Last work on display in 2013

Well, as another academic year rolls to a close, I am happy to see my latest works on display in the See Street Gallery at Meadowbank.

Here they are in the foreground.

 

From the left, Barry, Clive and Tony, an unlovely trio I have entitled "Poliwood"!

 

Even better, from here they are moving to the Downing Center. It's not Canberra but it is the Sydney CBD!

Julie Bishop imortalised for posterity:)

Taking a look at our new bunch of unlovely politicians, I decided that, apart from Tony, the ones who show the most promise as subjects for caricature are Julie Bishop and Clive Palmer (assuming he gets in on the Nth recount as seems likely). I'll leave labour until they decide who's who, for now anyway!

I decided to start with Julie Bishop by making a silicon mould similar to the one I made of Barry in the previous post. Here is the finished mould opened up slightly so you can see the thickness of the wall.

 

 

 I made it by encasing the model with an outer wall of plasticine to minimise the amount of silicon rubber required, pouring the silicon as a one piece mould and then cutting it up the back to release the model and subsequent casts. This is the easiest way of making a silicon mould although it is expensive in terms of the amount of rubber used as the walls have to be thicker than if they were  backed with a plaster mother mould which is the more conventional way silicon moulds are constructed. This technique requires an awful lot of work but it can be scaled up pretty much  infinitely whereas my technique can only be used for small moulds.

 

And here is the mould closed and strapped shut ready for the cast to be poured, the other way up of course!

 

 

And finally, here is my first take on Julie! 

 

 

 

This time I poured the foam directly into the mould but, instead of dipping it in latex to get a latex skin covering the foam like last time, I decided to try painting on the latex/acrylic paint mixture directly. Although successful to a degree, it wasn't nearly as successful as painting over a latex skin. Basically dipping the model in latex seems to fill up all the little surface craters in the foam in a way which brushing the stuff on doesn't. Since I don't have enough latex at home at the moment to dip the model, I might try brushing on a couple of coats of pure latex on the next attempt before attempting to colour it.

 

At least the most expensive part of the exercise, the silicon mould, has been successfully completed. Compared to the cost of that, the foam is comparatively cheap. Just over A$80 for 2.9 litres but it expands up to eight times that in volume. That's a lot of foam!

 

I was using  S-FOAM, again from Barnes,  which comes in different degrees of stiffness. S-FOAM 60, which I was using, is at the more flexible end of the spectrum so I think it is possible that the firmer varieties may have less surface craters. I have seen pieces cast in foam with much smoother surfaces than I am getting so I guess I'll just have to try it and see unless anyone out there knows the answer. If so, please don't hesitate to add a comment.

More experiments with flexible materials!

Flushed with the success of my lightweight Barry O'farrell caricature (2 posts ago), I cast a foam version from a flexible mould in silicon rubber that I made some time ago.  The silicon I used was Pinkysil from Barnes, amazing stuff but very expensive! Partially because of the cost of the silicon, this head is much smaller than life size. However another other reason for the smaller size is that Pinkysil, being  an addition-curing silicon, cannot be used directly with water based clay so I was using a form of plasticine to make the model and was limited by the amount that I had, as modelling plasticine, like silicon rubber, is quite expensive although it is reusable. Nothing about this flexible modelling business is cheap:(   You can get in again, from Barnes.  I was lucky however, and was given a present of a large chunk of pre used stuff (I like to  think that it may have been part of an ANZAC figure in its previous life! Thanks Alan!).

A word of warning, cheap plasticine very often gives off sulphur vapour which can prevent the silicon from curing. I found this out to my cost, fortunately with a very small mould, ending up, not with a firm flexible mould but a sticky pink mess:(  So, if in doubt, test on a small piece!

Previously I had been using this mould to make casts in plaster, not light I know but very cheap. I have been using these to test out different finishes and patinas. This is my favourite finish to date. I used Porter's Paint's Liquid Iron and instant rust to get the look of old metal.

 

And here he is in flexible foam!

 

 

Because silicon rubber is non absorbent, it cannot be used to slip cast a latex skin so I created the foam core first by pouring the foam directly into the mould and, once it had cured (about an hour), removed it from the mould and created the latex skin by dipping it in latex. Finally it was painted in a 50 : 50 acrylic paint / latex mix as before. 

 

 

David Rowe's Exhibition

Visited David Rowe's exhibition at Ray Hughes Gallery  yesterday. It was absolutely brilliant. I only realised that it was on when browsing some of his Facebook photos and came across this flyer.

It is definitely worth a visit for those of us who enjoy a politically correct free zone:) But you only have until this Wednesday, 2nd October, to get there.

New technique!

Not a new subject, I admit! It's Barry O'Farrell again, pre diet, our beloved leader - not! But the technique is completely new.

