melting polythene.

Chapter 8 uses plastic materials fused together to create new surfaces i haven't photographed my collection of plastic but it was a mixture of shopping bags, plastic bags, ink cartridge bags and plastic file edges. i have taken Jane's influence and used a bottle top to show scale.

a silver plastic bag with punched holes. i stitched through some of the holes with a metal wire which obviously heated up and melted through the plastic.

testing with strips of polythene to fuse onto a base layer.

the sample on the left is made with a clear plastic bag and strips of plastic and paper encapsulated. stitch has been added. the sample on the right has been made from a strip cut from the left sample enclosed between 'Athena' plastic bag.

this is quite a thick piece. an opaque bag with clear plastic in between. the black is produced from acrylic paint on the inner layer.

more stripes taken from the sample in # 4 above.

utilising the handle hole.

detail of above.

strips of polythene sewn into black plastic. hand stitch added after to emphasise the black plastic strips.

 

this was a piece i made for my first 'Personal Assessment piece' with some plastic strips sewn through and then re-melted. for anyone who reads this and hasn't seen my PAP this was achieved with strips of plastic, knitted and then melted under tension.

garlic plastic bag with clear encapsulated strips added.

more strips cut and attached to a black carrier bag where the handle hadn't been fully removed. stitch was added and then the areas between cut out and re-melted.

as part of this chapter a resolved sample was asked for. i have done a few 'drawings' in my sketchbook based on more Aleut/Unangan textiles and chose one of these to follow into plastic.

resolved inspiration.

silver plastic bag with punched holes, sewn plastic strips, spray paint and strips cut and fused. stitch added after.

 

Leaf graffiti and plastic bags

have you ever noticed the wonderful shapes left by leaves at this time of year? the pavement has to be just the right kind of surface for an impression to be made, just like the plastic bags i am using for my 3D lights! i spent quite a while sourcing a white plastic bag for my samples, cut into approximately .5cm wide strips, knitted and then melted! did i have enough for the whole project? of course not! several plastic bags later and not the right kind! the newer 'compostable and biodegradable' kind do not work as well as ones with i think more oil in them! i have finally sourced one from 'the works' and thanks to my son who wanted an A2 drawing pad it is large. never one to do things the easy way and after 7 hours of tv watching i now have a wonderful 'heap' of cut up continuous strip and repetative strain injury in my shoulder. will i have to go back to 'The works' again? probably, so you know what i will be doing over Christmas!