material practice 1

Sam Christopher Cornwell

Student Matriculation #: S1782619

Course Leader: Remo Pedreschi
Module Code: ARCH11228
Material Practice 1 Semester 1 2017/18
Challenges, Solutions & Discovery

Tacit knowledge is a personal resource accrued over time through

doing & experiences. Most find it difficult to learn new skills without a
hands on approach or under the guise of a talented technician. The
opening semester of Material Practice is designed to be a gateway
to developing a knowledge foundation by immersing the student into
several different practical workshops in a confined time period. This
experience allows for learnings in one field of study to be transferred
or inform others whilst developing a tacit knowledge of different
materials.

Using a classically linear timeline this report brings together

observations and experiments which lead to a realisation of
challenges, eventual solutions and most importantly, discoveries.
You will see how skills in one material can inform another and how
problems can be solved by virtue of different materials. Conversely,
by applying the industry I have worked in for the last decade,
photography, I can use my abilites there to shine a new light on
materials and their processes.
concrete

glass

metal

OUTPUTS
fabric
& textiles
Over a 12 week period I conducted an intense duration of discovery across four different workshops;
Concrete, textiles, glass & metal. The following report is my experience of that time.

CHALLENGE SOLUTION DISCOVERY


Formwork for concrete tiles made
out of wood. 8 pieces and approxi-
mately 12 screws.
Removal of wooden formwork.
Fascia design expermintation for
concrete face. Constructed with
sewing machine and scrap fabrics.
Revealing the concrete fascia
carefully as some fabrics stick or
leave a coloured transfer tint.
Concrete mix, typically 3:2:1 (ag-
gregate, sand, cement) with the
correct amount of water mixture.
DISCOVERY: Different manufac-
tured fabrics stretch different
lengths and impression fine detail
onto concrete.
concrete
Drying time: 1-3 days miniumum
depending on depth of mixture.
Concrete framework is traditionally made out of wood and screws. Whilst a sturdy solution, it quickly became apparent that
CHALLENGE: Wooden formwork is the method was slow, wasteful and cumbersome. Over time a person making frames would become more efficient, how-
reuseable if cleaned, despite cum- ever the manual labour involved. If this process could be automated somehow, more energy could be put into the goal of
bersombe to make, assemble and concrete pouring and experimentation.
dissassemble.

DISCOVERY: Laser cutters provide
quick and easy solutions for creat-
ing tile patterns
Applying industrial (packing)
strength cling film to plastic laser
cut pattern.
Even when stretched some ripples
are difficult to remove in the cling
film material
concrete
Plastics has an excellent water and
moisture barrier and therefore the
wet concrete mix cannot permeate
the material

Clingfilm is problematic to hold in
place. This was resolved with the
use of duct tape.
Because water was unable to per-
meate the plastic, the immediate
surface, although dry still appeared
wet and shiny.
Due to worries about strength of the
clingfilm and plastic form an agitat-
ing process was not applied and air
bubbles remained on the surface.
DISCOVERY: A direct link between
a non-permeable fabric and a
smooth, shiny surface on concrete.
This application is aesthetically
pleasing.
The first major discovery with concrete was understanding that waterproof materials, typically always plastics created
a smooth shiny surface when applied to concrete. The fine cement particles are pushed out to the surface of concrete
mix and take the form of the material it is touching. The discovery made all the more relevant because of its aesthetically
pleasing finish.

Acrylic formwork for concrete
casting tiles designed with just four
pieces.
No clingfilm was used in this in-
stance. Instead a second acrylic
later belower the black acrylic cut
pattern.
Laser cutting a 500x500mm frame
takes only 3 minutes and has mini-
mal costs associated.
Clear formwork helps with assess-
ing side levels.
DISCOVERY: Acrylic cut formwork
is significantly quicker than wood,
less expensive and therefore a
more efficient solution.
The acrylic does not stick to con-
crete at all, and as such was very
easy to remove.
concrete
A larger laser cut acrylic held in
place with duct tape.
I wondered if the plastic discovery could be applied to the cumbersome wooden formwork. I set out to digitally fabricate a
Unfortunately in this instance con- frame that could be laser cut and applied in this manner. Using 3mm acrylic sheets I cut a box that not only held together
crete was able to seep underneath without the addition of screws, but reacted as expected with concrete and didn’t stick.
the black plastic and bond with
itself, locking the black frame into
the concrete.
 concrete
Developing the acrylic formwork a The acrlic box fit together perfectly. When placed loosely, clingilm forms SOLUTION: Efficient, durable, inex-
stake further by giving it a base that A sheet of clingfilm was applied to folds and creases in its structure. pensive concrete tile formwork.
the vertical frames can slot into. make it completely impermeable.

Over several iterations I developed a formwork digitally that included a base, assembled and disassembled easily and be-
Glass stringers curated in the glass Gently pushing the strings through Easy to disassmemble. Immediate- Because of the shape of the end came a highly efficient method of casting concrete.
hotshop earlier can be added to the thick tile. ly reuseable. of the glass stringers, the did not
this tile. penetrate the face of the tile.

