This frame was created using authentic antique mirror, which is extremely difficult to come by, and elements cut from a single hand-pour from an 18th century Italian plaster mould. The images are from before installation.
Monthly Archives: November 2011
24k gold
I’ve been experimenting with different ways to finish some of my plaster pieces/pours. It’s tough for me though, because I love the flat plaster in it’s natural state. Adding finishes and colors and textures just seems wrong in some way. It changes the feel of the piece, the look of the stark white color, and even the cool temperature to the touch. But yet at the same time it is exciting and fun to experiment with all of these different materials and to see how the chemicals of each begin to react with the next. Some have been huge disappointments while others have been great discoveries. About a month ago I sent off a whole set of my pieces to a chemical company out in CA, called SurFin Chemicals. And this is what I received back:
Not thrilled by the finished product. at all. The chemical properties of the finishes/stains are originally designed for metals but I was hoping they would translate well to the plaster. Not so much. The coloration and sheen make the pieces appear more resin-like than the actual true plaster. I’ve been using some wood stains and sealants as well and the clear sealants are the best I’ve found yet to actually seal off the plaster and stop the chemical make-up from “breathing” and interacting with the surrounding oxygen and carbon…but these sealants still give either a glossy finish or almost a satin sheen to the flat white plaster.
Another route I’ve been experimenting with is the leafing processes. I’ve copper-leafed and silver-leafed a few pieces. And these I prefer due to the fact that these are true copper and silver elements. Beautiful finishes yet they are extremely flashy. I imagine I would like the finishes once I have distressed the pieces through different means. The images below are of a piece that has been gold-leafed using 24k gold:
And of course, I will always favor the original look of the true plaster finish. No glitz, glam, or shimmer to fancy it up. Just the true original material being showcased. Here are a few little fun ornaments I’ve been making for a boutique store in town:
“When they write my memoirs, they’ll find I’m really no different than most people.
Dreams, disappointments, and
a few crystal clear moments of grace. ”
captured this special moment on an early morning in rome
thirteen moons
“I cannot decide whether it is an illness or a sin, the need to write things down and fix the flowing world in one rigid form. Bear believed writing dulled the spirit, stilled some holy breath. Smothered it. Words, when they’ve been captured and imprisoned on paper, become a barrier against the world, one best left unerected. Everything that happens is fluid, changeable. After they’ve passed, events are only as your memory makes them, and they shift shapes over time. Writing a thing down fixes it in place as surely as a rattlesnake skin stripped from the meat and stretched and tacked to a barn wall. Every bit as stationary, and every bit as false to the original thing. Flat and still and harmless. Bear recognized that all writing memorializes a momentary line of thought as if it were final.
But I was always word-smitten.“
snapshots
Here are some quick snapshots from the plaster run installation of Studio Glithero…
armature
preparation
running
support
strength
lower level
entirety
grace
badass
This project is badass in so many ways…use of materials, degree of difficulty, organization, collaboration, scale of project, and just in general the design ideas driving the layout of the project. The studio is phenomenal and such an inspiration. Adore the work. Check ’em out…glithero.com
“Studio Glithero capture and present the beauty in the moment things are made, when the duality of product and process becomes one and the same. Running Mould is a 12 metre long bench made on location in gallery space Z33 in Belgium, using 3.5 tonnes of plaster and a team of 9 working continuously with the material.
The process is an interpretation of the artisanal technique of making plaster cornices found in classical architecture, by running a zinc profile through wet plaster. By translating this process in scale and purpose, we create a spectacle that has the power to trigger an intrinsic understanding of the object, its process, origin and material.”
And here’s a little video on the installation:
Interview with the Designer:
the fancy
I know everyone right now is raving about the little website pinterest. I went to check it out and can’t lie, I’m not all that impressed. But that might just be because I stumbled upon The Fancy first. And I’m slightly obsessed. The fanciful, beautiful, poetic, hilarious, and many times simplistic pieces are so much fun to browse through. And of course, any site that presents me with images of the most extravagant libraries will always have my fancy. One day I will have something along these lines…
Karl Lagerfeld's personal library
Library on Heavens: Strahov Monastery, Prague
When Napolean concquered Europe King John of Portugal sailed to his colony of Brasil and brought many of his belongings with, including most of his books, which are still found here today.
Staircase Bookshelf: London
and not to forget my all time fave: the Biltmore's library. Georgie Vanderbilt's favorite room in the house as well, exceptional taste of course.
my beloved angel oak
angel oak
“The plight of Charleston’s grand old oak trees, constantly threatened by development, was put on full, naked display earlier this year when California-based photographer Jack Gescheidt came to Johns Island to photograph the famed Angel Oak. But a pastoral still image was not what Gescheidt was seeking. He was incorporating the tree into his “TreeSpirit Project,” which consists of traveling the country to photograph endangered trees with one or more nude models strategically placed in or around them.
Gescheidt and the two dozen or so models were almost arrested at the shoot, which took place in May 2011. The TreeSpirit Project and Gescheidt’s shoot and near-arrest will be incorporated into a documentary film titled Out On A Limb. The film, the photographers, and the filmmakers are coming to Charleston for an event they’re calling “Charleston’s Angels,” scheduled for 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 3 at the Terrace Theater on Maybank Highway.
Charleston’s Angels attendees will be invited to get a close look at the filmmaking process, see fascinating footage from the May shoot, and have a fun night of presentations and discussion with local community activists supporting the Angel Oak. Organizers say the evening is aimed at those who want to know more about the documentary filmmaking process up close, and learn about the film festival circuit and independent film; those who love art, photography, and creative projects that seeks to apply art in meaningful ways; and people with a particular appreciation for the Angel Oak and want to help in its preservation, as well as trees like it facing the same threats from industrial growth.
The documentary is currently in production, and promises to be a visually compelling and fascinating story about Gescheidt’s TreeSpirit Project, which goes around the country to make his community photographs, potent artistic statements that address critical planetary issues––the environment, preserving open space, and deforestation and it’s impact on climate change. They’re meant to inspire our own ability to reconnect with nature and with ourselves. The film shows how Charleston is a microcosm of many communities around the country – and planet – that struggle to find common ground between the needs of “progress” and the virtues of preservation.
The filmmakers describe their endeavor as equal parts adventure story, activism, and art film, following Gescheidt’s journey to diverse locations with beloved ancient trees, including the redwood forests of Northern California, the oak groves of the southeast, and to New York’s Central Park. The film also centers around the project’s adventurous and diverse participants, as well as celebrities noted for their involvement in environmental issues, and scientific experts who discuss the value of reconnecting physically, emotionally and spiritually with nature, seeking sustainable solutions to our current environmental crisis.
“It’s all about connecting with the trees, and in this case, specifically with this tree,” says Gescheidt in reference to his shoots and the shoot at the Angel Oak, which sits near a new planned unit development of 600 homes. “(The goal is) to draw attention through press, and every other means we can to challenge the sanity of a development right near this tree at such a scale.”
Terrace Theater’s owners jumped at the chance to bring this work-in-progress to their James Island theater. The Terrace prides itself on being a kind of learning lab for cinephiles in Charleston. The Charleston Angels event will offer that, along with a healthy dose of environmental consciousness.
“We feel that it is important to draw any and all attention to the preservation of the Angel Oak and other trees, and general, local environmental issues as well,” said Terrace co-owner Paul Brown.”
dillon.michelle.designs 