This is a fairly detailed account of what I’m involved with week-by-week. Click directly on the About button above for a more general summary.
2016
November working on Thames Beach Collection ideas, a ‘sculptural matrix system’ exploring what I am calling the ‘beachcomber spectrum’ .. i.e. form designs ranging through mineral inanimate/ bio signs/ artificial man-made.
October 31 – November 4 Modelling, mouldmaking and casting course a 5-day professional development course in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses. This is an intensive five days in which we make jacketed silicone moulds in two/or more parts for 3D objects; small block moulds for flat objects; cast in polyurethane resin (straight, filled and coloured), plaster, plaster/polymer; look at methods of modelling and shaping .. and more
October 26-28 UAL Wimbledon College of Art three half-days spent with the MA Theatre Design students going through some of the basics of construction, modelling&shaping and surfacing&painting for theatre design model-making.
October 23 beginning of Thames beach collection ideas
October 3-7 Modelling, mouldmaking and casting course a 5-day professional development course in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses.
September 21-30 Royal Academy of Dramatic Art London. Series of five 3-hour sessions in model-making for current students on the MA course in Theatre Design. The sessions will focus on the five principle areas; main construction, fine construction, modelling and shaping, creating surfaces and painting. Based on articles originally designed to support this teaching remit, see Making realistic models in the Methods section
September 22 WordPress post Two-dimensional luminescent beans revisiting graphic work using Paint Shop Pro and Procreate for iPad
September 6 WordPress post Some of the most precious ‘artisan’ films online and permanent page ‘favorited’ maker videos under links. Featuring well-made short films showing the work of both British and World artists and artisans
July – September mainly studio work further developing ‘NatureMake: the ridiculously organic construction toy’; revisiting ‘Mongrel Furniture’ ideas for 1:10 furniture ‘caprices’ inc. ‘Herd of Easels’; antique treatment on ‘putti’ forms; pop-up shop ideas; photo-sketches ideas; ‘Foamhenge’ collection; ‘Arps’ styrofoam shaping with layered PU coating; ‘Fruitbowl’ forms with range of disc bases. Experiments with image transfer on Pvc; making ‘scoop’ moulds and casting filler/pigment samples; testing Cabosil effect on PU resin
June 20-24 Bristol Old Vic Theatre School 5-day model-making ‘Masterclass’ for current students on the MA course in Theatre Design. The sessions are designed to reinforce existing skills (basic and fine-scale construction, scale figure making, making furniture) and introduce new ones
May 19 WordPress post Where to look for ready-made forms and permanent page List of sources for ready-made forms in the Methods section. An on-going directory of sources for such things as domes, tubes, cones, discs and other shapes useful for form-making work.
April 18-20 Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts two days spent mainly with 1st year design students (slideshow/talk first afternoon, all-day practical next day) and tutorials with 2nd years on third day. This became the chance to put new templates and furniture-making techniques into practice in the practical workshop!
April 16 WordPress Template drawings for furniture model-making re-capping the basic furniture drawings I’ve used in teaching so far and making them more available .. and perhaps the start of something bigger!
Finally found perfect medium for ‘liquid modelling’ ( i.e. piping thick liquid/soft paste from a bottle to make relief decoration .. as in cake icing work). Combination of either Rosco Foamcoat or Polycell Fine Surface Polyfilla .. with latex! The latex prevents coagulation in the tube .. lasts indefinitely and relief doesn’t shrink too much!
April 8 WordPress Making a panelled door in stencil card showing step-by-step method of achieving wood-panelling effect using stencil card, ‘graining’ using sandpaper, and looking at various options for painting or staining.
April 4-8 Model-making Techniques Course 5-day practical professional development course in my studio in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses.
March 29 WordPress More on polymer-modified plaster testing Specialplasters’ SP201 compared to Jesmonite or Tiranti’s and trying combinations.
March 22 short session on model-making for CSM Foundation Art&Design students, geared to their current project featuring doors. Concentrating on simulating different ‘door’ materials in model form; simple methods of construction; useful materials. See WordPress post further up.