Back to wood for a non-standard
shape tile. The overall aim is to
make a spherical surface if possi-
ble.
Messy and to the edge.
A 1/8th sphere formed out of 3 x
90 degree angle arcs. The shape
would go on to inform much of
A clean, exciting fascia on the
underside.
Using clingfilm and duct tape again.
No drip tray required!
concrete
A haphazard pouring of concrete
mix reflects my amateur ability.
To challenge myself I adjusted the straight lined formwork I had been concentrating on to one with curves. Prototyping an
DISCOVERY: A nice and unusual idea by hand in an ad-hoc manner is far easier with wood in this regard. I built the surface of a sphere in the quest to create
shape, however the sphere’s sur- a full concrete shell with curved sides.
face is required on the other side.

Creating a larger 1/8th sphere shell
CHALLENGE: The reason behind
the thicker frame was so a levelled
surface of concrete would naturally
go to the corners. However this is
still not ideal.
DISCOVERY: Using the same slot-in
method as with acrylic formwork, no
screws are needed.
Staples and a steel frame for sup-
port of the formwork. The material
is indeed waterproof.
Using fake snakeskin material for
the outer shell. This material is
particularly strong, similar to leather
but with plastic qualities.
Drying time 3+ days.
concrete
The thickness of the frame meant
using a cement mixer worth of con-
crete mix.
Early on in the learning process I was able to adapt techniques learned with regards to the formwork. In the making of con-
Removal was problematic because crete shells it was not immediately clear to me that there was a great versatility of concrete. I had been treating it as a fluid
of weight and use of wooden form- liquid that would set with the upper most surface flat - a misconception.
work.

Thinner wooden formwork and use
of plastic film on the inside of the
shell to manipulate inside curve.
DISCOVERY: By carefully sculpting
into the corners over time it is pos-
sible to creat a non-level form and
fill the corners easily. The internal
shell will have a curved form.
As stated prior, clingfilm leaves ir-
regular creases and surface defor-
mation.
Turns out builders sand isn’t as mal-
leable in a concrete mix.
Some liquid soaked into the wood-
en formwork, however the concrete
stayed wet as it was covere in plas-
tic on all sides.
The fabric pattern transferred well.
concrete
A rubbery looking concrete failure.
Concrete is a material that can be sculpted gradually by applying layers and gentle byt consistent work on the material. I
A crumbled concrete failure. wonder why I didn’t realise this initially and my thoughts turn to how I’ve viewed concrete material in the real world: founda-
tions, industrial design, not typically a material with artistic qualities. This simple application lead me to the shaping of the
internal surface of the sphere’s shell.

In an effor to create larger concrete
shell formwork I returned to acrylic
to lasercut out a specific design as
a guide.
Loosely stapled in place.
Instead of a jigsaw I found the
bandsaw far easier to use.
To test the how the fabric would
hold up I poured plain sand in first
and discovered it would be prob-
lematic.
At only 50mm thick this shell would
require sculpting of concrete to get
into the corners.
CHALLENGE: The loose fitting
meant the weight of the concretes
bulge would be far too heavy for the
formwork.
concrete
A fabric similar to bed linen cut into
a triangle form.
I began to increase the size of the object and in turn the formwork to allow more control of the concrete material, specifially
Tried a different polyester fabric the inner surface. This presented more challeneges in other areas from the fabric used for the outer shell, a concern that
which turned out to be too tight. would ultimately shape the outcome.

Refitting the original bed linen
green fabric gave a much tighter
stretch.
Once seperated a void appeared
between the frame work and con-
crete.
DISCOVERY: Developed a tool
made from the off cut of the form-
work used to sculpt the inside of the
shell into a perfect sphere segment.
The completed form was well made
and tough, despite being 10 times
thinner than the surface length.
The fabric forming would take care
of the shape of the outerside.
Unusual surface textures appeared
from the stretching of the fabric.
concrete
Drying took 3+ days. To remove the
concrete from the formwork a soft
cushion was needed on the under-
side. Sand was used for this.
The inner side of the concrete shell could be formed using the waste material from the formwork. Because the curve is
A successful concrete shell. identical to that of the inside a tool for sculpting was easily developed in the wood workshop.

Returning with the same formwork
however using builder’s geo-textile
for the outer surface.
CHALLENGE: A woven fabric typi-
cally has a weft and warp, means-
ing one direction stretches more
than the other. Because of this the
exterior surface is uneven.
Concrete is applied gently in thin
layers. It is slowly built up over an
hour.
A large lump has formed on one
edge, in this case the bottom. This
is not aesthtically pleasing and
definitely not spherical.
Slowly working into the corners and
using my developed sculpting tool
to perfect the internal curve.
DISCOVERY: The MDF the form-
work was made from was pulled
downwards by the weight of con-
crete. When two shells are joined
together a gap is present.
concrete
3 days + to dry. You can see a lot of
concrete has leaked through. The
geo-textile is a plastic, however it is
woven.
As I experimeted with more materials and sizes other discoveries and challenges presented themselves. Namely that of
The sculpting tool can be used unsturdy wooden formwork which bends under the weight of concrete therefore disforming the outcome, and the unusual
internally to prove the spherical stretching properties of fabrics.
structure inside.

