. We placed the sugar in frying pan and waited until it melted. Then Fadhila poured it into the mould and I moved the liquid around to fill up all the gaps. Then we let it cool down for 10 minutes and took it out. We soon found out that the sugar tends to crack/break when not cooled down properly. The first attempt turned out very good. It really caught the detail of the outer wall of the shell while leaving inside smooth and looking like glass. The cast was crystal clear, without any smell, had sweet taste (we found out that different colours and aromas could be added), it cooled down fast and was cheap! I think we found the most appropriate and effective materials to make the shells out of!

Then we started to experiment with glitters, gold cake spray, rose petals and more. We mastered the technique and we able to make shells without lumps. Both of us liked the look and detail and we strongly feel that this could work! 

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26th April 2017

I received very sad news from my home country about the sudden death of my dearest grandad. At this stage, I’m not sure whether I will be able to finish this project as I won’t be able to do any work. I’ll try to do as much as I can before I leave but I feel very skeptical... 

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Primary Research: What’s available in stores...

25th-26th April 2017

Me, Charlotte and Fadhila agreed to meet up and have a look at what table decor and tableware is available in local stores and markets. We took some pics to show our research to the rest of the group and to get some feedback. I loved the metal chalices and glassware however the stock was low and wouldn’t cover 40 people and also too expensive. They would really enrich experience of the dinner and give it the Greek feel!

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Casting Body Parts

22nd April 2017

Previously I mentioned my idea of casting a breast and turn it into a cup. I thought it would be more appropriate and link more with the course and specific goddess, if the I could cast a breast of someone who is currently breastfeeding. To be honest, I had a great struggle finding someone until my friend’s cousin stepped up and agreed on casting. I made sure that all materials I used were non-toxic and wouldn’t irritate her skin or cause any harm. As a child I experienced casting of half of my body for medical reasons so I knew how to do it. I used my knowledge and tips from Nuala Clooney to get the cast. I was very happy with the way it turned out. It was very quick and also quite messy. When finished, I started to think  about the materials and processes I could use to make a cup. My original plan was to use Jesmonite but now I know it wouldn’t work, resin isn’t be food safe and metal casting would be too expensive. My other option would be electroforming, which I haven’t tried yet. I went to casting room once again and wanted to get wax cast prior to electroforming, however not only the wax didn’t set, also alginate started to melt. I put so much effort into this experiment just to find out that it won’t work! 

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Experimentation: Air Dry Clay

20th April 2017

Still waiting for last bits and pieces of materials I ordered last week, I thought it would be interesting to experiment again with Air dry clay. I was wondering whether I could use the vinyl mould to make a simple cast  and see how thin I can make it. I left the clay sit in over night and took it out once I felt it’s dry. I really like the cold feel it had and the texture it was able to copy. The issue with it is, that I don’t really trust it as it might break when used and might be potential health hazard. For this reason, I decided not to spend time decorating it. 

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Experimentation: Cake Icing

18th April 2017

After my last fail with chocolate, I decided to talk with my mom about the issues I’m having with edible materials and she suggested to try out the cake icing. I helped her with cake icing so many times so I know how to work with it. I bought a small back of icing and rolled it into a thin sheet. The placed small amount into the mould and roughly cut the excess. When left uncovered, the icing dries hard within few hours which is one of the properties I was looking for in each of material I used so far. Once hardened, I took the cast out of the mould and let both sides to dry. After another couple of hours, she shell was fully dried. Then I applied small amount of silver and gold cake glitters for the effect. I really loved the look, I think it would really add up! Can’t wait to show it to my group!

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Josmenite Shelf Experiment

15th April 2017

I had this idea of making some shelves that would hang above the table and place fake candles on them to create that little extra intimacy and add to aesthetics. My first step was to draw my design in the 2D Program and then cut it out with laser cut. I decided to go for 6mm wood because I needed that extra depth and also wood won’t melt when poured on with how vinyl, unlike acrylic. Then, I took the shelf to casting workshop and made a mould. I was struggling because I found it hard to seal the edges of the shelf and also keep it straight but I managed okay. I poured in some vinyl and then waited for couple of hours and released it from the box. When I got back home, I found out that the jesmonite I ordered has arrived and I went straight into making. I thoughtfully read the instructions and calculated the ratio of powder and liquid. When looking at my mould, I noticed that I lost the holes for hanging therefore I had to find another solution. It said that jesmonite is water-based so I dipped 4 lolly pop stick in oil and stuck them into vinyl. This would prevent sticks from sticking to jesmonite when set. When my mould was ready, I mixed the powder with liquid and mixed until smooth. The paste I got was quite thick and looked more like plaster. I was expecting crystal clear material and instead I got plaster-like consistency and look. The advantage of this material is that it sets within minutes and is light. when it seemed set, I removed the sticks and pushed the cast out of the mould. Unfortunately, the edges broke because they weren’t set properly. I’m not very happy with the material and how it looks and I think I should make those out of resin. I think it would look even better to put some dried rose petals into resin and then hang the shelves with gold chains. I think it would look beautiful with Ann’s hanging flowers! 

