Material Matters: Wood and Resin

Whilst walking through the bush I found a stick with a beautiful lichen growing on it. The colour of the lichen was such a delicate green and it was so lace-like I wanted to experiment with and preserve its exquisite qualities.

So I covered it in clear resin.

And then cut it up so that you could see the growth rings of the wood as well as the lichen.

 I threaded the slices of resin and wood onto an oxidised sterling silver rod with spacers to turn it into a necklace. Its currently attached to black cotton, but I think Ill attach it to some oxidised silver chain instead of the black thread to make it look 'finished'.

I was also curious to see what would happen if I cut a circle through the resin and turn it into a ring. The rectangular shape is surprisingly comfortable to wear and I was walking around the studio not even realising that I was wearing it.

The results were a lot of fun and I would like to continue to explore this idea. I particularly like that the pieces speak of capturing the essence of time.

I did find working with the resin was problematic because of the fumes. Ive been told that there is an EcoResin available that I must find out more about. Ethically I also find that working with resin also goes against my principles of using natural materials whenever possible.

For tips on working with resin refer to my previous post about resin and machine embroidery.

Material Matters: Wood

After trying my hand at making things using paper in unusual and unexpected ways, the next challenge was to take this same approach and apply it to wood.

So I cut up pieces of found wood

And experimented with the idea of making wooden chain links. This is as far as I got, but an interesting idea to explore further....

 I tried carving into it....

 And weaving wire through it...

 And making kinetic pieces....

As well as cutting up a found bit of fence paling. I was most enamoured with the strong direction of the wood grain. And of course, I had to keep the rusty nail.

But I wasn't sure if any of these approaches was exciting enough to explore further. As Triple J comedian the Sandman says 'to be continued'........

Material Matters : Paper Jewellery

I have been playing with paper, pushing boundaries and materials in an effort to discover new ways of working, and ultimately new ideas and concepts for creating jewellery.

Here are some of the experiments:

Stitching paper together using bookbinding techniques (coptic binding stitch)

Holding paper together using string

Dipping paper in resin

Riveting paper (left) and tie dying paper (right)

Constructing 3D forms with paper 

Wrapping with embroidery thread and held together with pins and coral

After many experiments I combined copper with paper and ended up with the following finished pieces:

Burnt rice paper held together with a copper rivet

Detail of burnt rice paper and copper rivet

Torn rice paper, riveted with copper tube, black patina

Torn rice paper, stitched with copper wire, green patina

Many of my experimental pieces would be fun to translate into metal...... all I need is the time *sigh*

Hollowware: Egg Cup Design

Earlier in the year I designed and created an egg cup in my Hollowware course.

When it was first made it had the most amazing and unusual purple patina. (Pictures of the egg cup in an earlier post can be seen here.)

Now, a couple of months later it has faded to an aged icy turquoise blue. The high polish on the 'tentacles' has remained a beautiful dark copper colour. The blue patina was achieved by placing the copper with a green patina in a lidded bowl full of wood chips soaked in ammonia. The fumes of the ammonia turn the green patina blue!

And below are some of the designs that were discarded in the designing process. 

I would still like to make them....... maybe one day! 

Here are some websites on how to make different coloured patina's using ingredients generally found at home:

Blue patina 

Blue green patina

Green patina

Shibori Heart Tshirt

I couldn't help but notice the current trend for all things shibori or dip dyed that are popping up everywhere. Inspired by a recent post by Poppytalk (its a great blog to follow too) I decided to give it a go.

Ive been wanting to revamp my studio wardrobe and decided to have some fun with this white tshirt.

After drawing the heart on the tshirt with a pencil, I stitched the outline with double thread.

Pulling the thread tight, I wrapped the remaining string around the material that was in the middle of the heart. This gives the lines in the centre of the heart.

Heart running stitched 

And this is how it turned out using a hot dye ...

To achieve the pattern on the sleeves, I rolled them up, and then wrapped stitched the rolls to secure them in place.

I got so carried away I forgot to take photos of the process, but if you would like to make a similar design here are some links that show some of the steps:

Shibori stitched hearts

Shibori resist stitch technique 

Bombaki shibori (wrapped around a bottle) 

Completed Basket Rings displayed within Ceramics

Basket Rings. Photography: Christina Arsenault

A couple of months ago I shared with you the beginnings of a new series of work: baskets that are woven in metal and attached to rings, and more information on the concept behind these pieces can be found here. 

Pioneer Landscapes. Photography: Christina Arsenault

Initially they were designed to be displayed within the context of larger blocks of clay. (Further information on this concept can be found here). 

Salt of the Earth 1. Photography: Christina Arsenault

Salt of the Earth 2. Photography: Christina Arsenault

Although I also like them displayed without the ceramic pieces and just in the engraved pebbles that support them, as seen in the top image.

Coptic Binding

Something I have wanted to try for quite some time was to make a book using the coptic binding stitch technique. I have wanted to learn this technique since I saw it at the Tasmanian Art Fair in 2010. The Third Door had some beautiful examples of coptic binding and I was entranced by how they lent themselves to draping and that the opened flat which is perfect for a sketch book.

Coptic binding

Coptic binding was used by early Christians in Egypt and examples can be dated back to the 2nd century AD. It is a method of joining sections of parchment, papyrus or paper using chain stitch linking across the spine.

I had some spare time recently so I decided to teach myself the technique. Using some fabric scraps, I created a cover that alluded to what the content of the book will be (this will come at a later stage).

Fabric embroidered cover

 For those who have been following my blog you will recognise Kochira the Cat Kelly (in the style of  Australian artist Sidney Nolan's Ned Kelly, the famous Australian bush ranger) who features in my animation, The Drive.

The decorative binding

I really enjoyed making the book, and plan to make a few more when I have some more spare time.

If you would also like to give this a try I found the following sites very helpful:
- Coptic binding directions illustrated by pictures 
- Coptic binding tutorial on Youtube. 11 mins long.