I visited a local shop to find the
most spherical objects I could in an
attempt to understand the shape of
a a surface of a sphere.
DISCOVERY: After speaking with
an expert on 3D digital design I
learned 3D object with more than
2 curves cannot be flattened into a
3-D shape.
There’s no such thing as a perfect
sphere, however this ball was close.
I would try to get as close as I could
to flat trying a range of incisions.
Using tape, pen and rulers I marked
exactly 1/8th triange segment.
This shape was the most success-
ful. I gathered figures and ratios for
upsizing.
fabric
& textiles
CHALLENGE: I cut out several piec-
es which wouldn’t lie flat as they
were part of a sphere.
A major challenge to overcome was the shape fabric should be cut in order to form the nicest possible curve on the outer
SOLUTION: A possible shape for a shell. I concerned myself theoretically with fabric that didn’t stretch to realise this idea, however I knew in reality some tex-
sphere segment. tiles would be better suited than others. The shape ultimately developed was that of an obtuse triangle with a curved edge.

Addressing the issue of uneven
surface by virtue of the weft & warp
of fabric
By rolling the formwork to each of
the three corners a 2D surface
shape is fashioned.
concrete
This is cut into three identical ob- The fabric direction is noted.
tuse triangles with one side curved
and placed onto the geo-textile
fabric.

All three triangle are cut with the
weft & warp in the same direction.
Sewn together. CHALLENGE: the sewn pattern,
although fitting, is extremely tight
and will need to stretch somewhat
for an internal curve to exist.
The trifecta meets in the middle
and theoretically should have a
equal pattern on the external sur-
face.
Geo textile is a black builders’ material made from plastics. Because it has a weave to it, and not an homogenous flat
surface like clingfilm it stretches and pulls in different ways. I hypothesised that this caused the issues with uneven out shell
sizes and set out to stich the geo tectile in such a way that the weft and warp travelled in the same direction throughout - to
the centre.

Additionally, I devised a simple way
to lift the formwork off the ground
as a free standing piece.
Revealing the concrete shell looks
promising.
The concrete went in well as the
tight fabric stretched enough for
the internal spherical curve.
Internally the spherical shape held
well.
Using the sculpting tool to perfect
the internal curve.
Stretched lines which mimic the
fabric were constant and equilat-
eral.
concrete
DISCOVERY: The semi permeable
nature of geo textile fabric slowly
draws water through to help with a
quicker concrete drying time.
The combination of concrete and fabrics, combined with the challenges of formwork lead to discoveries beyond that of
DISCOVERY: A fully formed shell what I considered possible with concrete. The final object reflected specific uses of fabrics, sculpting and formwork have
with uniform shape that can stan on been absorbed as tacit knowledge.
its own. Determined by manipulat-
ing the fabric for a uniform flow of
weft & warp.

The heat press in the textiles de-
partment can be applied in many
ways.
Curtain fabric bonded to cork
(beneath using leatherette as the
bonding agent.
Corkboard and leatherette heat
pressed #1
A cross section from above...
Corkboard and leatherette heat
pressed #2
...and underneath.
fabric
& textiles
Corkboard and leatherette heat
pressed #3
Our introduction into the textiles department was with the heat press machine. This is essentially a tool that creates new
DISCOVERY: Other materials that materials by the bonding together of existing textiles. It is limited with regards to 3D objects which cannot be used. The
are polymer based can sometimes striking discovery early on was that some fabrics, could be manipulated into other applications, eg leatherette as a bonding
be used to bond other materials to- agent.
gether. In this instance leatherette.

A thin wooden stirrer from the re-
fectory. Can these be used in other
applications with fabric?
Applying it facedown onto the wood
should transfer the image.
Collected enough pieces to form a
120x100mm panel. Normal parcel
tape held them in place.
The dull colours popped once
transferred.
DISCOVERY: Applying a clear plas-
tic cellophane via the heat press
successfully joined the wood and
created a new bendy fabric.
An image that curves on a new kind
of fabric.
fabric
& textiles
We printed several of our own imag-
es onto special heat press paper.
Presented with such a vast resource of textiles and fabrics, it was difficult not to be disillusioned by the sheer volume of
Incredibly flexible. experimentation possible. The use of found objects to create new materials was a direction I could concentrate on- with
the added bonus of image transfer to said material.
 fabric
& textiles
Unlike with concrete, acrylic presented itself as hugely problematic with the heat press. As it is warmed up it warps and can
become sticky, but not to the extent of a bonding agent. With concrete, temperature hadn’t been a concern and so this was
a discovery only being made through experimenting with acrylic in the textiles department.