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Different types of Jesmonite

12th April 2017

Today I wanted to do Jesmonite order but very quickly found out that there are many types of jesmonite and all of them are different and used in different fields. Therefore I decided to do research and read properties of each type in order to select the right one. I found a website where all types were explained so I had a read through. I found it very interesting as I like to learn about new materials and their uses. At the end I decided to get the AC100 type for its properties. It’s specifically for casting, it’s safe to use and most importantly, it’s food safe. Another big advantage is that it’s lightweight and can replicate any surface. This is another material that gave me everything I wanted!

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Meeting with Nuala Clooney

10th April 2017

I met up with Nuala the first week of Easter Holidays to consult my ideas with her as I thought she would know more about the processes and has experience with many different materials I could try. Same as the technician in casting workshop, she advised me to use Isomalt sugar for the shells and also showed me website where I could get it cheaper, which I really appreciated. Then I explained to her my idea of casting someone’s breast  and turn it into a cup. She explained to me that it would be a very similar process than the one she uses and also told me what materials I would need so I made myself a list:

Body Alginate Fast set

Modroc

Jesmonite 

Body alginate is applied to body part, in my case it’s a breast, however it needs to be applied quickly as it will set within 90-120 secs which I feel is a great advantage. Then it’s covered with fast set modroc which will help it stay hard and avoid becoming floppy. At last, small amount of jesmonite will be poured in and moved around to cover the surface of alginate. When hard, it will be taken out of the jesmonite mould and the cast will be finished.

Nuala told me the properties of jesmonite and I really liked it. It works similar way like resin but instead mixing 2 liquids, it’s a powder and a liquid. Big disadvantage is that the smallest pack is 4kg although the price is very good. I think it will be worth it, because I would be able to make more than 4 casts and would gain experience with another material. 

My first idea was to cast the breast in bronze but I found out very soon that it would be way too expensive (talking about £40 per piece). Then Nuala suggested another process called electroforming. For this, I would make a wax cast and took it to school of jewellery where the technician would do the process for me (which I don’t really like because I like to gain experience from doing things myself). From what Nuala told me, they would cover the wax with some sort of solution and then placed into a bath where the wax would melt and metal would form. To get deeper understanding, I need to look more into this process but I really love the idea and it would be worth trying it out!

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Material issues

6th April 2017

Back in the casting workshop, I was talking to Gay and another technician about resin and its use for tableware and was told that it’s not a very good idea as many people find resin to be a skin irritant. Now, I had to find a new solution to this problem. My material needs to be food safe and set fast and stay hard; transparent and waterproof would be also great but doesn’t have to be. I was advised to use Isomalt Sugar which is used for sculptures and also by chefs. I have never heard of it, By doing a bit of research, I found out that it’s transparent edible material with properties I was looking for. Another suggestion was to use food friendly varnish and cover the resin casts with it but the issue with this idea was that it takes 30 to cure, which I don’t have. I also had issues with my vinyl mould as it wasn’t food safe either and would melt when using hot material. However, I knew the answer for this issue. For years, I helped my mom with making cakes and when she needed she made her own molds. I gained the knowledge is similar processes throughout the years. To make food safe mould, I need to get some food grade silicone. Knowing my object (small clam shell) I decided to get liquid silicone instead of the harder version -press on silicone. I think this is a better option because of the amount I will need. Also, liquid silicone hardens very fast as well. Now it’s time to get my materials!

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Collaborating with food group

3rd April 2017

As well as with set up group, I got a chance to go through the menu and tableware needed with food group (Fadhila and Charlotte) and scent group (Sam). Today, they were trying to match each of the gods with course and suitable tableware and scents. Here is what we got:

 Peitho (god of seduction and persuasion)

           -3x Appetizers: Salmon & Dill, served in ceramic bowls made by ceramic             life project students, scent to be confirmed

Dionysus (god of wine)

          - Flavoured gel caviar served in real oyster shells, scent to be confirmed

Hades (god of underworld)

          - Pick ‘n’ Mix: Dried fruits and nuts, gold chocolate coins, served in bowls             on the table and eaten from casted shells. Scent: cinnamon

 Narcissus (god of vanity)