I have been getting increasing frustrated by the weight of ceramic sculptures of any size and the lead time involved in making and firing them, particularly in our political climate! So here is my first lightweight sculpture....................

 

Although he's similar to the Barry who featured earlier in this blog, they are both approximately life size, this one weighs in at a fraction of the weight, at only a couple of ounces!

 

He originated as a clay model from which I made a two piece plaster mould which I used to slip cast a latex  skin which was then filled with flexible foam. I used S-foam from Barnes. Amazing stuff!  Finally he was painted using ordinary acrylic paint mixed 50 : 50 with liquid latex. This proved quite successful and much cheaper than buying special flexible paint. The only disadvantage is that, as the liquid latex is an opaque white but dries a darker beige colour, it was a bit difficult gauging the finished colours. Next time I will have a better idea of what to expect.

 

And the other advantage of this technique! I have a reusable mould that I can use to churn out multiple copies. Not that I want  multiple versions of Barry around the place you understand, but I'm sure that they could come in useful in other places:) Somewhere in Wahroonga springs to mind! And, luckily it's just down the road!

 

Hornsby Art Prize 2013

I have just uploaded my entry for the Hornsby Art Prize, "The Tyranny of Fashion 2". Isn't she beautiful? Well maybe beautiful isn't exactly the right word!

 

The man of the moment!

Yes, Tony Abbott! I know he's appeared elsewhere in this blog but never "unencumbered", for want of a better word. In view of his leading the most crushing defeat of the Labour party for about 100 years, at least that's what I heard on the radio today, I felt he deserved a post all to himself:)

Goodbye!

Well I've been occupied with setting up my Facebook page so I didn't get around to posting my latest ceramic caricatures before the election. Since they are now history, I promise this will be, in some cases the first, but also definitely the last appearance of Julia, Kevin 07 and Bob Carr in these pages.

 

Julia as the Red Queen. I didn't even get a chance to finish her, let alone exhibit her before she was history. Originally the crown was going to be glued on her head but now it seems more appropriate at her feet beside the dagger which stabbed her in the back. I added that touch at the time of the Simon Crean takeover bid but now I'm thinking of putting it in Kevin 07's hand.

 

Kevin 07! No further explanation necessary!

 

Bob Carr as the Joker. Quite appropriate don't you think. One friend of mine proceeded to number the Senate candidates in yesterdays election the full  1 to 110 just for the satisfaction of putting Bob Carr last. Unfortunately however we haven't completely got rid of him, like the last two, and he does have a nasty way of resurfacing.........!

Now on Facebook

I have finally get around to setting up a Facebook page for my ceramics. If you would like to see my latest works (about to be obsoleted by the election this Saturday!), please visit Rona Sissons' Ceramics on Facebook. You do not have to join Facebook to view my page.

The OSCAS!

The OSCAS, otherwise known as Open Studio Ceramics Australia weekend, sponsored by the Australian Ceramics Association (TACA), was held a couple of weekends ago and encouraged ceramicists throughout Australia to open their studios to the public.

I participated as part of Macquarie Hills Potters and am pleased to report that we had a steady stream of visitors from other ceramicists, members of TACA, curious neighbours  and even a couple of councillors.

Here are a couple of photos of me working on my latest version of our beloved leader - not!

 

Unusually for me, I am not firing him but will be making a plaster mould which I intend to cast in flexible polyurethane foam with a latex skin. This will definitely be new territory for me so keep your fingers crossed!

 

If you would like to see more photos of the OSCAS, please visit  Macquarie Hills Potters new Facebook page or the TACA Facebook Page.  

And the winner is...!

Clone by Sam Valenz won  Harbour Sculpture 2013. Here is the finished sculpture.

Installation on site!

Sam  and assistants installing Clone on site at Clarkes Point, Woolwich, Sydney.

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Sculpture on the move!

Hilarious scenes at Meadowbank TAFE yesterday as Sam Valenz's entry to the Harbour Sculpture exhibition is prepared for its journey!

You can catch it and other sculptures there, at Clarkes Point and the Deckhouse, from 9th to 20th August. Opening night Saturday 10th August from 5pm.

The Bella Figura Exhibition!

Yesterday I went to the opening of Alan Somerville's new exhibition at the Incinerator gallery, Willoughby and was blown away, as expected, by the amazing drawings and paintings on display.

Here are a few photos I took but they don't do justice to the works.

You really have to go and see them for yourself and you have until August 18th!

Success!

Just found out I won the Meadowbank College Association Art Award Sculpture Prize awarded at the opening last Thursday evening.

Unfortunately, after a hard day in ceramics at Hornsby TAFE, I was too tired to make the trek to Meadowbank and decided to give it a miss:(

Anyway here is my entry

 

"The Thinker", Apologies to Rodin!