I wanted to experiment with acrylic I saved the internal parts of the Using special red heat transfer The 3mm thickness of the acrylic
in the heatpress, so used a large pattern for use later. paper to apply a pattern of red onto made the colour transfer problem-
laser cutter to cut a 500x500mm a gold fabric. atic. In some corners the paper
pattern. couldn’t press down.

DISCOVERY: Heat press paper The red pattern did transfer some- CHALLENGE: Continued use of Imitation fur picked up the pattern.
stciks to acrylic and also transfers what partially. acrylic in the heat press results in
colour completely. warping.

Corkboard cut into similar width
pieces.
This works by heating it once and
tranferring a double sided sticker
paper to the object.
Placed on cellophane for heat
bonding.
Once transferred a third material
can be added - in this case a light
polyester silk.
Unlike with the wood, this was
unsuccessful. The plastic melted
away and didn’t bod to the cork-
board.
An ugly result but a positive result.
The fabric bonded properly to the
cork.
fabric
& textiles
DISCOVERY: 2nd attempt, this time
using HeatnBond special paper
The urge to fashion a textile that had geometric elements with wood was abundant. I considered how a corkboard that
A bendy piece of cork board! could have its surface manipulated but not destroyed would be used with concrete. In fact during every process I concerned
myself with the fabric’s application to concrete and what positives it could influence.

Colour paste for use in different
types of binders that are used in
screen printing.
Using a screen to print a pattern
directly on to the same puff binder.
Mixing the fluro orange with ‘puff
binder’
A second layer of puff binder
worked however this flattened the
original layer to some extent.
after applied to fabric and heated
the puff binder rises. If it’s applied
too thick it needs longer under the
heat press.
As puff binder only requires a short
15 second blast on the heat press
I returned to using some leftover
acryllic.
fabric
& textiles
The thick layer loses all detail of
pattern once the puff binder has
risen.
Chemical compounds as pastes can be used in the heat press and result in varying outputs. Puff binder when applied to a
Again, this worked to some extent. fabric and heat rises like cooking pastry. This method didn’t require a long period of time th achieve and so I knew introduc-
A positive takeaway is that the ing acrlic back into the mix would not result in difficults as before.
acrylic didn’t warp after 15 sec-
onds.

Learning to embellish with an em-
bellishing machine.
Learning to felt using coloured felt,
bubble wrap and sopy water.
By placing a fibrous material under-
neath leatherette, creating patterns
by eye was easy.
This is an ad-hoc process which
requires manual labour.
Curtain fabric and fake fur.
The drying time limits the process.
fabric
& textiles
Curtain fabric and a woolen jumper.
The methods experimated with ranged from the machine required to the completely ad-hoc. Embellishing is achieved
DISCOVERY: Not a masterpiece. through a very specific machine, whilst felting can literally be done by hand. These alternative methods accurately reflect
However the adhoc process is the broad spectrum of textiles and their making properties.
good to know for a simplistic way of
living.

kneeding blue and white felt togeth-
er with soapy water.
Combining a metal fabric with a
curtain fabric using heatbond paper.
fabric
& textiles
Washing off the suds. By wrapping and tying onto the end Behold, a hat for a small head.
of a broom handle a 3D object can
be fashioned.
Shaping a textile or fabric into a 3D object is not beyond the realms of possibility. Felt can be manipulated in such a way
DISCOVERY: The binding was Metal is visible on the read side but Many different 3D forms can be with ease, although the resulting form is less than adequate. By combining materials I could turn a woven ‘floppy’ material
successful and this has created a could be encapsulated both sides. easily achieved. into one as malleable as metal foil. By adding a wire mesh with the heat bond process, an additional property of malleability
malleable material fabric. is applied to the material.

Encapsulating a metal mesh inside
a fabric.
This is a special spray that coats
fabrics creating a waterproof layer.
Once heated the heat bonding pa-
per becomes clear like glue.
Experimented first with the above
fibrous fabric, but it was incon-
clusive as the fabric repels water
naturally. concrete.
This can now be manipulated eas-
ily.
Using with silk. The sprayed one is
a darker colour.
fabric
& textiles
Paving way for any type of 3D
object. This would be useful when
applied to casting other fluid mate-
rials.
Condensing all that can be learned from the textiles department into a period of 1 or 2 weeks is simply not possible. The
DISCOVERY: The treated silk is knowledged garnered is fragmented, although useful. Upon reflection I can see how the ability to inform other practises and
completely waterproof. This would different method of experimentation can lead to new discoveries and applications across the workshops.
have interesting applications in

In the glass department we will be
manipulating hot glass in the ‘hot
shop.’ Kevlar-like material will be
useful as it withstands high temper-
atures.
The department technician, Ingrid,
blew glass into my mold.
I created a patchwork to avoid sew-
ing the material together. The idea
is to transfer this to the surface of
blown glass.
Some Kevlar remained stuck to the
glass but it appears the pattern
transferred successfully.
An addition of a metal frame with
the Kevlar held down with staples
and we’re ready to go.
The Kevlar is spent after one use,
already blackened.
glass
The hot shop is a particularly dan-
gerous environment with tempera-
tures up to 1100 degrees celsius.
Upon induction it is stressed how dangerous glass is to make and that a willingness to learn through observation is required.
CHALLENGE: From concept to kiln, A single textile similar to the brand Kevlar can be used in the hot shop to inform the shape or texture of glass, however ex-
the glass hot shop is a 2-person perimentation is strictly limited by time constraints and a single technician.
job.

