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Final Submission Folio

Artist Statement: I have focused this project on the past by using imagination and fantasy to picture what my site could have looked like back in the 17th century. My site was once home to a ferry service across the river clyde, with a small stone structure that provided shelter for the ferry workers. The small shed has been transformed many times over the years and is now a family home.

My aim for this project was to bring the past back to life by using what the site gave me. My final outcome is made solely from objects found on site while excavating. By using this to show what my house used to look like, it built a path between the past life of this site and the present day.

Final piece installed in site.

Front and back view

Side views

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Artist Research on Christine Borland

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These are stones I excavated (with the help of my family) from the site. They had been buried under a lot of earth and stone for about 2 decades. The previous owner took them from the old parts of the outbuildings and chucked them down the backing to build up the edge of the property closest to the river.

They were found while my mum and I were gardening. I spent a good amount of time dogging them all out and cornering them so we could see how big they were. The biggest by far is the first 2 images. The piece comes to a point at the top, and it is about 12 inches deep. The others are smaller but still a good weight.

I was very excited to find the one with a rounded top because I could imagine how it could have been built. These are what inspired me to build my own house because I started to wonder what could have this house, and outbuildings, looked like when this was first built. After using the tractor to drag the biggest ones out, I found a pile of smaller sandstone rocks around the same area. There were 2 spots like this. One, I think, was once a huge sandstone like the other but had been smashed down. The other spot, the rocks, were cut not smashed, so I concluded that they were from repairs to the bridge and/or house. These to spot are where I got all my stones for making the house.

We are planning to build something magnificent with all this old stone. I have estimated that these sandstones are atleast 2 hundred years old and date back when the outbuilding were built, mid 1800's.

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These are the edited pictures of my house. I realise that they are all from he same angle, but this is because those were the best picture to work from, and they gave me a good opportunity to blend everything together. The first one, I think, worked really well because the green moss from the house matched perfectly with the grass, so it made the house look like it was always there. The second is nice aswell. I like the warm tones of the flowers which match the colours of the stones against the sun. Although at the angle the house is sitting, it doesn't seem quite right and it's give the impression I want.

This last one is my favourite and I think it works the best. The plants around the outside of the house really make it sit nicely and give the feeling of the plants growing around the house. I also like the lead line from the door out of the lage at the left-hand side. It makes me think there is a little path there, placed perfectly. Again, the moss really ties it together because it brings the green of its surroundings onto the house.

I also love the moody tones of the plants in the foreground because it makes the house stand out even more.

To edit this photo, I enhanced the colours and shadows, blurred the background, and edited something out front he background. With the other pictures above, I used an AI filter to get rid of a fence and posts in the background. I was happy with my tech skills, and I'm glad I went for this route because it again pushed me out of my comfort zone because I'm not used to using editing software.

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Picture of my final piece installed on site.

I took multiple picture around the garden, with each time trying to fit my house in its surroundings. I used bark, plants, earth and stones to cover the piece of board that the house is attached to.

I felt this worked really well. I love my house among the plants, and when the sun shined, it really brought out the colours of the stone. I tried in dofferent flower beds and on different surfaces. I feel this best place was the picture above, which was full of long grass and leaves.

I edited these pictures after, to make them blend in more and bring the house and surroundings together as one.

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These are the final photos of my house model before installing it on my site.

The best thing about this house that makes it really give the idea of a wee cottage back in the day in the thatched roof. I started off by just laying modrock on the structure I had made for the roof, similar to the last house I made. But I wasn't feeling the cottage in the country vibe. So, I gathered dried twigs and straw and split the thicker ones down the middle. Once adding them on I really felt the difference. To add a finishing touch I put moss on the roof and around the edges of the house.

All together, I am so pieced with my final piece and I found the experience of making in 3D a real learning curve. I am glad I pushed myself outside of my 2D box and experimented with new things.

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This is the start of a new and bigger house model. I made quite a few mistakes of the last house, and I wanted it to be more accurate. I planned what kind of set up I was going to make but placing the stones together and looking out stone lintels for the window and door, and then the piece for a chimney.

So far, I think this model is working far better. The door is in the right spot, the window and chimney are accurate and have worked really well. The above picture is before I finished building the chimney stack, which when finished brought a whole new dimension to the piece. I think it look far more realistic and accurate which is what I wanted.

Above, you can see the door and window which I planned before building the model house because I looked for perfect lintels to go above each opening. I am really pleased with how this worked and its much more accurate than the last model house.

This picture above is the chimney stack once finished which I am so pleased with, because it looks like a working chimney.

