with four weeks to go

A weird week, could not get a grip on things this week and felt like chucking it in more than once but I am sure that is not all that unusual. So Wednesday I was feeling a bit listless and just kind of messed around without really trying to go anywhere serious...I love the organic feel of corrugated cardboard and have been wanting to make something with it for ages so i messed around with some bits and pieces... did some prints and started a colage thing

 I'm not sure where, if anywhere I will go with this yet but it was nice to do.

Then I wanted to further experiment with the drawing device and though maybe a pendulum would work so I made this ( with the help of Kieron of course)  and wanted to tie balloons to it and, you know..see where it went but I didn't go too far with it... still, there's plenty of time for that!

I also made these little doodads,

just to experiment with the action of drawing with something slightly unusual, I was particularly delighted by this piece

http://rustybreak.tumblr.com/post/30466438290/sean-mackaoui

and so used some old pencils to create my versions, test versions.. I will do some nicer ones with coloured pencils where I put specific colours together, groups of say, reds and oranges and yellows.. then one with the blues and greens, that sort of thing.

Other work and experiments

Going along with the theme of low tech machinery and gadgetry, back to the original idea of viewing imagery; I wanted to find a way of showing either a video or slideshow in a low tech way.. so I came across this incredibly simple but functional idea. So I made one and it works, it was an exciting moment.

I just chucked in a paperclip and a bit of blue tac to hold the phone in place and it works a treat.
 So I am thinking of ways to incorporate this into the final presentation...

Also I have been doing a few prints, nothing earth shattering but fun nonetheless.

Contraption number 2

 So the maquette for my second contraption came out today, this is a 4 cog version ( no point making all 7 or 8, the idea works and besides, it nearly killed my still recovering shoulder), the final will be a freestanding situation,

possibly with6 maybe 7x 20 inch cogs, these are 10 and will be an offset skewiff type thing with the centre cog driven by a handle resembling bike pedals. I thought about mounting it on a shovel or broom or something but that won't work so it would have to be a purpose built "wobbly stick" thing with a broom or shovel head on the bottom.. for a bit of fun.I'm thinking the top one should be the image viewer with the acetates and a projection light but I am not sure, I think really these contraptions should stay as they are.. a bit of purposeless, harmless pedal powered fun.

I like it, I am feeling more confident about the project in general and looking forward to putting these contraptions together as well as working on the others I want to do. I have looked at people like Arthur Ganson's contraptions and some Rube Goldberg machines for inspiration, well I say that but I have already been making these and then came across this stuff, great to make and I hope, fun in an exhibition setting.

contraption number 1

Today I was able to get a first maquette done so am now more easily able to plan out my gadgets and contraptions, these hopefully will be done on the laser cutter with wood and painted. I'd like to make it look a little funky so the cogs are like rotary phone dials and you intuitively go up and start dialling it.. now I am still undecided as to whether or not it will serve a purpose, I think this one I think will not though. It is a combo of inspirations from Metropollis and Duchamp's Disks Bearing Spirals, I want the whimsical side, the piece for the sake of it, if it makes you smile it has worked. I enjoy watching the cogs go round and am really looking forward to building the real deals. I also feel a lot better about the brief in general, less stuck, floating and wandering, more focused so full steam ahead eh...there is  plenty of design work to go but at least the ideas will work, stay tuned for more mad machinery and weird artwork!

Progress

I have just been brainstorming this weekend and have allowed my millions of thoughts and ideas to go where they wanted, not limiting the ideas by the logistical contstraints I might face when realising the brief and so i have come up with a lot of great and viable ideas. I have decided to definitely go with an installation and it must involve the visitor and not allow them to be simply a passive passer by. Now, what I am discovering is that an installation need not be confined to a room, gallery or even the great turbine hall, it can take on many forms. This is pretty ecxiting, I wish to engage people and surprise them, get them involved and leave them feeling joyous and positive about art and the experience they have just had.

http://gb.pinterest.com/pin/569494315351458119/

I remember this wonderful and simple piece during Final Cut at Manchester Art Gallery last year,
 I could have stayed within its gently swaying branches for hours, it made me feel very peaceful and happy, very calm and smiley.








So, do I keep it within a traditional installation design, a room, indoors or branch out.. go outside, hide things about like easter eggs to be discovered... I do quite like that idea. In fact that is the main premise of this project, for the work to be discovered by the visitor, not presented obviously by me. Things like this

Found these stuck around Picadilly
gardens and they were gone the next day

around Manchester qualify certainly, and are fun and make people happy.