March 14-18 Modelling, mouldmaking and casting course 5-day professional development course in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses. This is an intensive five days in which we make jacketed silicone moulds in two/or more parts for 3D objects; small block moulds for flat objects; cast in polyurethane resin (straight, filled and coloured), plaster, plaster/polymer; look at methods of modelling and shaping .. and more
February 6 – March 5 Scale Model-making 5-week Saturday course hosted by Central Saint Martins, administrated by London Artscom. The course is almost identical to my Model-making Techniques Course which I run at home/studio as a ‘Monday-Friday’. I can’t do the mouldmaking/casting at CSM, so there’s more time spent on furniture, surfacing and painting. The Granary at Kings Cross is a more impressive environment but the big disadvantage of being ‘institutionalized’ is that the day has to end around 16.00 .. too early!
Half-day ‘model-making skills’ sessions at Rose Bruford College i.e. ‘understanding theatre plans/elevations’, ‘creating plantlife’, ‘making model furniture to scale’, ‘ways of creating surfaces’, ‘metalwork and soldering’ etc.
January 17 WordPress post Cutting smooth holes in foam I discovered that styrofoam (and other rigid foams) could be cut fairly smoothly even with plastic teeth! So I guessed that a plastic tube could be ‘serated’ at its end and pushed/turned through foam .. and it worked! It opens up a lot of form-making possibilities .. literally.
January 14-22 UAL Wimbledon College of Art continuation of project, this stage involving making a ‘colour’ model (i.e. realistically painted and textured) which includes designed transformations to the chosen spaces
2015
December 17 WordPress post Coating styrofoam with polyurethane resin illustrating results of tests painting layers of thin PU (with pigment mixed in) for a tough coating on styrofoam. Alternatively ‘powder coating’ technique, dropping coloured powders in the resin while still wet. This can give a very resilient, matt surface .. varies according to the grain size of what is used (possibles are fine sand, Fillite, crushed brick, enamelling powder possibly ..). This surface could also then be painted with regular acrylic, which would then be far more resilient to handling than acrylic on smooth resin.
December 2 WordPress sketches for The coalescence of putti in a summer sky using Paint Shop Pro and Procreate on iPad
November 30 – December 11 UAL Wimbledon College of Art first of my sessions for 1st year Set Design for Screen students starting the ‘Transforming a Location’ project ( which I devised and briefed a few years back ). The initial session preps the students for making white-card models of their chosen spaces before transformation
November 20 – December 1 Royal Academy of Dramatic Art London. Series of five 3-hour sessions in model-making for current students on the MA course in Theatre Design. The sessions will focus on the five principle areas; main construction, fine construction, modelling and shaping, creating surfaces and painting. Based on articles originally designed to support this teaching remit, see Making realistic models in the Methods section
November 5 WordPress post Nature taking back featuring excessively weathered old dollshouse
October 17 – November 14 Scale Model-making 5-week Saturday course hosted by Central Saint Martins, administrated by London Artscom. The course is almost identical to my Model-making Techniques Course which I run at home as a ‘Monday-Friday’. I can’t do the mouldmaking/casting at CSM, so there’s more time spent on furniture, surfacing and painting. The Granary at Kings Cross is a more impressive environment but the big disadvantage of being ‘institutionalized’ is that the day has to end around 16.00 .. too early!
October 14-29 Rose Bruford College 1st year introductory design/model-making project based on choice of small (i.e. 3x3x3metres) space in the college grounds, reproducing it accurately at 1:25 scale, but also including some form of dramatic scenario.
October 9 WordPress post Making a non-slip ‘gripping board’ and a bench hook
September 9 WordPress post and page notes Using plaster as a filler in polyurethane resin
September 1-4 Technical drawing for theatre, film and television designers This is traditional hand-drawing using drawing boards, squares and pencil, and with a strong emphasis on using natural common sense in deciding how 3D spaces should be explained and labelled .. but of course also covering the various ‘conventions’ which cannot be ignored.
July 27-31 Scale Model-making the ‘Summer school’ version of the usual Saturday course hosted by Central Saint Martins.
July-September working on sculptural ideas inc. ‘ridiculously organic construction toy’ ( asking ‘what if’ toys remained more true to what a child finds to play with at the bottom of the garden); what is ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’. Influence of Thames beach, re-styling older ‘putti’ forms to look more ancient. ‘Grinlings’ carved/sanded balsa forms as homage to the woodcarver Grinling Gibbons who lived in the area
July 11 WordPress post Recommended websites for visual research and full collection so far organised under Visual Research in the Methods section. Of course we can all get instant results from Google, but it’s just showing us the ‘skin’ of things .. these on the other hand take us down to the muscle and bone!
