Nostalgia for Bluebell woods

I'm writing my research paper which is presented within a frame story. Part of that story includes a bluebell woods. I find myself sighing over bluebells and my lack of them, my lack of over 20 years. I do have very fond memories of the enchantment that is walking through English woods in springtime. Oh well. Is it coincidence then that I bought Jo Malone's Wild Bluebell perfume?

Appley apples: confessions from an apple stalker

I'm afraid I have become one of 'those' people in the supermarket. You know the ones who stare at the fruit and vegetables, pick one up, stare at it then put it down? Well that's me with apples at the moment. I'm trying to find the most perfect shaped apple to make a cast from. I started off with red delicious for their shape, but they are too big. Once they are cast in crystal they are too heavy. So I turned next to Royal Gala (my favourite eating apple). The organic ones are smaller..so I check these out very carefully when they are in.

Musing on Wax

I use wax, modelling wax quite a lot in the casting process. Every now and then I think I should actually use it as a sculptural medium in its self. Today I went to Schaeffer Library (the non borrowing Arts library at Sydney uni) I even got to look at something from the rare book room (though why it is in there I don't know..Large and expensive books room maybe) which was a large book on Kiki Smith. She uses wax in her sculptures and it is... so visceral.
So today I have been thinking about casting twigs and branches in black coloured wax, maybe beeswax for that beautiful scent or a subtly perfumed soywax....

Kiki Smith in Studio c. 1993

The Keep by Jennifer Egan.

I've just finished "the Keep" by Jennifer Egan. It was recommended to me by my supervisor as an example of fiction with multi-voiced texts. So was 'The people of paper' but I haven't got to that one yet. The Keep carried me along sure enough, I read it super quick so I may have missed some brilliance. I liked the swapping between voices, and the unstated connection between them (until the end). It was enjoyable and surreal at times, a page turner (or tapper) but not brilliant. The story sets up with two cousins meeting again after years of silence. A teenage prank gone wrong is the cause of all the tension, there is a castle, there maybe ghosts and delusions and then there's this guy in a prison....

Crazy casting day

I've been trying to work out how to pump out casts of sticks quickly. One of the slow parts is the first essential layer...as in the most important to 'get right' layer. I had though about dipping them, in the end I got the clay 'resevoir' mounds ready. Part dipped part sloshed the plaster over the sticks in the bucket then stuffed one end of the stick into the clay and quickly redabbed over the place I had touched. I did this 8 times and thought wow this is really working until I realised that I would have to complete 8 moulds before I went home...smaaaaart. (this was in the afternoon, I had already made 8 simple openfaced moulds. Crazy but I made 16 moulds in one day!

Rob Snyder: Lost twig caster!

Anum Cara (detail)

A website

Well finally, I hit the publish button.  I have been, here and there through Wix putting together a website. Something very plain and simple but not quite so informal as the blog, It still needs work but it is out there now!

www.spikedeane.com

Can't imagine anyone else wanting that domain name...

Glass branches, twigs: natural and manmade

See my Pinterest board for more trees, branches n twigs here

'Aspen Glade' for Steuben Crystal

Su Taylor-Glasgow 'Communal Nest'

Elizabeth Lyons 'Large ladder'

'Communal nest'. Top view

Jeff Zimmerman 'Fallen Log'

Jeff Zimmerman 'Tree Sculptures'

Su Taylor-Glasgow sorting glass branches

'Frosted Tree Branches' Anthony Goto

Glass Bush from flicker

Jeff Benroth. Sand cast "fireplace logs'

Naoko Ito