A few days later the glass could be
removed from the kiln after a long
process referred to as annealing.
The base with Kevlar patterning
works as a tray.
The light properties of glass are an
important aspect of the material.
Typically glass is clear.
A ball drill that can be used to drill a
hole in glass.
Unfortunately during the annealling
and cutting process the glass form
cracked.
These holes allowed string to be
passed through.
glass
DISCOVERY: Using a range of cold
workshop tools it was possible to
derive smaller objects from the one
larger broken one.
There is more freedom in the cold workshop where glass can be manipulated through cutting, grinding and sanding. In my
Additional patterning was achieved experience here this was paramount as the single blown glass object I created was damaged soon after annealling.
using other cold shop tools such as
the grinder.

The mathematics used when
preparing an object of small size to
cast with in the casting workshop of
the glass department.
A ball of clay, unprepared.
Using illustrator to prepare the laser
cutting files.
Rolling to create a flat surface took
about 20 minutes and was very
messy.
Returning to acrylic, again .
The object is then placed on the
clay...
glass
Discovery: An acrylic form of the
glass object envisioned. The math-
ematics used helped me under-
stand the surface of a sphere.
A special mix of plaster can be used to create glass molds as it can withstand the high temperatures of the kilns. I intro-
with a wall built around it so plaster duced a plastic model I fabricated into the equation in an effort to reproduce it as a glass piece. I also learned that the
could be poured in. casting workshop is very messy indeed, as well as dangerous, with diseases such as pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovol-
canoconiosis a risk.

The clay is then left to set.
Success. A rescued mold is ready
to be cast.
Unfortunately in a not unfamilar oc-
currence the object became stuck
in the plaster.
Glass pellets are placed on top of
the mold and it is all placed into a
kiln, where it’ll be heated to temper-
atures high enough to melt.
After some breakages, it was re-
moved, however as a casting piece
this was not useable in its current
form.
Several days later after retrieving
the flower pot mold.
glass
SOLUTION: By placing it into a
flowerpot and pouring new plaster
around it, a new mold can be fash-
ioned.
The tiny particles of plaster were able to penetate the small joins of my plastic model, ironically forming a bond which
DISCOVERY: Considering the couldn’t be sperated easily. However with very careful hands the mold could be rescued and courtesy of another highly resil-
earlier failure here, the process of ient material, terracotta the mold could be rebuild for glass.
rescuing this piece was an achieve-
ment. This is now ready for cold
shop working.

Instead of using an object I decided
to use the clay, which is meant to
support the plaster as the object
itself.
A powder printing method. These
colours will transfer to the surface
of the glass form.
Plaster pours and dries in a matter
of minutes. In the glass department
flint and fibre glass is used in a
5:5:1 mix.
Pellets ready. Too many and they
are liable to melt and pour over the
cast risking damage to the kiln.
Removing the clay from the plaster
was a difficult and time consuming
process.
Perfect amount of glass pellets.
As the glass is clear you can see
through to the colour on the sur-
face.
glass
DISCOVERY: Complex moulds can
be sculpted using clay alone.
Meticulous attention to detail is required when sculpting with clay and plaster. Clay is not resillient enough to be placed in a
After removal and a wash the piece kiln, so when you are informing the plaster with a clay shape it must be removed carefully and properly. This exercise is fun,
is fairly attractive on its own. but time consuming and inefficient. I lusted after a glass process I could see results quickly with.

For a sand casting experiment in
glass a larger object was required.
I opted for the same design but
instead used wood to make it.
After pressing in the wooden form
you do not want to see sand getting
stuck to it. This will reflect on the
poured glass.
CHALLENGE: Casting sand is time
consuming as it needs to be sieved
several times to create a very fine
power to impression objects on.
Ready for molten hot glass!
The sieves we were using had
holes. Luckily sewing experience
meant we could fix that.
The sand box is big enough for
several people to use at once. The
black powder you see is carbon.
This material creates a smoother
surface.
glass
This is how fine the sand is.
Sand casting takes place in the hotshop as molten glass is involved in the process. Preparing the casting sand is time con-
As with other hotshop work, sand suming and once prepared you only have a single chance at creating the correct indentation. For this exercise I fabricated
casting is incredibly dangerous and a larger wooden model as before. The positivetake from here is that object cast with sand can be much larger . The signifi-
requires a minimum of two people. cant difference between sand and plaster casting is the state of the glass as it is applied to the mold.
Here I am with a blow torch.

