I have started to think of ideas for this module now. I am thinking about products I can make that will incorporate street art / stencils / silhouettes. This all started with photos I took of my sister before returning to uni this year. I started off with one of the photographs I had of her in a dance pose while dressed in her ballet clothes. I created a stencil from this and then printed these onto sheets of glass and decal paper. I then thoughts that with the decals I could put them onto blown forms and turn them into lamp shades.
To go with the brief title of “Multiples”, these could be produced more than once and the decals can be batch produced using the same screen and printing the images over and over again, with the possibility of altering colours to appeal to different audiences and customers. There can be a variation in its implementation, for example some pieces could be same blasted with a coloured decal on the surface, the image sandblasted onto the blown form leaving the rest either clear glass or coloured glass, taking away the colour so that the light only escapes through the image if the rest is opaque, etc., etc.
The form of these lamp shades has a number of possibilities. I will start with straight-edged clear glass. I hope we can make four; two will have a domed top which mean that they will not need to be transferred from the blowing iron to open up the top, but the other two will. I will then cold work the bottoms so that they are perfectly flat. I do not know anything about electrics so I will need to look into where I can buy plugs with cables and bulb sockets etc. as I intend for these to be table lamps rather than free-standing floor lamps. I will need to use other materials in the implementation as I will need to attach the glass to the bulb unit in some way, probably via another material such as wood or ceramic.
I have done a few sketches of what I am thinking about for tomorrow to show the lecturers. I also have another idea of a larger scale idea for a water feature fountain for a stately home in a large garden. This is also using multiples. I have created the image on the computer using one of the silhouettes I have created as I cannot draw it. The pieces could wither be cast, water jet cut as the entire figure of to add stability, some of the edge water jet cut the bottom staying solid with enamels on it showing the edge of the image (see sketchbook). They can be a single sheet or multiply sheets held separated out slightly and there could be lights in between the sheets which would look stunning at night in the dark.
Anyway, food for thought. I’ve been working hard this week and I have achieved a lot which is a great start. I’m slowly getting my confidence in my work back after a year out.