I filled all the holes with clay I found on sight and rounded all the edges. This worked really well, especially as I was more careful with how I placed the clay on, so I didn't cover any of the original stone colours and texture. Even though it cracked when dried I felt this added an age to it making it look older. I also feel it will fit in better with its surrounding when I install it onsite.

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Artist Research – Simon Starling | PDF | The Arts (scribd.com)

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Image transfers.

I found these images in a book of 'Convigtom and Tinto'. Most are of the village and non contain my house or any of the property, but I found them very useful to get an idea of what people looked like and how they dressed. I used these images as inspiration for my fantasy drawings, where I would look amongst the people and combine certain aspects or poses.

I found these images very useful because it gave me a glimpse intot he past and really helped me build a picture of what the past looked like.

I also really like the effect of the image transfers because it gives them an old, aged aspect that fits in with the timing of the pictures.

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Install proposal | PDF (scribd.com)

Installation Proposal available on Scribd

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This is the start of my first house model sculpture. I began glueing stones together, using gorilla glue, trying to make them as stable as possible to form a good base for my house.

I later peeled a lot of the glue of when it was dry because it expanded quite a lot, and I didn't want it to show and ruin the look of an old stone cottage.

I made a roof for the house with sticks and masking tape. I later added more masking tape for a better base for when I added mudrock. Which I think has given a good effect, but I need to add more texture to the roof and paint it to make it look like straw or hay.

I found there were a lot of gaps in between all the stones, and after researching how houses we're made back in the day, I decided to use clay to fill the gaps. This was great fun, and it worked really well. The only problem was adding too much, so when I smoothed it over, it covered the original orange tones of the sandstone. But I solved this by washing the stones multiple times until the clay washed away. But even after this, there was still a muddy tone to all the sandstone.

This is where I decided to leave my first model house. I have added a wooden lintel on top and at the sides to create and rectangle for the door. I used gorilla glue for this as well.

The clay worked really well, and after cleaning, it has left a good finish, but I'm not overly pleased with it.

I want to make another, bigger house with a better structure, more accurate looking roof, and proper stone lintels. I will also try to make the house more historicly accurate because I have left out the chimney, which is a significant part of any old house, and the door should be on the long side not the short, so these are things I will recreate and fix.

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https://www.scribd.com/document/718226237/Artist-Research-Janet-Cardiff-and-George-Bures

Artist research on The house of Books with no Windows. I found this very useful in relation to the small house I am making out of found objects.

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With these portraits, I have added in a more distinguishable background which relates to the house and ferry.

But I am trying to keep them abstract in order to give the feel of myself guessing at the past, instead of drawing a fact.

I have also done drawings of what the house may have looked like before everything else was added. I really like this drawing because it gives the feeling of a fairytale and small cottage in the countryside.

But I want to create more of these at different angles in relation to the ferry and villages.

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With these larger drawing I am moving on to experiment with combinations of people and the positions of them.

I have also added in background were suited, and witht he women above, I experimented with a back facing pose to change up the style and feeling of the drawings.

I have also moved back and forth between ferry time (mid 1600s), Georgian time, and early 1900s.

All A2 on cartridge

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I found that I really enjoyed creating characters from my imagination. So I kept my theme in mind and tried to create characters that I thought use to life in my house, work on the ferry or surrounding farm or were just part of the story here.

I started with continuous line drawings because it made it easier to continue making the face, instead of thinking to much. With each person my style evolved and I experimented with men, women, groups of people children and people doing activities.

The first two are women and I was really just practicing here with the continuous line technique and letting myself go with the flow.

This man above is a favourite of mine because I think he gives so much character. He is showing me stern discipline and head of the household vibes.

These two here I had farmers in mind while creating this because my house has been the location to a farm for some time. I also included a bright colour of green to these pair because when finding giant sandstone on the property, they all had splashes of green paint on them. So I imagine the guy on the left taking a smoking break from painting a nearby fence.

All A3 on cartridge

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These paintings using acrylic, pastel, inks, and pens are early portraits of the project. I had found records or people who were connected to Boat Farm dating back to the 1700s. I used those records with names and date and paired them with the few photographs I had found. With that I made these portraits and pairs them to names.

The two right are the same boy, George, one younger and then older. The bottom left is the mother Mary and the top above is the daughter Elizabeth. All dating back to early 19th century.

All A3 on board

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These are experimental drypoint prints on the bridge and windows on my house. I like this technique and I feel it give a nice aged look to the stone work which works well with this project.