June 22-26 Bristol Old Vic Theatre School 5-day model-making ‘Masterclass’ for current students on the MA course in Theatre Design. The sessions are designed to reinforce existing skills (basic and fine-scale construction, scale figure making, making furniture) and introduce new ones
19 May Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts model tutorials
May 3 WordPress article and page A quick guide to soldering brass. Pros&cons of soldering; step by step instructions; guidance on choosing soldering irons etc.
April 13-17 Model-making Techniques Course 5-day practical professional development course in my studio in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses.
March 23-27 Modelling, mouldmaking and casting course 5-day professional development course in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses This is an intensive five days in which we make jacketed silicone moulds in two/or more parts for 3D objects; small block moulds for flat objects; cast in polyurethane resin (straight, filled and coloured), plaster, plaster/polymer; look at methods of modelling and shaping .. and more. One of the group, Bishara, had come specially from the US wanting to find a method of ‘casting with dirt’ or at least achieving the likeness. As I had thought, there was no chance with actual soil, but we did achieve some fairly promising results using either tea/coffee with resin (as I’d done before) or coloured grout (either with PU resin or casting plaster). This also got me thinking about ways of ‘powder coating’ to achieve a matt or dusty surface .. more on this further up.
Experiments/tests using unconventional fillers with plaster, plaster/polymer mix and polyurethane resin inc. effect of plaster, cement and grout in PU resin; using water filter material, tea, coffee, cork etc; iron powder in plaster
March 16-18 Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts two days spent mainly with 1st year design students (slideshow/talk first afternoon, all-day practical next day) and tutorials with 2nd years on third day
More mouldmaking and fibreglass casting for Andrew Logan, for his portrait of Patricia Quinn. The process involves building up a thick silicone rubber skin over the original clay sculpture, together with a supporting ‘jacket’ of reinforced polymer-modified plaster. Both silicone and jacket are made in two or more interlocking sections. See Making a supported silicone mould for a life-size head and casting in fibreglass in the Methods section under Mouldmaking and casting
Updates to WordPress Casting materials especially re. working with expanding polyurethane foam
February 19 WordPress article The art of alternative staining looking at the variety of alternatives to commercial wood-stains (especially when working small-scale). Includes .. shoe polishes; Promarkers; using pastel or colour pencils with white spirit .. compares different effects on balsa and obeche and looks at problems of warping
January 26 WordPress page notes Food-safe silicone rubber in Materials section, including ideas for ‘copying’ metal cake moulds
January 24 – February 21 Scale Model-making 5-week Saturday course hosted by Central Saint Martins, administrated by London Artscom.
January 21 WordPress article Handy containers for small amounts of paint
Single-day ‘model-making skills’ sessions at Rose Bruford College i.e. ‘making model furniture to scale’, ‘basic mouldmaking/casting using available materials’, ‘ways of creating surfaces’, ‘metalwork and soldering’ etc.
January 13 WordPress article Making a simple all-purpose modelling tool
January 12-19 UAL Wimbledon College of Art continuation of project, this stage involving making a ‘colour’ model (i.e. realistically painted and textured) which includes designed transformations to the chosen spaces
2014
December 4-12 UAL Wimbledon College of Art first of my sessions for 1st year Set Design for Screen students starting the ‘Transforming a Location’ project ( which I devised and briefed a few years back ). The initial session preps the students for making white-card models of their chosen spaces before transformation
Putting together ‘Figure modelling ref compilation sheets’ i.e. separate sheets for ‘old head’, ‘young head’, ‘torso’, ‘legs’, ‘hands’ etc ..
First experiments with technique .. line drawings with Rotring on tracing paper; scanning; enhancing contrast, cleaning and converting to transparent PNGs in Paint Shop Pro; transferring to iPad for painting/layer work in Procreate
Writing up technical drawing Lexicon of subjects and terms
More mouldmaking and fibreglass casting for Andrew Logan, this time for his portrait of Rula Lenska. The process involves building up a thick silicone rubber skin over the original clay sculpture, together with a supporting ‘jacket’ of reinforced polymer-modified plaster. Both silicone and jacket are made in two or more interlocking sections. See Making a supported silicone mould for a life-size head and casting in fibreglass in the Methods section under Mouldmaking and casting
October 15-31 Rose Bruford College 1st year introductory design/model-making project based on choice of small (i.e. 3x3x3metres) space in the college grounds, reproducing it accurately at 1:25 scale, but also including some form of dramatic scenario.
