Pouring it out

It has been a while since my last post, apologies! I was actually on a trip to Berlin over the last weekend, and purposely did not bring my laptop. So this post will be about what I did last week, before the weekend!

I tried casting slib (gietklei in dutch), which is a type of liquid, dissolved, clay that is mostly used to fill molds to make hollow casts. The slib has the texture of.. well.. slib.. like thin mud with small grains of sand in it. It made my hands very dry when I tried to stir the contents of the bucket to a homogeneous mixture. 

I get the feeling that everything here has that effect, which reminded me of the lab that I work at, where the hand sanitizer has the same dehydrating effect. Maybe I should start to bring my moisturizing cream here as well. 

So after stirring ferociously, I could pour the mixture into the 10 orb-shaped moulds that I wanted to use, and then had to wait 40 minutes to let it dry. Appearantly in this time the gypsum (Gips) mould will absorb some of the water that is in the slib, and cause it to be more clay-like. This process slowly works its way to the center of the mold, until you have a solid cast. However I would not let it come that far, but would pour out the slib that was still liquid, creating a bowl instead of a solid half-sphere.

While waiting for the casts to dry, I tried something different, I used the casting slib to pour figures on the gypsum plate in the workplace. This plate had the same drying effects on the slib as the molds, but allowed me to create free two-dimensional shapes. I used this property and the poured effect to create cell-like shapes, which I then let dry before scraping them off with a thin metal plate. 

while letting my pours dry, I returned to my molds, which had rested for 40 minutes now. I poured the liquid part of the slib back into the original bucket, and let the formed bowls dry a little more in their molds. 

It was then time for another small experiment, where colour pigments were mixed in with the slib to create colored paint that I could again pour in the gypsum plate. the results were surprising and a little freaky.

When waiting for these to dry, I could take the bowls out of their molds and mount them together, using a crooked fork and some water. First I would scrape the bowls with the fork, where they would touch each other, and then add water and press them together. This way the clay of the two bowls would merge, so to say, and the bowls would stay together. 

After this I could patiently scrape the last pourings off the cast plate and place them on an oven plate, so the fragile shapes would not have to be moved again before baking. 

Trying paints

I wanted to see how the dryness of the clay affected the colour and adhesion of different paints, so I tried both Ecoline and acrylic paint (top and bottom row) on clay at different drying stages. The last two samples are left to paint after the first baking, to see how that turns out.
I also found this cute little app that can turn my pictures into stop-motion videos so you'll probably see more of these videos appearing.

Next to trying to paint on the clay, I was, and am still, curious what happens if I mix the paint (in this case Ecoline), into the clay. So here I made a cell with a blue nucleus and a green cell body. Wonder what happens when it gets baked? 

The acrylic paint with clay mix I also tried, this did have a stronger colouring effect, but made the clay very very dry.. So I settled for Ecoline for the more elaborate tests. 

Also Ecoline appeared to be a very effective way to colour skin, which stays on for days, leaving evidence of my creative weekend and resulting in some strange looks when I was working at the Lab. 

A spark

After two hours of trying clay, it was time to cut the knot. I had to decide what I want to do at the AKI. I took an early lunch break, with the intention of contemplating my decision in the canteen. It was empty and silent. I checked my mail (about my thesis) and my whatsapp (people from the lab asked something) and my calendar (about the test I want to do tomorrow), and realized, that the work I do at the research lab has become a vital part of my life. In my thoughts, I am there, staining cells and studying them through the microscope, admiring my work of art. 

A thought arose, from where thoughts can linger for weeks before showing themselves, and it went as follows; "How can something that is so dangerous and evil, be so beautiful?"

And there, on that wooden bench, chin in hand, I accepted the beauty that these cells carry, and decided to make that my focus. 

The try-outs

Clay, clay everywhere, even in my hair. It sticks, it stains my hands. 

Cold and hard when I pull a handful out of the bag. 

Unnoticed warmed by my hands during an extensive massage, making it flexible and soft.

It folds and it breaks, yet it is hard to shape. Rough, but slick.

Silky-smooth with water, but slippery as soap. 

So many types, some strong and rough, but as soon as it is made into a thin layer, they rip and collapse. Others without any stones or sand in them, smooth and soft. So weak, and so thin, yet so beautiful. 

It dries and rips, and with no amount of water it is turned to normal again. 

Just like my hands, dry as paper, showing grooves and lines. 

Shapes that only exist in my hand, but collapse as soon as my grip changes, but when still a strong lump, not accepting my fingers, entering with all their might. 

After two hours, all I have is clay. 

First of all;

Lesson learned, never rush to a first meeting.
After having fallen off my bike, entering the AKI ten minutes early, and using four band aids to cover up the damage, I was ready for my first meeting with my supervisor, Erik Kok.
It quickly became clear that structure would be key this time, and that I would have to document all my work and my learning, hence this blog!
What was I doing so far away from my precious research lab, one might wonder, so let me explain;
In my study there is the opportunity to spend a part of the curriculum on pursuing your passions. This is called the Personal Pursuit (PP in short), and for my PP I like to make art. In the previous years I have done drawing, painting, and printing, as a way to learn to work with different materials (pastels, charcoal, silkscreen, etching, etc). I do this because I very much like to do something creative and hands-on, as a compensation for all the cognitive activity that the university fills my days with. This for me also serves as a kind of mindfulness. Being very concentrated on making something, clears my mind and opens it up for other thoughts.
This will be the second time that I will do my PP at the AKI, the art academy in Enschede. Last year I learned how to silkpress, toyoboprint, linoleumprint, and etch, and this year I will go a step further, and cross the hallway to the clay and casting workshop. Here I will spend my Wednesdays surrounded by the tranquil sounds of throwing clay and breaking open molds, and will get to know the materials and techniques that are involved in sculpting, casting, and pottery, and take -yet unknown- steps further.
I am looking forward to it, and I'll keep you posted!