Taking influence from Jim Dingilian’s bottle art has both inspired and allowed me to work as part of a collaboration in order to perform experiments involving a different approach to drawing.
Using candles to create black soot on materials, but holding the flame fairly close and moving it around (making sure it doesn’t ignite) gave a surface in which tools were able to be used to etch away using a subtractive process to form a specific drawing. This changes peoples perceptions of common drawing methods.
The use of cardboard, glass, steel, plastic and mirror allowed us to experiment on different surfaces to see which worked best. I found thicker cardboard the most effective as the soot stayed on the surface and didn’t smudge as easily as glass. The mirror proved quite difficult but results were able to be achieved. Steel gave a good reflective effect in the background rather then just a plain colour, and plastic was ineffective as it created an uneven surface due to the heat of the candle causing it to melt or soften. The drawing tools we experimented with were the toothpick, cotton bud and pin. Through these objects we found that both the pin and toothpick allowed fine, intricate and more sketch-like designs to be produced, where as the cotton bud allowed a solid and thicker line.
Using watercolour paints to influence and highlight the part of the soot which was etched away allowed the attention to be focused more on the detail, although it did slightly being to peel.
We used the concept of nature, as it is something we are commonly negotiated with and as a concept which contains many aspects and detail within it. This allowed us to continue this theme within the zine, and relate it to both Sylvia Plath and William Shakespeare as famous peoples influence and inspiration are placed upon us.
The zine came together, which each page having relation to nature and our experimentation. With each member contributing to 7-8 pages having their own input with influence from one another we were able to make the project flow as a whole. Calling it ‘The Wild Window’ as it reflects the natural environment and the way in which we perceive it. It includes drawings, sketches, quotes etc in both digital and analogue form and allows us to present our research and findings.
Overall, I think out group worked successfully and efficiently in order to complete this project. We all collaborated ideas and participated in aspects of both the zine and the experimentation and gave each other opinions and suggestions to improve what we had started with to our final drawings.