Resin #2

After seeing the success of the first resin I did, I decided to do some more. I have done some with used matches and off cuts of wire. I would also like to do more with nail clippings. I did more with the cigarettes because I think these were the most effective, I also think if I do a bulk of these, they will have more effect when displayed. I have also photographed the process of attaching the chain to the resin because I was unsure it would be effective but clearly works. I simply suspended the chain on a cocktail stick above the moulds; the ends of the chain then became immersed in the resin and set around it. 

Resin: Attempt #1

Today, I checked on the resin moulds that I made. Usually they would probably need more time to set, but because I left them to dry in the heat they were ready to take out today. They were a lot harder to get out of the moulds than anticipated. Once out I hung them up from chain so that they could complete the drying process, they were unable to solidify around the edges because of the structure of the moulds so by taking them out and leaving them for a bit more, the resin should turn more transparent. I’m quite pleased the outcomes, but I need to think more about the next stages of this process. My concept of the ordinary being beautiful needs to be taken a bit further, I think I’m going to experiment a bit more with some photography – this is however, a very successful outcome for preserving the objects. 

Some Hair photos..

Just been experimenting with the macro lens whilst waiting for the resin to dry, I think I might do some more experimentation in photography once the resin cubes are dry and able to be photographed. 

The resin process

Resin comes in 2 parts, Resin and the catalyst. You have to add correct amounts of each chemical to allow it to set correctly. If you add too much or too little then the resin won't set correctly. Once I had made up my resin, I decided it would be best to fill the moulds and then add the objects in afterwards. This way the objects could be suspended in the middle of the resin mould. I had to keep pushing the objects down until the resin began to get tacky and they stayed under the surface. I experimented with different depths and shapes to see which will be more effective. 

Resin

Today I started setting my cigarettes in resin. It was fairly messy and a lot harder to do than I originally expected. The resin is expected to take 3-4 days to dry so now we just wait and see. I took some photos with a macro lens to capture the preserving process. It looks really interesting and i'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out when they're dry. 

Drying out the Cigarettes

Before I can do anything with the cigarettes they need to dry out. When I laminated them there was a lot of excess moisture. Once these are dry i'm going to attempt setting them in resin and take it from there. I'm not sure if this is the direction I want to take but I think i need to just try it out and see. 

Hair

Today, I went to the hairdressers and asked them if it would be possible to have some offcuts of hair. I acquired an entire bag of hair which I can now use for my project. I'm going to try setting this in resin similarly to the cigarettes. 

Laminated Cigarettes

Before putting some cigarettes in resin I decided to experiment by laminating a few. The first attempt didn't really work because the moisture from the cigarette caused the label to get soggy and become un-readable. The second attempt, I attached a label with some string so that it wasn't effected. This was an interesting experiment to do and it's shown that I really like the idea of labelling the cigarettes in a typology. 

The Cigarette

This is my detailed drawing of cigarette #1

I'm looking into the idea of labelling each cigarette with a time that I found it and where I found it from. 

This one here would be: 10.30am - Tuesday - Claude Avenue

Drawing a giant cigarette.

Today's challenge;
Drawing one of my found cigarette butts large scale...

London and the things we leave behind.

On Monday we went up to London for the day, I decided to photograph things that I saw which people had left behind and probably didn't realise.. 

Cigarette Butts

On my way to uni I collected cigarette butts. 
I got a lot of strange looks, but managed to accumulate an entire bag full. Disgusting!
I've decided that I'm looking deeply into the idea of things that would technically belong to us, but that we leave behind. Objects that we had used, lost, or were a part of us which we discard. For example, cigarette butts, offcuts of hair, pencil sharpenings, nail clippings etc. 
The next stop is finding some way to preserve and present these objects. I'm looking into typologies and the idea of keeping a visual record of these ordinary things. 
I'm going to experiment with various different methods, first up - Resin.