Latex Rock Samples

I started experimenting with creating a mould out of paper then painting with the latex. This worked really well, and it was fun so see the changes in colour and texture as the latex dried.

It is a quick technique once it is started, but it does take a while to create the mould to cast the latex onto.

It's hard to keep this technique tidy, but is a lot of fun peeling the latex from the mould. The paper did stick in some places so it wasn't just latex by the end. You also need a lot of layers to make the latex thick enough to have enough strength. The layers do dry quickly though.

1st attempt of putting the latex onto the body. I thought mixing latex and the tyvek together would work, but I don't like the different colours together. The gament also has too much structure, I think there needs to be some loosness and connetion to fabric. Done some research into melted rock and lava, which relates well to the latex samples: creating a solid from a liquid.

I like the idea of the garment flowing, there's movement. The connection between fabric and plastic works well and reminds me of maybe different rock plates meeting, a joining of two very different materials.

Connecting the fabric with latex again. I created rips and scores in the fabric and pleated where it joined to the latex which manage to mirror eachother more. I also managed to relate the hand processes to this project finally because all the sewing is hand done and I have incorporated drawn threadwork to add texture.

Where the latex and fabric meet. I liked hand sewing this seam because it was quick and created moore interest by being messy. I also like the relationship of colours, they blend well together and bring two very different materials.

Instant Filler Rock Samples

None of the samples I had experimented with had actually had the coled, hard rock surfaces which related so well to rocks. So I started using instant filler which was easy to mould and had a really beautiful surface once dried.

I found it really hard to find a way of connecting all the pieces together without cracking the surface, so I don't think this would be an appropriate material to use to make a wearable object. It's a shame because had the most realistic appearance, but the tyvek and latex samples definately rereate the shape and idea of what I wanted to produce in this project. Plus these samples were really useful as moulds for the atex!

Tyvek Rock Samples

Sample of tyvek which has been heated under the grill. The glue melts and causes the fabric to shrink and bubble up. Once cooled, the glue sets and the fabric becomes hard. This links well to the thes in my project ad enables me to link ideas of shapes I have already come with to fabric and a slightly more conventional material.

Experimenting with a lot of samples on the bdy at once. This is using the tyvek to form a fabric. I like how it is following the shape of the body and is restricted to this, but I think it would be more appropriate to the rock theme if the garment was somehow disrupting or blocking off the shape of a body and forcing the shape of rocks on a person.

Like the idea of small sections of tyvek linked together with a sheer fabric so it is a complete fabric, but at the same time has an edge. I tried this with dissolvable fabric, chiffon and white plastic bags. I think the most successful was the chiffon becasue it want completely see through.

Most recent idea for tyvek. I love the way it resembles a costume, witht the embellishment ontop of a sheer fabric. It seems theatrical but at the same time the chiffon is hard to work with because it frays so easily.

Attempts of adding colour. This is acrylic paint. I think the colour is too strong, and whereas when just left white the small dots of glue add texture; when colour is added, the white dots stay white and make the fabric look less natural. This material is definatley better with no colour added to it.

Photocopying the tyvek samples is really fun. When the light is moving across the fabric, sliding the sample out causes therock to look sticky and molten and viscous. This has moved my project into looking at lava and the other side of rocks deep under the earth. Rocks which move and are almost alive with currents. Moving planes meeting moving planes with violent consequences. It's really exciting.

Tin Foil Rock Samples

This was a spur of the moment idea to use tin foil, and the overall aesthetic appearance of the samples. They have a lot of depth, and are so easy to mould to the exact shape. A lot of difference in scale can be created too with large planes of reflective faces mixed with scrunched up tightly packed facets.

The appearance is very elaborate and beautiful but the problem is the materil is so temporary. You can't transport any section because the flat parts with become scrunched up and its not easy to join together because the foil is delicate. Using foil has been really useful to think abou shapes I want to create. But turning into fabric will be the best idea because it will be the most wearable and the easiest to create into an actual garment.

Attempting to add colour to the foil. I was disappointed to begin with about thelack of colour the foil took, but once it dried I really like the faint hint of colour. The colours are a lot more delicate and pretty rather than brash.

Page from sketchbook. I like how easy the material is ti maipulate onto both the actual body and drawn figures of the body. It is a good tool so start thinking about shape.

Drawing Workshop Task 2

The purpose of my sketchbooks this term has been to show the journey I have taken my project on. To do this I feel that I have used the sketchbooks in the right way for how I work. They have been a place for new ideas, development and review; rather than somewhere I present all the ideas once they have been realised. Through doing this my skills in experimentation and willingness to push myself have been highlighted. This is especially true in moving away from the small book which I feel comfortable in, to a much larger one.    


 I thought I would get lost on such a large space, but it has pushed me to work bigger to fill the empty page. It also made me work more cleanly and neatly which has always been a challenge for me, but complements my project well.
     When flicking through the sketchbooks, it is easy to see the intent of my project and the direction it is headed. This I feel has been helped by the short amount of time allocated to us to explore our themes - giving me a stronger focus. In the coming weeks I intend to move out of the sketchbooks more. This is not necessarily to work bigger, but to experiment with many differrent scales, relating to my theme of rocks and the vast differences in scale inwhich they occur.

I don't want this to cause large gaps in the sketchbook and the story of the journey so I want to flick between the two different ways of working frequently.
     Most of the work presented in my sketchbooks has been future ideas, and I would like to document more the process I am taking through photography and observational drawing.
This will aid the flow of my thought processes, but also improve my observational skills and force me to be constantly looking back at what I have done and review every sample. Because of this constant look to the future, there are large jumps in my sketchbooks where I have suddenly changed course, and I intend to go back and smooth them over to explain the reasons behind the seemingly erratic jump into different ideas.
     To some extent, a certain 'style' of working has come through so far in the sketchbooks, but i would like to wok on this further. It is important for me to start focusing on skills I have which are standing out and something which unique to my personal work.

2nd Workshop, 3D construct

 1 metre by 1 metre drawing. Didn't really have a major plan just started making and saw what happened which created a beautifully organic shape and it sort of grew as it was being made. It is meant to link all my concepts together; rocks, encrusting, forces and tensions in a material and in rock formation.

 Linking in to work about force and tension in the body when drawing. Looking at muscles and strain.

 Containing force and tension. Restricting line using masking tape.

 Using restrictive drawing techniques to describe tension in the hand.

 Didn't make the connection between my 1 metre by 1 metre drawing and the body. But once I realised it could be a strong idea, I photocopied older drawings and worked them on to the body.

Ripped paper to plan garments. Like the strips, could work with material.

Starting to work 3D drawing onto the body. Don't like the gaps inbetween each rock shape. Maybe look at some way of creating a seamless material which still creates the sharp angles.