Tag: reflective surfaces

Creating Cast Shadows

Art, Design, Jewellery, Sculpture

Somehow I seem to have found myself moving almost full circle in my use of scale.  I began with intricate delicate jewellery in silver and moved abruptly in a dramatic change of scale to a few bulky fabrications in painted MDF, then mild steel sculpture as big as I could make it. I yearned to go bigger, larger than life but for that you need money, strength, a whole workshop full of specialist equipment, space and hopefully a commission. After a liberating but all too brief dalliance with pleated paper and an even briefer sojourn with copper sheet, I adopted a more restrained approach,  all white sculpture on a domestic scale in a medium quite new to me until now, cast plaster. Gradually and almost without realising what was afoot, the scale has slid back down, close to jewellery sized pieces.
Throughout this whole exploration of materials and processes, runs my habitual theme of repetition, it seems to be the one constant, indeed it is undeniably quite my favourite. And of course my second favourite, the aspect that sits so well with repetition – cast shadows.

 

Sally Wakelin pleated paper installation

Relueaux Triangle Sculpture

Soft daylight casting shadows over hemispherical arrangement

48 plus one

At night

Design, Photography

All evening, in the corner of my eye, I kept seeing these flowers in a black glass vase on a black glass table, lit by a table lamp. I was as intrigued by the reflections in the table and in the vase, trying to get above it to get the best reflection

.Vintage lamp, table and vase with anenomesVintage lamp, table and vase with anenomesVintage lamp, table and vase with anenomes

 

The train to Bristol

People, Photography

Today I went by train to Bristol and couldn’t resist covertly photographing this beautiful Japanese woman as she slept, seen through the reflection of passing smoke, trees and fields seemingly to be gently enveloping her.

Sleeping on a Train

A dark shape appears to be rolling her head and making her gasp – seen through a fine white gauze-like stream.

Sleeping on a Train 2

Geo tagging with my phone tells me exactly where I took this photo – on the traintrack just after it crosses the A338 north of Wantage – simultaneously both fascinating and useless information.

Below is a photo of Reading station – repeating patterns in such close proximity. The cut out shapes are the same but seen in silhouette, then blue and above, apparently reversed – the same shapes made from corrugated roofing – confused by reflections in the train window.

patterns in victorian stations

I tried photographing the concrete-paved platform as the train was slowly pulling out of the station, the yellow warning strip of the edge of the platform makes a pleasing border.

concrete platform

Decorative plasterwork on the ceiling of a public house dating back to 1746, the Llandoger Trow in Bristol centre.

plasterwork ceiling

Stairs

Architecture, Photography

The staircase in the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art – Ellis Williams Architects, is statisfyingly industrial with its embossed and perforated sheet steel. The only colour – a single wall on each landing painted in an identifying colour.

The entrance has unpainted rusting cladding.

Dull December weather in Canvey Island, Essex but this rust patterned concrete flood defence and steps is a pleasing arrangement of stripes and angles.

Canvey Island – the beach in winter

Canvey Island Tea Shop

Slatted Shadows and Reflections

Jewellery, Photography

The image of the sunlight making slatted shadows on the wall reminded me of what I love about the kind of jewellery I make – repetition of parallel cuts.

All these fabulous photographs were taken by Matthew Booth who skilfully created exactly the kind of photos I had envisaged and intuitively understood how to transform mere objects into visions extending into the reflective surfaces.

All these pieces are made in Sterling silver and are available for sale from the Online shop