Yes loved the images. Yours looks almost like a cut out which is interesting.  Yes have some experience plasma cutting. That would be if we used metal though. If we used perspex maybe we could drill holes or we could laser cut holes into it. I quite like the idea you said about keeping it open though using reflections to create the effect rather than having the plants poking through. 

Hi Susie,

I'm glad you like the final images I went with, I just used fine pen on tracing paper to create a more defined effect that I thought would work better alongside your boldly toned piece. I have heard of his work, I really love the suspended cloud sculptures he creates, especially in forest environments, they are really beautiful! This one was just like my usual studies, an amalgamation of natural forms such as rock formations, webs and molecular tissue but I tried to make it a little more angular and rigid to tie in with yours.

Glad you like the idea of collaborating on that component of the installation, I was thinking of just keeping the side facing the pyramid open so you could see the plants inset into the base from that angle and keeping the plains solid, except for the slits at the top. Do you think it would be interesting for the plants to be coming through the sides? It could still work to cut out sporadic geometric shapes as the pyramid will be slightly warped what with the protruding middle section at a different angle to the outer pyramid. I haven't used plasma cutting before, do you have some experience with it? Would be have to get it ordered or send some perspex away? I have a fair bit of that blue/green glass effect perspex we could use?

I think you're right about your pieces I think the models you've posted up look great as they are, as minimal as possible and I think if we laser cut my patterns onto them it would detract from that effect. I think your laser cuts plates look amazing but think they work so well on the simpler format you've been experimenting with.

The mirrors I had cut for the installation you're speaking about were quite expensive but aluminium could work quite well, I gues how it works will have to depend on what space we end up with. It took a lot of time moving around the space with smaler mirrors to see how the light would bounce from each mirror effectively onto the sculptures I had on display, but if we were just using them to create reflections of the sculptures from different angles that would be easy enough. people were also quite concerned about the health and safety issues of suspending mirrors above peoples' heads but aluminium is lightweight I'm sure that wont be a problem. What were you thinking of using to inset the aluminium into? We could make angular shapes that match each of our sculptures and have each side made entirely out of aluminium? Or one side perspex to tie in with the sculptures/

I haven't heard back from GSS yet but hopefully it should be fine, I will email them just to double check. That's no problem about the perspex, I can help you with that and I don't mind de-stalling it. If they are only going to be 100x70cm I could maybe descembe them and sent the pieces back to Cambridge for you? A van sounds like a good idea for moving them to the space, would you be able to drive though becasue I don't have a drivers licence?

I think the 17th is the offical press opening for GI so we could create some posters and fliers to paste up when we meet up?

Jen

I have had to down size my scale, as I could have made the work to the scale I wanted in other materials but perspex is too far out of my budget at that scale- nearly £400 (as once I scaled up I had to alter the thickness as well = a lot more expensive material.)I am really keen to keep using perspex as I don't think the work will be the same in another material like wood or steel. 

I am going to look at making a work that is two triangles at 1000mm by 700mm. Hopefully that will make it easier to transport etc. 

However I have been thinking about how we can tie in all the works together and use the space more. I really like the triangular pieces in your glass installation I mentioned in the previous post. I am hoping to create some super reflective aluminium triangles which can be placed around the space and will reflect your work and my work and also use the space more fully. 

I was thinking though- how did you create that effect before? Is there a way we could make components that could be placed at different heights as well as on the ground to use the space even more?

Susie

Hi Jen

Thanks so much. I think the images work really well together. Your drawings remind me a bit of Thomas Saraceno’s work. Have you come across him? How did you create the last drawing? It is really beautiful.

I like the idea of collaborating on that part of your sculpture I can empathise with the idea of your work reflecting the sculptures surrounds. That is also my reason for choosing Perspex. I hope my work will reflect your work in it too.  


I would love to work together on part of your piece, creating the holes in order to let light in and I like the idea of combining structure and materials in a contrasting way.  The size sounds good too. Overall we should have quite a large installation.  What sort of shapes are you thinking to let the plants through? How do you think we should make them? Plasma cutting?

