The work in progress so far _ part one

There are plenty of things I have been trying out, always keen to add more techniques to my range, to have a good base of knowledge of materials and outcomes. This, I hope will give me some more control over the processes, especially the unpredictable ones. In order to 'take stock', I thought it helpful to gather my work up until now and see them next to each other:

It's textured concrete tubes with an inlay technique, it's thin-walled, burned concrete pieces with a papermache core, it's looped wire that appears as a framework for clay or concrete or looped wire as a corrosive and changeable feature. Other attributes than decline, corrosion and inflammation I would like address in my work are the issues of physical balance as well as mental balance or the dealing with sensual overstimulation (modulation) within the haptic realm. I use the concept tension and release in both the design as well as in meaning. I'm planning to implement the results from my experiments with wire and also heat.

All the variations are designed in order to provide haptic stimulation as a tool with the potential to explore and observe the pieces, discover new features and regain calmness and focus.

Some examples of the inlay technique in concrete:

Bowl shape with holes and a rich texture for haptic exploration

below: balance bowl in action

smaller spinner bowl tilted on a plinth with ball bearings, polished and smooth

Two of a series of tubes, inspired by the white matter that protects the connections
between the nerve cells in our brain. The inlay technique enables me to visually break up
solid areas on a piece and reduce the visual weight. In this case it can convey the contrast or tension
between intact tissue and damage and how close positives and negatives can be to each other.

Introducing wire and fire in the following blog post.