           - Giant pasta shell stuffed with meat balls with salad and feta cheese,                  served on mirrors. Scent: Daffodils 

Hellenes (goddess of nurturing) 

          -milk (coconut, almond or hazelnut) with vanilla extract, served in                        casted breast, scent: vanilla or coconut

          -main course: Wine leaves stuffed with rice and lamb, served on wine                leaves

Eros (god of lust and desire)

         -dessert: cheese rolls with crystalised rose petals. Served on paddles (to           be confirmed) Scent: Rose

Morpheus (god of dreams)

         -mirror glazed chocolate olive. Tableware and scent to be confirmed

 This is our first draft of our ideas but I’m sure that many things will chance. I noticed that we moved little bit away from the aphrodisiacs but I still like the idea of incorporating Greek gods. Talking about our ideas for tableware for each course, some people wanted to get engaged and make them themselves. I agreed and supported them because it would be too much to manage and make everything myself. Going through the menu, I felt that some courses didn’t match particular gods very well, however I really appreciate people’s work and didn’t want to be rude towards them. I think that tableware, food and scent in every course should match the character of each god. So far, I feel we are a bit off.

So far, I was told to start casting 16 small clam shells, 20 of big ones, and 4 boob casts.

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Set up plan

3rd April 2017

Today, I was closely working with the set up group. Our task was to come up with the idea of how the tables would be placed into the space. The images above are our best 3 ideas which we felt would be most effective. However, as we tried those out with tables in the space, we quickly figured out that the 3rd idea is the most effective in many ways. The costs would decrease because we would have to buy less fabric to cover the tables, people would be closer together and could chat between themselves and also, less tableware will be used because the main bowls and trays would be shared. My other thought was that it would be beautiful to hang some flowers and crystals above the tables to visually enrich the dinning experience. 

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Rice Paper Box

29th March 2017

As you can see, my experimentation is mainly about creating unexpected textures and finding the right materials and processes. In this experiment, I was playing with edible materials and personal aesthetics.  

The idea came from this bath bomb box that I really liked, but wasn’t sure what material I could use. Ishmail suggested to use rice paper, which is edible, light, easy to work with and also very cheap. By accident, he already had some and let me take few sheets. He previously experimented with rice paper and was able to engrave words and images into it so I thought that would be one way of decorating the box. The rice paper would be too small to cut the net of the box from one piece therefore I decided to cut each wing separately and glue them together with edible glue. The box turned out perfect although it was very fragile and delicate. I felt it was looking too plain so I sprinkled some gold edible glitter on top to give it that extra sparkle. I really like how it looks and also the fact that the whole thing is edible. It would be suitable for serving small dishes and would also enrich the dinning experience by adding that little bit of surprise.

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Taking Inspiration from the artist Dan Lam

28th March 2017

Few days ago, I came across the artwork of artist Dan Lam who creates squishy sculptures with interesting textures. The textures are made by adding spikes or rhinestones. I really liked the idea and loved the spiky texture. I imagined a bowl covered with spikes and how it would feel in hand, creating new experience. I decided to re-use clay bowls I made and give them the spiky feel by adding some acrylic spikes. I feel they turned out well as the texture really changed the feel of the bowl both visually and physically. I found holding it quite satisfying. If I had more spikes I would cover inside too to create another new experience, How often do we serve food on spiky surface? 

To find more about Dan Lam, please visit the website: http://bydanlam.com

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Applying Gold and Copper Leaf

26th March 2017

Taking the inspiration from Pink Narcissus (1971) and what I was told by set design group, I decided to turn my transparent resin cast into metallic gold. I could either use gold spray paint or gold leaf. I decided to go for gold leaf for few reasons. One of the main reasons is that spray paint is toxic, stinks and would make it impossible to serve food in this shell, whereas with the gold leaf I could use a special polish to make it food safe. Many people find working with gold leaf very challenging and I wanted to see for myself it I can do it. I have never used it before but I believe this is the only way of making the cast look proper metallic gold. To get the best result possible, I bought this glue for gold leaf and a set of tweezers to make it easier to apply the fine sheets.��

I decided to run a test on a piece of broken resin cast using slightly cheaper copper leaf. I followed the instructions on the back of the glue bottle and let the glue set for 10 minutes. When the texture got tacky, I started to apply the copper leaf. I found the application quite challenging because of the uneven surface of the shell. The foil kept tearing but I found the way of doing it at the end. After this experiment I felt more confident to do it once again but for real. I found it easier as I learnt the technique and was very happy with the outcome. I absolutely loved the textures and the shine of the outcome. Now I can show the group 2 colour variations and will get a feedback on both!