Rationale
In this project i intend to explore the possibilities of integrating new decorative or structural metal work into a piece of old wooden furniture with no particular desirability or value as a production piece. This proposal of integrating a new material or feature into an existing piece of furniture is intending to create a unique piece which can be represented and reframed as art.
Acting on this idea i set out and source four old production wooden dining chairs as seen below
I started by cutting and shaping short pieces of the 6mm bar and then started to arrange them and tack weld into place, as seen below
I continued to weld up the pieces once arranged and then grind excess weld of, as seen below
After this stage i continued to develop a second style of bud, constructed and finished in the same manner, both hand finished using a file.
Unit 6
On deciding to go back into education with the intentions of changing my career path i decided to follow my interest in art and sculpture. So I began to gather information of courses that would be the best for me and my circumstances, I found that Blackburn University's Fine Art honours degree would be the course that i would apply for. I applied for the fine art course and received an interview, at the interview i was advised that my best course of action would be to apply to the access to higher education in foundation art and design which i did and have been doing since. Before christmas I applied to the same course through UCAS and still awaiting interview date.
I am also influenced by music, for me it has the power to conger pictures in the imagination and promotes ideas in my mind. I feel the UAL Foundation Art and Design course has already broadened the parameters of my work in exploring new ideas and other possible disciplines of art. It has given me the opportunity to fully explore my art, work with like-minded people, develop my contextual understanding and inspired me to push my ideas. I feel that moving on to degree level would continue to expand and develop my work and me as a rounded artist
Acting on this idea i set out and source four old production wooden dining chairs as seen below
On obtaining what i consider to be a suitable starting point, i have decided to concentrate my attention to the blend of the materials, the cold man made properties of the steel and the much warmer weathered natural properties of the old wood, this prompted me to think of incorporating a decorative adornment inspired by nature using the workable properties of the steel to produce a piece that could represent a natural organic form, hopefully softening the incorporation of the none organic material, i have now decided to research art and artist inspired by nature.
Research
This is a BBC documentary on the Art Nouveau movement that i watched as part of my research,
Archibald Knox
After watching this documentary i did extra research on some of the artist mentioned in the documentary for example Archibald Knox who's celtic inspired Art Nouveau designs with their sinuous lines and forms representing nature appealed to me the most
Margaret Macdonald
Also mentioned on the same documentary i was particularly inspired by the representations in the wild flowers and roses
After considering this research i feel that an Art Nouveau inspired design of a predatorily climbing plant consuming the organic material of the chair would be appropriate. At this point i have decided to remove a small piece from one leg of the chair as a point to start the root of the consuming plant, having cut and removed a small piece of the front leg of the chair i then sourced some thin sheet steel recycled from an old filing cabinet, roughly 0.6mm gage, i then decided to make metal caps to fit to the cut ends of the leg reducing the diameter of the leg by 1.2mm to allow for the 0.6mm sheet material, resulting in a flush fit of the caps, as seen below
I then designed and made some nature inspired metal flower buds,
I continued to weld up the pieces once arranged and then grind excess weld of, as seen below
I have now produced two prototype bud designs the second being achieved by adding more of the same cut and shaped pieces interlocked in a second row to produce a much bigger flower, each flower is formed using the same technique. Once the flower is welded it is roughly ground and shaped with a angle grinder and then detail shaped and smoothed by hand filing and polishing. I decided to continue with the two prototypes designs of flower varying size and profiles of the assembly parts to produce a range sizes and densities to represent the different stages of maturity of the invading plant. Deciding that i am happy with my results i started to plan a layout for the intended plant structure, being formed from the same 6mm steel bar stock. I decided to start the base of the stalks on the top of the removed leg, pushing up to pass the stumped leg of the chair and be welded to the metal cap on contact points behind the bar, to support and reinstate the leg, seen below
The first bar being critical in positioning the replacement of the leg in the desired location to achieve the correct length, once this is achieved more bars can be added to support and form the representation of the plant.
i formed the bars into gentle twists and curves in an attempt to mimic a natural climbing plant, i continued this process of adding and shaping different lengths of bar as stalks in what i considered to be a suitably balanced and arranged composition i then added the flower bud heads, on completing this process and having achieved attaching my desired amount of stalk and flowers i then blended all the joints in the structure by adding or removing material to my desired finish
Having finished my process and produced the piece i arranged for a professional studio photo shoot to present the finished piece as a unique hand crafted piece of art. The photographs representing the environment of a modern clean cut gallery, see images below
Conclusion
On completing this project I started to look at the work to access how successful or not I think it is. I feel that the introduction into the new steel work is very successful structurally in maintaining the strength and support needed to reform the leg to allow the chair to still be used. Aesthetically I think I have achieved a more subtle integration of the materials than i first anticipated, initially i expected the steel to have a hard contrast in relation to the wood and possibly sit awkward , however the flush fit and a flat surface transition of the materials appear to sit very comfortably together. I think it is possible that the opaque reflective surface of the lightly polished mild steel could be helping to soften the transition to the wood by reflecting a small amount of colour from the joining and surrounding wood, this reflective quality intensifies under stronger light and starts to break up some of the outline and surface of the steel as can been in the final images above. I think the reflective finish on this piece adds a sense of movement in changing light conditions, this could easily be modified by painting or electroplating in copper or chrome all of which would considerably change the over all appearance of the piece in my opinion, I also think their is potential for other decorative or structural designs to be spliced and incorporated into and existing wooden object.On deciding to go back into education with the intentions of changing my career path i decided to follow my interest in art and sculpture. So I began to gather information of courses that would be the best for me and my circumstances, I found that Blackburn University's Fine Art honours degree would be the course that i would apply for. I applied for the fine art course and received an interview, at the interview i was advised that my best course of action would be to apply to the access to higher education in foundation art and design which i did and have been doing since. Before christmas I applied to the same course through UCAS and still awaiting interview date.
Personal Statement
I’ve spent most of my life gaining practical skills through employment; I have a background in engineering, machine shops, welding and fabrication, motor vehicle maintenance and restoration, mechanic’s, technical drawing and some joinery skills. All the skills and working knowledge I have of different materials I feel is transferable to work in forms of sculpture, a process that I have been exploring for several years.
In the future I would like to be successful in designing and producing sculpture and would aspire to be commissioned for a public sculpture. My reasons for choosing this course is to progress in Blackburn which would appear to be ideal for my circumstances as a settled mature student.
I have been influenced greatly by different artist and certain art movements; one of the artists that has had a powerful influence on me is Anthony Gormely both with his sculptural pieces and drawings of figurative forms. The figure has been a constant theme in my independent work prior to starting on the foundation and I see a definite comparison between how I represent the figure and Gormley, as we both simplify the form, applying a universal rather than portraiture element to the studies. I am also strongly influenced by some Art Nuevo artists such as Archibald Knocks, Mary McDonald and the drawings of Aubrey Beardsley and appreciate the organic and beautifully fluid lines.
My own work to date has mainly concentrated on metal and wooden figures. In the future I would like to see my pieces exhibited in various galleries and hopefully some public Commission. I usually use primary research to initiate my work and follow this by experimenting with materials in a process that leads to the production of a prototype informing a better developed piece; this also could be used in the future as I aspire to the possible potential to replicate.
