Made the wooden frames for the sides of the plaster protrusions at Coldhome and bought modroc and casting plaster at the art shop. I had chicken wire already put aside in my studio and have made both sides of the toilet over the last two weeks, on the studio floor, with much shuffling around of things and mess. But they are now nearly done. I think the finishing touches (and attaching them to the toilet) will have to be done in my degree show space, because they are likely to crack with movement. I also started covering my stuffed life-sized woman with plaster too, and she will be coming out of one of the toilet protrusions and will need plastered into place in situ. I tried painting with watercolour on a sample piece of cardboard coated with plaster and the plaster takes the watercolour really well, so once the toilet and sides are in position, I will paint them with simple line paintings I think, will probably plan them out in my sketchbook first, as I will only get one shot at getting them how I like. I may also embed some of the ceramic pieces partly in plaster to integrate them into the sculpture better.
I have bought shellac, which I intended to paint the papier-mâché woman with, but now I am worried it will dull the colours of the tissue paper too much, and I might try it instead on the plaster sample to see whether it might make the plaster protrusions look more like ceramic, though I quite like the matt rough look of the plaster the way it is… lots of decisions to make…
I knocked the big leg sculpture over, which I have been drying for weeks in my studio after I had successfully transported it all the way to the kiln room and the thigh part was smashed beyond repair. So I smoothed the edges of the shards and drilled holes in them and will paint little images on them and they will form part of the wall collage instead. They are like artifacts. Maybe I could put words on some of them, tell a little narrative. I have already put some words on ceramic plaques and painted little symbols on some other ceramic ovals and shapes, some to attach to the wall, some to lay on the floor.
I also finished turning one of the fabric sides to the toilet I had part made into a floor cushion for going under the paper mâché woman, for people to lie on to view the film. It’s quite indistinct, like nothing in particular, but with a point and a tentacle, like a biomorphic, slug type thing maybe. I played around with laying crumpled red fabric on it to make it vulva like and did some filming with it in the greenscreen/photography studio. I may paint it with the silk paints. I have now started sewing the other one, so that I can have two floor cushions back to back, so two people can lie with their heads together watching the film.
I spent most of a day last week in the photography studio, in my celebration of bacteria costume, gathering footage for my last film in which I interact with my different artworks. And have since edited it and worked on the sound. I showed Nilla at my last tutorial with her and she gave me some feedback, which I took on board. I now just need to edit ‘Beasts’ and then I will send links to all four films to Kate for feedback.
Am working constantly and feeling reasonably on schedule with everything, so am going home this weekend to try to relax a little, so I don’t burn out, though in reality I will probably still work on something, my artists statement or maybe the album I have decided to release in time for my degree show or preparing images for the degree show website.
Rachel Bride Ashton 