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Reflection

Throughout this studio I have been introduced to new ways of thinking and many new techniques, encouraging me to take a more hands-on and less traditional approach to design.

Before I was a little intimidated that this studio would be well above my ability but looking back after 13 weeks I am very glad to have been a part of something that challenged me to venture into areas previously unexplored by me.

In one of our first workshop we built simple little drawing robots. Through this we explored the creative symbiosis between human and machine [in the context of image-making and design]. This form of image making where the human and machine interact and collaborate was different to what I usually do which is to work mostly from my laptop. This studio has been very valuable to me because it has ignited a want to work and create in a practical and hands-on way.

Many of our class workshops were structured into small teams - the collaborative element and discussion was important for me to understand things that were new and unusual such as Processing. Working alongside each other meant we could build our knowledge off of each other to achieve things we couldn’t have done alone.

Learning through the contexts of spin, turn, crash, drip and flow helped situate and expand my knowledge of the field of ‘drawing machines’ - the artists and their techniques. These contexts alongside the class activities and discussion helped inform my individual project.

I have appreciated the non-restrictive nature of the briefs - I’ve felt like I’ve had a lot of freedom to experiment and follow my curiosities. I have also enjoyed working on projects that interlink fine art and communication design.

This studio has helped me develop new knowledge and skills I plan to use in my own creative practise.

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Final Presentation. Was lovely to see and hear everyone discuss their work - have enjoyed this studio very much.

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Making the book :)

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The essay by Leonard Koren on the aesthetic of Wabi-sabi or “imperfect beauty”.

“Wabi-sabi, in its purest, most idealized form, is precisely about the delicate traces, the faint evidence, at the borders of nothingness . . ."

I have read this book many times. It’s something that resonates with me & has helped guide my approach to design. 

I will be keeping these ideas in mind while creating my final artefact; A book of time drawings handcrafted in a way that creates a wabi-sabi like experience and a sense of peacefulness.

[click on images to see full size]

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Final machine 3 - the steady little painter

This is my completed pendulum clock machine, the final of my clock machine series.  It consists of a wooden frame supporting a pendulum clock mechanism with a small paintbrush trinket dangling from the swinging ‘bob’. 

He has a lot of character so I’ve named him henri. 

The machine does not function very well as a mark maker - when the brush touches the paper the friction is too strong so it just stops and quivers slightly on one spot of the page. 

^brush trinket and a very small edition^ 

But when raised above the page the brush swings freely and I think that as a ‘performance’ this machine is enjoyable to watch and perhaps will make the viewer contemplate the passing of time. 

I will not create an artefact of this machines marks but I want to present the machine alongside the others.

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I’m having trouble photographing/scanning the time drawings throughout the process. The intricacy is somewhat lost when its taken over to the digital format :( 

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Time drawing after 50ish hours.

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Mockup of my design artefact

I want to produce a handmade book to display my time drawings. The book will chronicle the progression of a time drawing as it evolves over a 72 hour duration.

Andy suggested the idea of a book because the act of leafing through the pages is indicative of change and time passing which complements my concept. 

I want to produce this artefact focussing on handmade techniques - I plan to bind it with thread using the Japanese stab binding technique because I think this is very beautiful. If there is to be any text I want to write it by hand. 

The production of these time drawings is almost fully autonomous and I am very distanced from the creation of the marks. It is the clocks who are making the marks not me, all I am doing is making the wire trinkets and setting off the process.

So creating the artefact by hand is a way of putting more of myself into this project.

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ticking of the clocks

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A drawing after twelve hours.

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The danger that lurks

I’ve cat-proofed my machines to keep them from being pounced on and chewed. 

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Final machines 1 & 2 

After fiddling and tinkering through many prototypes, this is the final iteration for two of my drawing machines. 

The clip was taken 15 hours into their drawing process. 

As can be seen the machine is pretty simple, made from a basic clock mechanism with a copper wire armature attached to the second hand. A pencil lead and wire trinket dangles from the armature and flickers across the page leaving a minutiae of tiny dots in its path. The dots build up over time to reveal a delicate graphite form. 

[the piece of card tucked underneath is for balance]

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Tide 2008, Dar­ren Almond

Each of these 600 clocks placed upon the wall force the viewer to become aware of his place in time.

The clock pre­serves the past, sets the present and con­tains the future.

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Week 11 - Pendulum clock trials

The stand I built was a little wobbly but at least it is balanced （＾◇＾）

This system unlike the regular clocks is not autonomous, I can’t leave it alone and let it create an intricate drawing as it only makes a mark in one spot - I was shifting the machine around every few minutes. It feels like I am the one directing/creating the drawing rather than the machine. 

The finished drawings look like falling leaves or tiny footsteps.

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Building a frame for my pendulum clock mechanism 

I first tried hanging the clock with twine from the ceiling but the clock needs to be perfectly upright otherwise the tiny magnet inside that powers the pendulum doesn’t function properly - So I needed to build this little frame.

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Clocks and Timelessness

I was explaining my project to my sister and she mentioned a podcast called S-Town. I’ve started listening to it and it is quite fascinating: https://stownpodcast.org.

It follows the true story of an eccentric antique clock restorer and horologist, John B McLemore who spent his life studying ancient techniques for repairing and enhancing intricate timepieces [as well as other strange things such as writing a manifesto for the end of world and building a rose maze on his family estate with 146 different solutions]

My sister was talking about a talk her colleague Monique Rooney gave which discussed this podcast and the symbolism of the clock. Brief description here: https://slll.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/queer-objects-and-intermedial-timepieces-reading-s-town-2017

It made me think further about my project.

The clock as a device exists to convey the passage of time and situate us within time.

Yet the clock exists in this strange paradox where it is physically static and unchanging, the hands fated to endlessly trace the same circular path again and again. An eternal cycle.

A clock at 9 o’clock today is indistinguishable from the same clock at 9′clock yesterday.

In this way a clock is suspended in a space outside of time - it is a symbol of timelessness.

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Charcoal time drawing over a 30 hour duration :)