The Four Horsemen

I should get along to the NGV and see the The Four Horsemen, Apocalypse, Death and Disaster... on the other hand I got to thinking enough without seeing the exhibition. Some of the interpretations in the reference material are very 16th Century.... the four horseman riding together and laying waste to the landscape. Death hunting rich and poor alike - it seems far removed from the way we live in sunny Melbourne. Never the less an interpretation occurred to me... one of dependant origination. In Revelations the horsemen were introduced on sequence... and in each cycle a quarter of the population died..... so I thought of the form I could build and the attributes of each of the horsemen that led from one to the other....

Cycle of decay, starting by chance with Avarice and tracking through Conflict and Inequity to Decay....

I thought of it rolling like a wheel in a cradle.... now to build it. I'll need help......

The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring

Everyday new flowers pop up. Mary was a great gardener and the flowers have survived neglect and garden rearrangements and chickens - and they still peep out of odd corners - one has even invaded the bathroom.

BRO Magnon

My friend "volunteered" to be president of the Winter Sculling Association, so what to do to mark the occasion? Well here's something to add to the Glenn Alsop award for Volunteers:

BRO Magnon in a demonic form - started as a sketch and then I thought about how to make it.... at first I thought I'd make the foray into three scanning so I contacted Thinglab.

They were very helpful and I learned a lot. I'll be using them on a future job - but not this one. Here I went the standard way via plasticine/clay on glass:

Then to the shops for the silicone rubber, two part casting resin and copper powder. It was so cold it took 24 hours for the silicone to set off - not the 6 to 12 promised on the box.... such is life.

Then figuring how much resin to mix to fill the mould just the right amount. didn't want water in this one so the standard displacement wasn't available. Well the guess was OK and after an overnight set it was get to with abrasive pads until it looked the real deal.

Maybe it's not demonic enough... maybe the winter weather isn't as ferocious as it could be..... happy sculling!

Winter Solstice 2012

Raining, cold - hey it's winter! The chooks were let out to run around and enjoy themselves but they weren't interested - back to bed they reckon.

The sky is grey and the moon is new - ready for an awakening  - but ready doesn't mean leaping to it!

But in the front the camellias are in full flower - and I need to get out and sweep some leaves. It's wonderful - there's one tree with two colours of flower - I'm not sure how it does it.

Winter of Discontent

Well the casting took a long time - and an even longer time to summon up the courage to open the mould. In fact it's a pity I didn't open it sooner - there are a few cracks that may not have happened if the glass hadn't sat locked in for so long.

What should have been three irises

Now it's time to get on with other work while I decide what to do - I've learned that:

• casting three complicated waxes at once is too hard
• letting the glass soak at top temperature for longer did work - the mould was full
• leaving thin glass in the mould is silly - the petals on the thinner flower cracked and broke
• having the glass too thin was silly
• I'm going to make this work!

A nearly good enough iris - yet to cut off the pouring lines

The cutting and fitting to the sculpture is going to be a bit of a challenge too.