October 11 – November 8 Scale Model-making 5-week Saturday course hosted by Central Saint Martins, administrated by London Artscom. The course is almost identical to my Model-making Techniques Course which I run at home as a ‘Monday-Friday’. I can’t do the mouldmaking/casting at CSM, so there’s more time spent on furniture, surfacing and painting. The Granary at Kings Cross is a more impressive environment but the big disadvantage of being ‘institutionalized’ is that the day has to end around 16.00!
September 15-26 Royal Academy of Dramatic Art London. Series of five 3-hour sessions in model-making for current students on the MA course in Theatre Design. The sessions will focus on the five principle areas; main construction, fine construction, modelling and shaping, creating surfaces and painting. Based on articles originally designed to support this teaching remit, see Making realistic models in the Methods section
Writing up Technical Drawing guidance, see i.e. Some of the principles of technical drawing simply illustrated in the Technical drawing section
July to August Personal research project ‘Negative shaping’ Exploring the form-making potential of creating ‘one-off’ or limited-use mould forms either carved, constructed or impressed in foam, assembled in Pvc, dug out or impressed in sand or soft modelling materials
Developing concept of variable mould system using ‘kit’ of semi-flexible Pvc pieces secured with removable glue
July 2 WordPress article and page Working with Milliput summarising properties, pros/cons of working with it, suppliers and prices
June 23-27 Bristol Old Vic Theatre School 5-day model-making ‘Masterclass’ for current students on the MA course in Theatre Design. The sessions were designed to reinforce existing skills (basic and fine-scale construction, scale figure making, making furniture) and introduce new ones
June 19 Rose Bruford College 1-day skills workshop with 1st year design students featuring a simple method of combined modelling/mouldmaking/press-casting using Super Sculpey and casting plaster
June 16 WordPress article and page More on gluing, surfacing and repairing styrofoam summarising investigations made May-June into different ways of bonding styrofoam together (including using Gorilla Glue), materials for smoothing or strengthening the surface, and best ways to repair surface damage
June 11-13 Microsoft Mobile (formerly Nokia) London 3-day model-making workshop for the design team. The sessions provided a general introduction to a range of exploratory materials and working methods, and the chance to experiment with them
May 28 – June 4 1st year model tutorials at Rose Bruford College
May 25 Initial set-up of UK freelance model-makers list on WordPress site
May Personal research project ‘Procreate’ Investigating the potential for personal painting/drawing work of the iPad painting app ‘Procreate’ esp. in conjunction with PaintShopPro filters
May 23 WordPress article and page Making hollow casts in open or ‘closed’ moulds – Part 2 continuing with methods for making hollow shell castings using polyurethane resin
May 10 WordPress article and page Making hollow casts in open or ‘closed’ moulds – Part 1 detailing methods for making hollow shell castings using polyurethane resin
May 8-9 Experiments in foaming standard polyurethane resin by adding water
April 21-25 Model-making Techniques Course 5-day practical professional development course in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses
April 19 WordPress article and page Making a simple 2-piece silicone block mould for a puppet head illustrating the basics of mouldmaking for an all-round 3-D form using silicone rubber
Updates to WordPress Lexicon
April 8 WordPress page ‘quick view’ comparisons of casting materials with summarised information on properties and uses, suppliers and comparative prices
April 3 WordPress article and page Update to ‘modelling wax’ info page including new info on cleaning up and updates to prices
March 24-28 Modelling, mouldmaking and casting course 5-day professional development course in Deptford, London SE8. See entry in Courses
February 1 – March 1 Scale Model-making 5-week Saturday course hosted by Central Saint Martins, administrated by London Artscom
February 25-27 Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts model-making workshops/tutorials with 1st and 2nd year students.
February 4 London South Bank University School of Architecture 1-day practical session with 3rd year students
January 31 WordPress article and page Tools for measuring and marking out The first in the Recommended tools for small-scale making series in the Methods section
January 16 UAL Central Saint Martins half-day lecture on advanced methods of creating surfaces in the design model, including digital methods. 2nd-3rd year and MA students
January – February personal research project ‘Rococo’ exploring the ‘biomorphic’, i.e. organic possibilities in relation to my small-scale sculptural work
January 7 London South Bank University School of Architecture 1-day practical session with 3rd year students
January 5 WordPress article Basic architectural models in ‘Kraft board’
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