SMASHING THE CHINA

I had an idea to make a blanket of broken china woven together with bits of wool and string and old blankets that had been broken down to strands.

I wanted it to be suspended from the ceiling and as if there were two bodies lying beneath it.

I began by a trip round various charity shops to buy china and came across red glass and brown glass and crystal glasses so I picked those up too as I thought they would add some glamour to the piece.

Broken china, would not be something very comfortable to sleep under. I also thought of the idea of weight and constraint. Of trying to hold something together. Broken pieces. I began by smashing china and glass from the height of a stepladder.

I then experimented with tying them together with string and wool.

Other experiments included placing the broken china inside the glasses, have them spilling out.

I decided to smash the glasses, like a dinner party gone wrong.Fits of anger.

I liked some of the more abstract pictures.

More fabric samples for washing line concept

I also experimented with rubbing canvas, a very plain material in mud.
I experimented with rubbing patterned fabric in mud, and then experimented with fringing- flapper girl connotations, and lace that had been sprayed gold.

These are some of my samples.
 

I had vaious ideas of ways I should experiment with fabric samples some of these ideas included-

Soak fabrics in: paint stripper, bleach, anything else that might be eroding......

Fill stocking with broken china/ glass the idea of WEIGHT

"Are you heavy on the ground?"

These samples were also inspiring other ideas-

Black feathers shed from a feather boa, burnt... Peacock feathers- unlucky...

Chain- again the idea of weight.

I began thinking about how they could be used in my installation and had the idea of them hanging out of an old tin bucket, that was filled with gin, a broken down washing line reaching from the bucket to higher up on the wall.

I wanted to think about things that make you itch.

I thought about nettles- a recognisable object- something that comes from the ground and how these could become a part of my installation, with no dock leaves to hand.

Inside the bucket with the dress?

Around the bucket?

I could even make clothing out of them, HOWEVER THIS MIGHT BE A BIT TOO PAINFUL.

I thought of gin- something that appeals to the senses- a poison- historical gin houses

I remembered an English tutor telling me of gin and a hot bath being linked to abortion in the past.

I thought about the idea of trying to wash something out/wash something away/ wash something clean, but to no avail. My character "failing" as a wife.

I decided I had to create a loose pattern for a dress and experiment with various fabrics.

I made a list-

lace
fringing
chain
cotton
china
broken glass
sparkling sequins- Could they make another appearance? Sculptural pieces that talk to each other.



I liked some of the more glamorous samples. The gold lace and the fringing. Thought about fixing feathers in with this choice of fabrics.I questioned whether they were too glamorous for my piece.

I liked the idea of creating a loose dress, with gaps in it- the idea of nakedness, vulnerability, exposure.

Gaps in her life- Lack of child, Lack of fun/ creativity

"Sometimes stitch but never draw no more"    

No more singing

"Outside Jay's front door"

I had been working with broken glass and china. The next post will explain further this experimentation.

It began with the idea of a washing line

I was researching 1920s/30s living rooms. This was back when I was still thinking of my installation as a scene, rather then separate pieces that talk to each other.

I came across an image of a backyard with a washing line. I thought a washing line might be an interesting concept. I was thinking in terms of levels.

Of course this wouldn't be your standard washing line. That would be far too obvious and risked killing off creative possibilities too early.


These are some of my initial ideas for the washing line.

It is important to keep my aims in mind-

To create something that appeals to the senses.

To create something that shows the sinister tone of the poem.

To show a sense of danger.


Layers of meaning draped over a washing line.

A joining of old life and new. Sequins stitched together with men's clothing or more conservative women's clothing.


I thought about sheets of music, as Jazz and Blues were a big part of her life. Distressed, created into clothing- potential to look a bit decorative.


Fabrics can be soaked in something- gin, acid, something poisonous. APPEALING TO THE SENSES. SHOWING THE TONE OF THE POEM. A SENSE OF DANGER.

I thought about movement. Making the washing line move, might evoke dancing.

Other initial ideas-

Dried poisonous flowers

Domestic objects- knives (DANGER)

Stockings filled with sequins and mud.

I did some experiments with fabric, stitching together old fabrics. Plain/patterned but homely fabrics in contrast to glamorous fabrics.



These are some of my experiments.

Shedding of skin

The "shedding of skin" is an important concept in my work. The character in my poem, attempts to "shed her skin", her old ways of life. A difficult life of addiction is hinted at with the line

"Does the gin still cling when you scratch your skin?"

This suggests again something struggling, underneath the surface.

I went shopping for furniture when I was still thinking of my installation as a scene I was creating, not unlike a set design. I ended up with a chair. I was drawn to this object due to its worn look, particularly the worn leather and saw it as fitting with the crib of thorns I had created. A chair for a mother, who has lost/cannot have a child, sitting empty.

I placed on it some old dancing shoes that had belonged to my grandma, that had, themselves began to shed their skin, due to time and the wear and tear of late night dancing.

After a tutorial, I began to see my installation, not as a scene, but as separate objects that could speak to each other, through their domesticity and hints of glamour/former life.

The following are some pictures I took while shopping for furniture and my chosen chair, and photographs taken when placed with my installation.

CHOSEN CHAIR

Chosen chair placed with crib of thorns

These are some of the initial ideas I had of things I could do with the chair, ways in which I could distress/ destroy it. 

These are the notes from my sketch book-

I want to make this chair look as if it's shedding skin. I think it would be better if it was shedding its own skin, rather than adding a substance to it...although I will also experiment with this. LATEX (feels a bit obvious, a bit sterotypical, BUT would create a strangeness, a tactile surface, potentially a sense of danger? The peeling of skin (latex) could appeal to the senses....Could show the sinister, ghostly tone of the poem.

I had various ideas on how to effectively demonstrate/ express destruction.

Ideas included-

Sanding down surfaces and chipping bits off (this might be a too subtle technique, or could be used alongside something else)

Carving, distressing the leather with scissors.

Burn it?

Throwing it down the stairs. (I imagine the protagonist in my poem as quite fiesty, she might have done something like this in "past life") FILM THIS

SOMEHOW making it bubble, like how paint stripper works on making layers of paint bubble. (If I added paint too it I would be adding layers of "skin" to it rather then shedding its skin. However has she done this.....added layer of skin to herself, to her life.....???) SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

I have got a load of tools out of the garage and have decided to buy another chair and experiment "shedding" on this as I feel it is good to experiment on materials that are close to your concept. 

MORE TO COME