I have been experimenting further with the laser cutter. Thinking about how I could combine your drawings into my work. To be honest the laser cutter is so temperamental and I can’t go to the scale I would like so I am not sure. I really would love for you to have input on my piece, but not sure how we can go about it? Any ideas?

Have you heard back from the GSS? Do you reckon you might be able to help me carry my Perspex from stockline plastics to our site please? I don’t think it will be heavy but might be too big to fit into a car. I have also thought about if we both need lots of stuff transporting then we could get a van? After the show is it still ok for you to either take the perpex for your own use or just to leave it for the vans that collect the stuff from the side of the road.

Also do you think we should try to have a viewing of the work officially? Invite some people etc? I could make some invites/ fliers?

Susie

Hey Susie,

I've spent the afternoon experimenting with different ways off displaying the images together and have decided on this option as I think it shows both our styles most clearly and I think the matching tones work quite well. I think they are both representative of mapping and charting in different ways, mine reflects connectivity or the spread of ideas, of the dynamic nature of cognition and yours is more akin to charting the progress of movement and the layering is like the development of a process, of building upon ideas.

I explain that  you wanted to present something purely digital as that is how our discourse has evolved whereas I wanted something which represents the organic nature of how ideas evolve.

I also submitted both images separately incase Melissa thought either of the two would be more appropriate for the publication.

Here are a few more I thought were semi-successfull.

Did you see the earlier post on the sculpture idea I posted of the way we could collaborate on the protruding section of my pyramid structure? I think it would work really well with the slits along the spine. anyway see what you think.

I do like the top image, but yes I agree layering doesn't really work.

Shall we just email one across? Or we could experiment with showing the drawings side by side rather than layering?

Susie

Ok this is what I have come up with so far, see what you think. I think they are stronger as independent pieces, I really like the form of yours and the bold angular lines tackle the theme of charting really well I think. As we have just to submit one image maybe we should go with one of yours, as I think it is more representative of the minimal way we each deal with form, whereas my drawings usually tackle my conceptual themes in a different way to my structural pieces, and I will have an image featured in the publication for Between Two Worlds separately anyway.

What do you think? Its no problem if you would like I could easily draw up something else, just unsure about how best to layer them effectively.

Hey Susie,

I've had a slight change of mind about the plant pyramid, the focal point will still be the plant life but I discovered it would be outwith my budget to buy enough plants to fully cover the piece. This actually works out better as it means I can develop the form into a more dynamic arrangement that I think will work better alongside your piece.

As I have made a start on the wooden base and framework of the pyramid, I am going to continue with that structure but have one side of the pyramid protruding inwards to a point, creating almost a pyramid within a pyramid, but at a skewed angle. I plan to cover the sides with as reflective as possible thin sheet metal with another layer of silica perspex over the sheet metal (the same green/blue glass effect perspex in my previous sculptures) to create a crystal-like surface which will reflect the sculptures surrounds. The 2 upper plains of inner section will also be covered in the sheet metal and perspex, with plants inset to the lower plain, and reflected in the plains above to create the effect of a plant life chamber within the pyramid.

For the section protruding away from the pyramid, originally I thought it would be interesting to cut geometric shapes out of the spine, but now I think if we collaborate on that section to fit in with your sculpture, maybe using perspex on one side, and metal on the other. Perhaps we could also insert plant life into the base of the interior and the spine could have slits cut out of it like your previous metal sculpture, letting light through the gaps towards the plant life?

Underneath both sections I have drafted in a steel frame protruding downwards at a narrower angle to give some geometric balance to the overall form and some contrast in structure and materials.

The pyramid is going to be 94cm across the base and 90cm high, I was thinking the slanting section could be roughly the same length, (with one side jutting out slightly further than the other at the front), slightly narrower in breadth and about 70cm high?

I am starting to think about exactly how big to make my piece. I have to make it big enough to have an impact outside which is difficult with the logistics of either getting it up to Scotland or transporting it around Glasgow and also how easy it will be to manage and to take down.  I also have to consider the cost of perspex. As I would ideally like to keep the whole piece in clear and smoked perspex rather than adding any wood which I think would ruin the aesthetic. 

I think I am going to go for half the size I would ideally like to make it- in order to compromise. So half the size of the largest triangle you can see here. 

Susie