My task for this week as discussed with the group, was to get creative with PVA Glue. For the exhibition we want to have paint splats around work and on the floor and desk etc. Now we obviously did not want real paint as it would be dangerous and very messy.
This means making what appeared to be paint splats out of something that would not leave a mess and would be okay to put on the floor (for safety issues.) We started to think of ideas and the ones that seemed the best were:
Vinyl Decals - You can recreate the look of paint by having the splats printed on vinyl (basically a big sticker) which can then be placed on the floor. Only problem is with this method is that it is not that cheap.
PVA Glue, mixed with poster paint: By mixing poster paint (bright coloured) with PVA glue and pouring it into shape and letting it set. Giving a glossy finish that, appearing to the viewer It would then become rock hard and could be easily moved and lifted off.
PVA Glue Practice
In order to make sure PVA glue could be used and would create the look we want. It was best to just test it out, instead of leaving it till a few days before the opening.
I started off by simply pouring some PVA onto a rubber mat, that was coated in Oil. (To ensure it didn't stick) Letting it to dry and seeing if it became hard with a shiny coating. (what we were hoping for)
The item itself dried quite well, I then added paint after it had dried. (Which was tricky as it was a smooth surface.) But with a decent amount of time dried successfully on top. I found the only problem was, soon as you started to move around the dried cast. It started to crack (very easily) and then literally started to fall apart as it twisted and turn into its own shape, this merely happend due to the thickness. It was rock hard and could not be layed flat without it cracking.
So the lesson here is thicker splats may look better but the downside is, they take ages to dry and will crack once they have tried unless you are extremely careful with them. (Which in a store with people walking round and being moved around etc will really not work.) My next splats will be thinner but will cover a larger surface area.
Time to GO LARGE!!
It was now time to step up my game and start making bigger and better versions.
I wanted to create a vibrant cartoon splat with my initial method of PVA molding. But this time to give it more color, I grabbed some poster paint and mixed it with the PVA until it was really bright and ominous (About half and half).
Instead of using a rubber mate this time, I cut open and stretched a bin liner over a piece of wood. Tapped it down and made it as tight and flat as possible, then used silicone paste to draw an outline of a splat. Once the silicone had dried I poured in the mixture of PVA and Poster Paint inside the outline, smoothed it over with a brush and scraper until it filled up the entire space and was as thin and equal as possible.
As you can see from the images above, its looking good so far. Its just a case of letting it dry and then using a Stanly knife to cut out a clean edge.
UPDATE!!
Just a quick update, I have also done some green samples that contain LESS glue and are allot THINNER. They should produce a better result and should dry allot faster. But if they all go well then will be an ideal choice for the exhibition.
The image that you see above is the splat almost dry after 1 day, it is allot smoother. Not as shiny as the first piece but feels allot more durable, less likely to crack. I cant believe the difference in drying time compared to the first blog. (just my making the surface area thinner.) I prefer the above result, it really appears to look like wet paint. It was easy to make and everyone could do a few at home, it would really add some more color ot the exhibition.
(Close up of the smaller pieces.)
Soon to Come.....
I will also be attempting to create a over sized pencil in the coming week. I am waiting for a large quantity of cardboard to be collected from B&Q. Then I can start testing with sizes and shapes etc.
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