 

I'll be visiting him in the See Street Gallery on Monday when I will be at Meadowbank to take a picture in situ:)

"On yer bike, Clover!"

My personal protest at the proliferation of bicycle lanes in the CBD, which rarely seem to see a cyclist, and serve only to further the traffic chaos that we have come to expect in downtown Sydney.

This was my entry into the Mosman In Situ  exhibition which, needless to say, got rejected. It seems that my blog is about the only place where I will get to display any of my works with any political content!

My latest politically incorrect sculpture!

 

Get it?

 

I am not claiming that I came up with the idea myself. The original was this cartoon by Glen Le Lievre.

 

 

 

Many thanks to Glen for the idea and giving me permission to immortalise it in sculpture!

Out of my comfort zone - casting in concrete!

My latest work, a cubist caricature of John Lennon, heavily influenced by the recent Francis Bacon exhibition , especially around the eyes!

 

Unusually for me, this was made initially in clay but then cast in concrete using a plaster waste mould as part of our first project in sculpture at Meadowbank TAFE.

While I am quite happy with the result, in retrospect, the amount of effort that went into making the mould just to cast one piece seems totally disproportionate and I wish I had taken the extra step (and cost!) and made a reusable mould in silicon rubber.

I am also slightly disappointed in the weight of the finished piece. One of my reasons for exploring mediums other than fired ceramic, is weight, clay being very heavy, it restricts the maximum size I feel happy handling. Even though this piece only has a concrete "skin", filled  with expandable foam to reduce the weight, it is still very heavy! If I had made a reusable mould, I could have experimented with using lightweight materials such as the expandable foam alone.

On exhibition

My Frog Doorman on exhibition in the Sculpture Society's Towers Exhibition.

 

My Hung Parliament was deemed inappropriate for this location since  it gets visited by politicians and we have to safeguard their fragile egos!

 

 

 

R.I.P.

Well, while photographing the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, which featured in my exhibition, with  a view to entering them in another exhibition this year, the Gryphon fell over and bits broke off. I could have stuck them back on but I always find mended pieces so depressing and, anyway I was so annoyed with myself that, shall I just say he is now in multiple pieces in the rubbish bin.

So here is the last appearance of the Gryphon on these pages.....

 

Maybe it is just as well that I am investigating more durable materials! I am currently in the process of casting a caricatured head of John Lennon in concrete and ciment fondu.

 

Here is the original head modelled in clay on a wood and wire armature.

 

 

And here he is in the process of being turned into a mould.

 

However, here are still quite a few more steps to go!

International Women's Day Ryde Art Prize

Now for some better news. I have just had my Mad Cow accepted in the open section of the Ryde Art Prize as "The Tyranny of Fashion"  (as a student at Meadowbank TAFE, I am eligible:) .

 

The theme of the exhibition is Ending Violence Against Women so I justified it as, "An illustration of the violence that women do to themselves to conform to the dictates of fashion!" Well that corset is very tight!

 

Judging is on Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed:)

 

 

Pop Goes the Easel Epping Gallery closing

I am sorry to have to report that the Pop Goes the Easel gallery in Epping where I have sold quite a few works in the last few months is having to close.

You still have a chance to catch their last exhibition, NudeScapes.

 

Such is the nature of Popup galleries unfortunately. A big thank you to Lyndsey and Vanessa for all their hard work and let's hope they Popup again sometime soon!

Flash!

Last Sunday we went to this one day exhibition

 

featuring works by some of my friends from Hornsby TAFE ceramics department. It was held in Vita Restaurant, Wangi Wangi which might seem a strange venue for an exhibition but, as a space, it worked as you can see from the following pictures.

 

 

Pots by Dan and pictures by Ingrid.

 

 

Pots by Pete.

 

The opening was fueled by pizza (it's an Italian restaurant). I think that this was a great idea for displaying work away from the tyranny of the major galleries with their large comissions and hope to see more of it. 

 

An added bonus was finding that the Dobell house, where the artist William Dobell spent the latter part of his, life was just up the road.

 

I have always been an admirer of his portraits precisely because of that element of caricature that prompted the famous court case. While they don't have any originals there (except a door:), they do have a comprehensive collection of reproductions including the contentious painting of Joshua Smith, together with a study for it, next to a photo of Joshua Smith himself. I had not seen the photo before and was fascinated to see just how Dobell managed to capture the very essense of the man.

 

Well worth a visit!

 

 

 

 

Sculpture society

Well the good news is that I have just been accepted as a full member of the Sculpture Society of NSW so I can now participate in all of their exhibitions. I'll have to get my act together:)
 
The works I submitted for approval were the following. Most appear elsewhere on my website.

 

The Mad Katter

 

 

Fillet O' Fish

 

 

Hippotissima

 

 

Boar's Head Platter

 

 

Hung Parliament

 

 

"What is it now?", The Frog Footman