Material Sourcing and Selection

Material Choices

There are three basic materials to choose from when I’m doing a sculpture... metal, plastic and stuff that comes from trees (wood, cardboard, paper etc.). In a work of assemblage I normally use all three, for my final piece I will use all three but for different functions and in different ways.

Plastic - Plastic material are normally light weight, easy to mould and can be strong, this make them sound perfect for art however they do have drawbacks. |despite being very easy to adhere to other objects because they accept solvents very well they do look rather cheap and uninteresting. we are surrounded by plastic so a work made entirely of it tends to look a little dull, also I want my work to have a vintage steampunk look which plastic doesn't really fit into. I’ll use a lot of plastic in my final piece but I will do my best to disguise it to look more interesting. I have in my workshop a large box of Bakelite fitting which I often use for their vintage appearance and because they come with all the benefits of plastic.  

Metal - Metal is a female dog of a thing to work with, it’s hard to cut, mould and adhere to other objects, it’s also heavy. In my works I normally use small piece of metal like coins or electronic parts for aesthetic interest, also metal parts can look vintage, rusty and generally steampunk looking which fits my design idea well. Metal is also very strong so I’ll use it structurally, I’d use metal more if I was able to weld or use other power tools but alas, I am limited in my skills and the trust placed in me. My grandfather on my mother’s side (the non-shed owning one) was a skilled metal worker so for this project as a homage to him I wish to use metal more, by using it more I’m also challenging myself to do better.

Tree sourced materials - I used card for my prototype because it is easy to work with however it’s limitations in both strength and appearance mean I won’t use it to any great extent in my final piece. Since acquiring some more power tools for my workshop at home I have been able to use a lot more wood in my recent projects. I will use wood as both an aesthetic element and as the main framework of my final piece. I hope to use mostly reconstituted wood which I’ll source by recycling furniture and other wooden objects, in doing this i’m assisting the environment and saving myself money. I’ll also use paper and printed card elements for aesthetic and no doubt I’ll return to my standby of ‘cardboard box card’ to make some pieces because it looks rustic and is easy to work with while still being cheap and accessible.

Material Sourcing

Having talked a little about what sort of materials I'll use I now need to discuss where I plan to source these materials from. My final piece will be a work of assemblage, I’ll create a new piece of functional art from a series of objects, these object will be everyday but interesting. I’ll use a big variety of objects for aesthetic and I’ll recycle old mechanical and electrical objects to make my piece move. By repurposing object to make my final piece I am linking back to the meaning of my work and I will be working with junk objects like many of the artists I’ve studied. I like the idea of recycling objects and taking interesting vintage or discarded objects and turning them into something new and interesting. I am also playing with the idea of taking functioning objects and in effect stripping them of any function by turning them into art. By doing this I’ll explore both my own artistic style and I’ll look at the relationship between art and function. As a kid I used to take apart old electronics and other discarded object to learn how they works, this idea of play, learning and exploration is something i want to incorporate into my final piece. As to where to source all these objects for repurposing there are three major groups, stuff I already have, stuff I find and stuff I can buy from car boots. I already have a lot of different objects to work with which I've collected over the years but I will also add to my palate by searching out discarded objects and by acquiring new ones from car boots.