Over the past few weeks we have been looking at material to use in the text based installation. We have also been looking at different option to trigger the installation. What we want to create is a set of tiles with letters on them. They are hiding a hidden word that is revealed once the visitor triggers it.
What we started with
We had started off with card and cut the letters out of this. We tried a couple of ways but it was hard to make the text appear sleek and finished. It was jagged and torn at the edges. It was also very time consuming.
This one took 2 hours to cut out of card.
We then moved onto acetate which looked better however we had to double up the sheets in order to keep the light from shinning through the blacked out areas.
This week I have looked into other potential material. I began by looking online.
Some materials, although they appeared are unrealistic to use as a material due to price and availability. Some of these option are:
Stone Onyx
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| Examples of Onyx Stone |
This is a type of marble stone that illuminates when light is shone through it. It creates visualising interesting patterns. Letters could potential engraved into the stone, however this theory needs to be tested. I have tried sourcing stone onyx in Ireland but can't find any. I did however find similar stone but the price is too high. Another issue is how will we carve the stone as none of use have experience at this. Also if we were to hang these from the wall the weight would be a factor, it would cause serious injury if it were to fall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1yVHcsxRTw
Fibre Glass Paper
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| Examples of Fibre Glass Paper Being Used |
This material has been used for air filter monitoring, although I have found it being used to create artistic lamps. It is flexible, temperature resistant and see through. It can be sewn and cut to creating interesting shapes. This is another material that was hard to source. I did find a website but the price was too high.
http://www.improvisedlife.com/2009/08/04/great-clip-on-lamp-shade-the-hunt-for-glass-fiber-paper/
https://us.vwr.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?catalog_number=28297-976
See Through Concrete
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| See-through Concrete |
Another material option is a product I found online, it is see through concrete. This is definitely the most unrealistic option. However I really liked the visual look of it and how people have used it. There were no prices on the website so I emailed the company for prices, however it is such a unique product I think it will be too expensive.
http://dornob.com/see-through-light-transmitting-concrete-material/#axzz2vnEYoeKv - http://www.litracon.hu/
More plausible options that we are would like to experiment with are:
Wood
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| Examples of Wood being used with Light |
I have found many artist and designers online how are creating interesting objects with light and wood. The most interesting one I found was the Hix, a wooden cube lantern (picture above in centre). It is hollow on the inside and uses steel to create patterns revealed with light. The next step with this is to source some wood and start experimenting with it. Like the stone onyx, none of us have experience carving wood and it is something we really need to try out first.
http://www.hix-edition.com/index.php?lang=fr
Glass
We met with Debbie Dawson, a artist working in Crawford, to discus the possibilities of using glass as a material. Before we met we had a meeting and landed on the idea of using stain glass. Not only is it visually beautiful and colourful, but it is associated with the church and religion which is an important element to Nano Nagle's story.
http://www.peadarlamb.com/work_dl.html
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| Examples of Stained Glass |
We tried a quick test with some glass paint and acetate before meeting up with Debbie and we were pleased with how it looked.
We then met with Debbie intending to get learn of other option we hadn't considered and the possibilities and limitations of stained glass and glass as a medium. We visited Debbie Dawson on Thursday the 20th of March in Crawford College of Art. She was very helpful in giving us advise.
First we asked her about stain glass. She said that glass as a medium is very expensive, especially stain glass. She recommended we visit Douglas Glass. We informed her about us trying to use glass paint, but she said that this does not give the best effect and can crack. She then gave use a suggestion of using coloured cellophane to create the same effect.You can also but stick on lead to give it a more authentic look. Debbie even said that we could return with the supplies and she would help us make it look like stain glass.
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| Examples of Coloured Cellophane being used |
You can get some at Evans Art Supplies. 40 coloured sheets for €4.20 online. They sell some in Cork Art Supplies costing €15.99, however it is clear. I also found that coloured cellophane is often used by florists and can be bought at florist suppliers like Central Floral Supplies, however they are expensive (over 20 euro). Another option would be to go to a florist and ask for coloured cellophane as we do not need a whole roll of it.
A second suggestion she mention was sand blasting the glass. It gives a frosted effect.
Examples shown to us by Debbie
To do this we would need a print a image of the text on acetate in negative. This would then need to be exposed onto rapid mask which will stick onto a pane of glass to protect certain areas from the sandblast. There is a whole tutorial online: http://www.sandcarver.org/photoresist.htm. Debbie suggested we get in contact with the Sculpture Factory as they will have the equipment to create this.
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| Examples of Sandblasted Glass |
Another ida we could look at is using different colour LED lights, so the glass may be plain, but the light will give the effect of stained glass.
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The final suggestion she gave us was using etching paste. This would also create a frosted frosted glass effect, but a more subtle one. Debbie was kind enough to give us some glass and etching paste to try out.
The process involves us having a stencil of the letter on the glass (secured some how, maybe masking tape). Then etching paste is then thickly painted on using a brush, gloves most also be worn. The paste is left for a couple of minutes and then washed off.
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| examples of Etching Paste used on Glass |
Next Stage:
We want to start experimenting with these techniques. We have the etching paste and can test this straight away. We must also get in contact with the Sculpture Factory to see about sandblasting. We are going to try and source some coloured cellophane and test this too. We are also going to look at wood as a medium, but must first get some wood. The aim is to create prototypes to test and evaluate. From this we will decide what is the most suitable material to use in the text based installation.
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