Molten glass is poured directly on
the sand. A blow torch is used to
keep glass hot to avoid early break-
ages from incinsistent cooling.
After 5 day cooling period the ob-
ject was retrieved. Unfortunately it
cracked because someone opened
the annealer early.
As it cools, the red glow of the glass
turns clear. The previous glass cast
of balls is inside this.
The textures and colours were
beautiful.
DISCOVERY: These scenes are
beautiful to watch with the naked
eye. Brightnesses difference make
capturing in a photograph difficult.
Because of the crack, the balls
inside could be seen very clearly.
glass
After poured the piece is quickly
placed on a tray for transpot to the
kiln for annealing.
Seeing molten glass pour into a form is perhaps one of the most beautiful processes I have ever witnessed. The warm red
A final, broken piece that I chose glow, coupled with the heat created a stunning form that was so fleeting in its moment it would be difficult not to find emo-
not to work on in the cold shop. tional. In capturing this moment,this was the first time I was able to use my skills in photography successfully to reflect upon
my learning experience.

Frustrated with the limitations
placed on a student in the hot shop,
I decided to build a frame for pulling
stringers.
DISCOVERY: Stringers are small
enough that they don’t require to go
through the annealling process. A
faster process with quicker results.
The frame is build out of plywood.
MDF contains carcinogens which
can be inhaled when burned.
After a pattern is made it can be
manipulated with a blow torch.
Screws are designed as pegs for
which glass stringers can loop
round.
DISCOVERY: Glass stringers are
beautiful. Especially up close. Spe-
cial lighting can be used to capture
intricate views
glass
An anchor is created around one
screw and then glass can be pulled
to others within the frame.
Glass stringers was a revelation. This was a method of pulling glass that I could learn to do myself in a single day, is small
The first glass frame attempt enough to anneal outside of a kiln and is highly manipulateable. They say if you’re having fun you’re learning, and as such I
looked fragile, but held together increased my tacit knowledge and skill of this one particular method of glass manufacture quickly and profoundly.
during transport.

A round frame!
The process created a lot of waste
stringers which were recycled by
other students in the department.
Screws again to be used as pegs
It took 2 hours, however I finally
managed a full, clean run across all
the screws. The skill here can be
learned with lots of practise.
SOLUTION: The ‘Ingrids’ which I
affectionally named after the work-
shop technician were looped off
the frame to prevent burning.
DISCOVERY: During one pull a
stringer that was too thick drooped
along other tight stringers forming a
succesion of acatenary curves.
glass
As I’d already spent several hours
practising this was easier second
time around.
Learning to control the glass is a mastery in itself. The amount of time it can be manipulated is only in the seconds and as
By the end of the session I’d devel- such learning the movements to successfully weave and pull patterns becomes a coordinated dance which can be learned
oped up enough skill for a single over a day.
gathering of glass to pull 24 loops.

Stills from a video demonstrating
the stringer pulling process I devel-
oped.
Instead of snapping the stringer
once finished pulling, I used a blow
torch to melt it free.
Using a gathering of glass a tight
glass string of approx 1mm in
diameter can be pulled over a long
distance.
The pincers were used to start off
the pulls.
In one instance two of us worked on
the same process at once, cross-
ing the glass stringers.
After a complete patter was made,
I was able to unscrew the screws
without breaking the glass.
glass
I brought a sphere segment frame
in to experiment with too.
A visual record of glass stringers in my ad-hoc way of recording things via my mobile phone is not idea l as they are fairly
However, picking it up was not as difficult to photograph. As such I demonstrated the pulling technique I had developed via a video which is available to view
easy. online. This type of visual record will be useful for other people discovering new glass techniques.

DISCOVERY: Immediately upon en-
tering the metal workshop, I noticed
the incredible light created in an
otherise dingy space.
Welding #4
Learning to weld was something I
failed to master properly, despite a
number of hours practising.
Welding #5
It is said that a good welder is hard
to find, and I appreciated this.
Welding #5
metal
Despite having this lack of skill, the
process was straight forward and
with patience I could use it effec-
tively.
The metal workshop was a very different experience to glass in regards to freedom to work alone. Despite the dangerous
A sculpture I tentaveliy called industrial equipment , I found myself welding, gridning and cutting within half a day of inductions. This allowed for a more
“learning how to weld” reflected the practical approach to experimentation when it came to understanding the material.
chaos of the metal workshop.
 metal
As a project I planned to make Cutting the steel frame out of Grinding the ends. The makes them ready for welding.
a metal frame to hold these two square tubes.
wrapped jeans vertically.

The feet were made using a plas- The 3mm thick steel plates for the The bars welded on the the feet. The full frame work ready for con-
ma cutter. An amazing piece of feet. crete pouring at a later date. The A very typically use of the metal workshop is to build a frame. By setting myself a menial task I was able to work with and
equipment, but unfortunately rarely skills acquired in metal would be learn the fundamental basics of metal.This particular process used several machines.
working. useful elsewhere.

