Visual Art – Sally Wakelin – Studies in Creativity

Altering Space

Art, Design, geometric, Sculpture, Visual Art

After months of development we have launched our first ®Perspex sculptures.

Although the initial design came quickly from inspiration stage to fully-formed, there were a surprising number of physical details to be tested, modified, re-tested and radically changed before we were completely satisfied with how they are to be hung and how they will move.

Simple stringing of shapes and elements together, hung in the sun or a slightly breeze position will result in slow movement overall and within each part, thus continuously altering the spaces, colour and reflections.

Each sculpture is constructed with multiple colours, transparent, fluorescent, matt and some two way mirror.

Kinetic Sculptures

Art, Construction, Design, geometric, Kinetic, Sculpture, Visual Art

Exploring ways to make Kinetic sculptures has been complex, there are many types of material that can be used such as plywood, thin metal sheet or wire, plastic, card and paper. Heavier materials like cast plaster or thicker metals make the fabrication much more complicated. Its so much easier to experiment and learn with paper and card.

One of the most useful lessons is to understand that that the balance begins at the bottom, not the top – an easy mistake to make.

Getting the separate elements to balance always requires the hanging point to be at the pivot point but that in itself can be hard to find.

One of the early kinetic sculptures made from Colorplan® card.

I have been testing various shapes and materials, Colourplan Card is very beautiful but quite hard to cut out fast enough or accurately enough, though I made made quite a number, see previous post.

I investigated having them laser cut which does work well but then there’s the issue of how to join the various pieces. And what kind of thread to use. Are are some made in slightly different ways.

Ups and Downs

Art, Painting, Visual Art

Here’s a painting of my father’s, undated but I think from the early 70’s. He was doing quite a lot of work like this then, quite large paintings with geometric shapes painted in flat bold colours. As with most of his work from that era, the frame is a simple aluminium L section, nothing to divert the eye from the image. How times have changed – he was offering it for sale for a mere £15!

Heather Miller – Visual Artist

Photography, Visual Art

Heather’s images are influenced and underpinned by her work as a forensic examiner. There are dark undercurrents and telling imagery of crime scenes remembered or perhaps the stuff of brain activity during sleep. In a lighter mood are images of the forensic examination of a friend’s face and the somehow nostalgic washing line full of drying rolls of film, the nude statue amusingly taking her place in the line-up.
Her work is developing through themes of her professional and private life, deeply emotional and yet her natural wry humour is still firmly evident.

Heather Miller