Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Building depth

Over the past month or so I have been experimenting yet again. It is a never ending quest.

This time the experiments were with a collage technique to create more “relief” works based on the patterns on shore platforms that I have observed while walking.

Cutting the patterns out was something to relax with while listening to an audio book in the evenings.




Gluing the layers together was however a bit more tricky. I tried to paint glue onto the backs of the cut outs with a fine paint brush but apart from getting sticky fingers I found that the glue dried long before I was finished so that adhesion was not ideal. After that I used a model makers technique which one of my sons passed on to me some time ago. It involved mixing equal quantities of PVA glue and water and then quickly applying the mix as a wash to the surface of the backing sheet, sticking on the cut out and applying more wash then cleaning everything off before putting the piece face down on a glass bench with hefty books on top to weigh it down until dry. The PVA dries transparent and invisible – amazing.