Returning to the these of circles I
used a pipe bender to slowly fash-
ion a round steel pipe into a hoop.
Once welded the join is as strong
as steel itself, however it looks
messy.
This was achieved by gradually
increasing the angle it was bent.
To clean this away a grinding disc is
used.
The ends would need to be welded
together.
Considering back to the idea of
light in the metal workshop I re-
turned it to the work bench and
practised more welding.
metal
Holding it in place is fairly sinple
with a vice.
I became interested in exploring the several different metal working processes. Manipulating metal often requires the use
DISCOVERY: I videoed this ex- of machinery that produces an output of light. I recognised that metal was an excellent tool that could compliment glass
periece to reflect on later. My feel- through molding processes, however I was drawn to the light.
ing was that light is an output of the
metal workshop that can be used.

CHALLENGE: Creating a sphere
segment in metal using the tradi-
tional tools would be difficult as the
metal is shaped, not cut.
After cleaning with a grinding disc.
I used the same design as within
wood.
For another corner I used the fur-
nace to heat the steel up to a high
temperature
Unlike wood the metal does not slot
together as well. There is a lot more
friction on the edges.
Which could then be hammered flat
using traditional blacksmith meth-
ods.
metal
To fix one side I used welding.
To keep a thread of continuity running through the different workshops I produced a spherical segment. This was done by
A complete sphere semnet form- hand and joined using different metal working techniques. More skill is required in its making than with wood, however the
work. output is far stronger.

SOLUTION: A pinhole camera load-
ed with medium format film, ready
to capture different lighting quali-
ties of the metal workshop.
Welding under normal lighting con-
ditions.
This unusual form was made with
welding. A long exposure capture
was made on emulsion.
The plasma cutter emits particular-
ly bright light when cutting steel.
Afterwards another photograph of
the same model being taken apart
using a cutting disc.
This form was made using the
furnace and captured as a long
exposure.
metal
A colleague scoring sheet steel
whilst being captured.
I decided to bring my skills in photography to the metal workshop and concentrate on the making of objects and light pro-
A developed roll of 120 film ready duced rather than the objects themselves. By setting up a pinhole camera (ironically made of wood) I would be able to
for scanning. capture the extreme light produced by the machinery used in the making and examine the differences of these different
processes. These consisted of: Welding, plasma cutting, cutting, scoring, grinding and the furnace.

Scanning the negatives on a home
scanner capable of film.
DISCOVERY: Light acquired when
welding is intensely bright and blue.
The resulting images are output in
a raw format which require editing
to bring out the details.
DISCOVERY: Light acquired from
a plasma cutter is very bright and
precise. Note, the red overlay is a
light leak on the film.
DISCOVERY: Light acquired from
scoring with a disc cutter is warm
and sharp.
DISCOVERY: Light acquired from
spot welding a sculpture results in a
ghostly, bright effect.
metal
DISCOVERY: Light acquired from
shaping metal from a furnace is
soft, dim and a deep red.
After developing and scanning at home, the photographs required processing to balance the colours, tones and lighting .
DISCOVERY: Light acquired from Each experiment conducted was a several minute exposure and showed great promise. As suspected the different ma-
a cutting disc is soft, ghostly and chinery had very different outputs of lighting.
warm.

For part of my final form I wanted to
produce large catenary curve glass
stringers. To do this I designed the
formwork digitally.
Weld & grind for strength.
These were cut on the plasma
cutter, although the incorrect thick-
ness steel was used.
Adaption for legs.
The formwork slotted together fine,
but was loose.
SOLUTION: To allow the frame to
be free standing I had to built spe-
cial legs and connectors.
metal
This was simply fixed with wedges.
An alternative to the laser cutting machines is the much larger cousin based in the metal workshop known as the plasma
cutter. This is capable of cutting through steel several millimetres thick. I utilised this to cut out a large sphere segment
frame to use in the glass workshop, specifically for pulling stringers. The plasma cutter is an excellent tool which makes
jobs easier via digital application.
The completed article was 1 metre
Unfortunately the glass workshop was out of action at the time due to a powercut, so the form was left unused.
in diameter, however it was never
used because the glass hot shop
closed.
OUTPUTS

I chose to revisit the long exposure
photographs in a controlled setting,
so cleared out a room and set a
space for different metal tech-
niques.
The technician creating a form us-
ing a hammer. This was the longer
exposure of all at around 20 min-
utes.
Welding the ring
An interesting form from my col-
league should produce interesting
results.
OUTPUTS
In the same exposure, grinding the An iron for furnace work.
ring.
Under a controlled setting I reapproached the pinhole photography experiment to create more measure photographs of the
metal workshop lighting outputs. The room had no internal lighting or windows, so all light captured on the 120 film would be
directly from the machine tools.
This project served as one of two final outputs from semester one.
Grinding the form. Welding the same form on a differ-
ent exposure.
Above: Dust spotting a negative.
LEFT: 5 minute exposure of grinding disc on
dodacahedron shaped steel. The warm soft
light is made up of tens of thousands of mi-
croscopic sparks of metal being ground off
the steel.

RIGHT: A steel ring held vertically in a vice.

