Burn out, and out, and out, and out...

The week is at its end, and this seems to have been the busiest one yet. If the first week was typified by cardboard and wax, the next was dungmix, and this is the week of firing. As mentioned on the last blog, the first batch of molds had begun to be fired, and at the time of writing the kiln is still smouldering, 54 hours later! During the course of the day, the still-smoking molds were removed, cleared of charred card, and usually put back in again because some had fired unevenly. Some parts are still soft and crumbly, while others are rock-solid and blackened. So, mainly a success! But a slow firing due to the dampness of the sawdust.

 A new installation for the studio, or is it my bed for the night? No, it's just my method of drying the sawdust by utilising the underfloor heating!

There’s been several aluminium and bronze pours over the past few days, and whilst working on other things, it’s always a good idea to listen out for the roar of the fan from the foundry. When you can no longer hear the sound, the metal’s getting poured and it’s worth being a spectator. While Eden, George, Gordon and Jane fill sand molds with the molten liquid, voices from Wimbledon provide an alternative commentary over the radio.

 The helmet head finally covered. this took a very long time to complete, and I'm very intrigued about how the end result will look.

The youngest mold of all! New for this week, a complex series of tunnels and central stepped space (akin to an amphitheatre). The final mold will be displayed upside-down, so the viewer peers up from below into the spaces.

To elevate the finished molds above head height, a trial version of a tall steel stand has been built. This is a simple angle-iron affair, and it is hoped this will give an interesting aspect to the work (similar to City of a Thousand Wells, the wooden plan chest elevated and lit in the Glue Factory MFA show). To culminate my residency, the work will be displayed on these stands next weekend, for a short time only, at Left Bank Gallery in nearby Tarland.