One half has a grinder applied whilst the oth-
er is welded. The heat and brightness from
the welding is far more impacting than the
soft orange glow of its counterpart.
 A spectacular image of welding an exploded
dodacahedron steel sculpture being weld-
ed. The bright sparks of steel at hundreds of
degrees centigrade are launched vertically
before dropping to ground in a classic cate-
nary curve.

A 20 minute exposure of a steel rod being

manipulated at extreme temperatures on
the blacksmith iron. The gentlest and red-
dest of light.

To create a stack of concrete
shells, demonstrating how different
sizes and materials alter how the
shape is controlled.
Five different size shells with 5 dif-
ferent paddles to sculpt the internal
curve.
A rudimentary way of drawing cir-
cles.
Fabric cut to specifics of curve size
and material.
The largest diamenter is 800mm.
Sewing and final preperations.
OUTPUTS
Cutting the formwork out of wood
without the use of acrylic templates
as speed and efficiency were back-
step to quaity.
In a second set of final outputs I planned to create a large concrete shell and apply glass stringers naturally formed into
catenary curves which would be connected to the concrete. However because of closures it was impossible to work with
hot glass and I needed to improvise.
Using the knowledge I’d acquired, I built 5 sets of formworks in descending size and applied a variety of fabrics to them, to
Ready for concrete pouring.
demonstrate the vast differences and qualities slight alterations can have.
 The largest concrete shell measured
900mm across and had a teal tint to
it achieved by adding blue pigment to
concrete with yellow sand mix.

Using the knowledge I had accrued

with textiles and fabrics I made sure
the weft and warp all convened at the
same place.

The resulting form is a free standing

giant concrete wave made up with
a number of curves on the surface.
The weight of the concrete found the
stretchiest part of the fabric and gath-
ered to form a lump that resembles a
hill. The geo-textile pattern transferred
beautifully onto the surface of the shell
and the edges were similarly as tidy.

I observed some interesting properties

of the resulting form. From different
angles the curve of the outer surface
had different shapes.
 The second shell was formed using a
patterned curtain fabric with red pig-
ment added to the concrete mix. The
resulting form resembles that of a soft
cushion. This was also completely free
standing.

Of all my efforts and attempts, this

formed the closest outer shell curve re-
sembling a sphere. This has everything
to do with the fabric used.The shape of
the cuts are identical to that of the teal
coloured shell.

The patterned surface worked par-

ticularly well with the red tint, giving
an illusion of soft properties. One can
imagine this as an outdoor ornament or
structure - or even seat.
The third shell, used a strong yellow tint and
polyester fabric. The result is a light and thin
shell with an inverted outer skin. Because
of the smoothness of fabric this transferred
successfully to the concrete, however the
stretch is also very evident.

Unfortunately because of this the shell is

not able to be free standing as the centre of
gravity is forced to the over hanging point.
 I had suspected that as I ap-
proached smaller sizes I would
struggle to keep control of
the concrete. Ironically it took
longer to cast this shell than the
larger pieces because I kept
the mix more fluid for sculpting
and so it took longer to thicken.

The tint is black, which upon

reveal looked fantastic and
dark, but has since faded as the
drying process continues. The
silk fabric transferred a soft
chalk-like surface to the con-
crete with the curve less than
remarkable.
 The smallest shell, white in colour and not much larger than the palm of a hand was so thin
that no aggregate other than find sand was used. The formwork, after an unsuccessful at-
tempt at using very thin plywood was constructed entirely out of plastic, clingfilm as the outer
shell fabric included. Its fragile nature is mirrored by the fact the formwrk did not survive the
reveal.
A Photoshopped arrangement of
concrete shells that demonstrate
the size and colours of the five
different results.
REFLECTION
The first semester of Material Practice was designed to rewire our
brains and develop a tacit knowledge that encompasses a broad
range of materials and processes. Throughout 12 gruelling weeks
of intense training and learning I discovered ways of controlling all
manner of materials over four different workshops.
I joined the course specifically to broaden my knowledge of making
as I felt my current practise of photography was limiting my artwork,
however it was curious to find myself still using my skills when re-
quired to enhance the material work. By bringing a different expert
knowledge to the table I could apply these to look at aspects of
material in a different way, specifically; lighting. As a photographer
I would recognise a reflective surface or notice the colour of white
light affecting elsewhere. This ultimately determined the direction I
took my semester project in.
It was a disappointment not to be able to use glass as I had prepared
for in the final concrete form, however this is very reflective of the
medium. It is a highly technical process that is dangerous and needs
proper supervision. The failure of the hot shop during a time or power
cuts is par for the course. Being able to turn to the reliable material
of concrete, which can be used under many environments and most
importantly at room temperature also came naturally.
I can confidently state that if I wish to make something for a specific
purpose now, I would know the correct material and processes to do
so, and if not, would understand the avenue required to reach that
destination.
There are things I take for granted now, know implicitly, that I was
oblivious to back in August before I joined the course. For that I am
grateful.
material practice 1
Sam Christopher Cornwell