Photo Of The Day - Day 26

Number 26 - 10th Nov 2008

While standing round waiting (we did alot of that today!!!) I snapped this pic, I don't actually remember taking it, I think I must just have clicked the button while the camera was on without realising it - it turned out great for me not actually taking it! It's one of the drums that contain sand for the ceramic moulds we made.

Lost Wax Method Bronze Casting Photos - stage 1 wax burn

Today we burnt out the wax in our moulds and then poured the bronze. I have photos of both stages - These images are of the first stage... the wax burnout.

My mould after all 7 coats of ceramic slurry and sand

Melting the wax to remove the ceramic cup created in the center of the mould to allow the wax to melt out

All the moulds in the basket ready to go into the burner

Jamie and Scott opening the burner

Putting the basket of moulds into the burner

Burner all closed up with moulds inside

The process begins.... first there is smoke

Then there is fire!!!!

More photos of the bronze casting pour will follow :)

Photo Of The Day - Day 25

Number 25 - 9th Nov 2008

Oh what an exciting day - spent the day in my pj's staring at the computer screen for no good reason, although there is a cute piccie of my Fidget on there, may she rest in peace!

Photo Of The Day - Day 24

DOUBLE EDITION:

Number 24 - 8th Nov 2008

What a stunning day in Dunedin. After doing my weekly gardening job in the morning and then going to vote in the general election I spent an enjoyable afternoon at with my classmates hanging out and just generally relaxing! The first image is the view from where we were and the second image is of the stunning ceramics work of Susan Videler, one of my extremely talented class mates (please note that her artwork like my own is copyrighted and protected by law). I just absolutely adore this piece so had to get a sneaky shot of it.

Photo Of The Day - Day 23

Number 23 - 7th Nov 2008

Well today wasn't that exciting - a trip to the dump and the supermarket. I forgot to take my camera with me (not the sort of thing I'd usually take to the dump so I'm not surprised I forgot it!) so today its another image of my cacti collection - the common name for this one is an african milk plant, they are quite slow growing and this one has nearly died on several occasions but is now happy and thriving in the bay window of my living room.

Photo Of The Day - Day 22

Number 22 - 6th Nov 2008

Just to prove that it can snow in Dunedin in November (so much for spring/summer). This was the second dump in 2 days, there was more snow on the surrounding hills but this was the only view I could get from where I park my car near school.

Photo Of The Day - Day 21

Number 21 - 5th Nov 2008

Today I came home instead of sitting around at school all day waiting to dip my mould again (just 2 more dips to do tomorrow and then its onto removing the wax and pouring the bronze!). Just before returning for class there was a heavy downpour of sleet (someone should seriously shoot the weather man - sleet and snow when we are meant to be having sun and warmth isn't fun!!!), the weather made the road a little slippery and there was a nose-tail at the intersection down below us. I sat in the bay window checking out the scene with my macro lens - thought I'd take a photo while I was at it.

Photo Of The Day - Day 20

DOUBLE EDITION:

Number 20 - 4th Nov 2008

Today was round 2 and 3 of dipping our ceramic moulds, minimum work load with MAXIMUM waiting period. Todays photp is a view of the inside of the sand applying machine - it blows air up into the special sand so it helps to get an even coat of sand on top the ceramic slurry mix. I liked the bubbles of sand so I took a photo of it, the other is just a reference photo of my mould - not that it looks like it but I'm making naughts and crosses for a tic tac toe game - tomorrow I'll hopefully get round to making the board.

Photo Of The Day - Day 19

Number 19 - 3rd Nov 2008

Today I was at class again - attempting to 'weld' wax to create a mould ready for the first coat of ceramic slurry. Managed to get quite a big burn on my finger - I recommend NOT dripping melted wax on yourself, even if it is an accident. I totally forgot in all the madness to take a photo of the process but I did however get some photos at lunchtime when I went for a walk in the sunshine round the University of Otago (which is just down the road from the art school) - this one is of the famous clock tower - the person in the image is some random stranger who just happened to walk infront of the lens as I clicked the button.

Photo Of The Day - Day 18

Number 18 - 2nd Nov 2008

Today's image is of an artwork I did this time last year for a class text and image project. I recently got this back from a place where I had some pieces hanging to find that several of the canvases had been damaged (but fortunately fixable!) so I spent several hours re-painting, re-varnishing and photographing them.

This piece is entitled "Caffeine Fix" it is inspired by Andy Warhol, and is a tribute to his work and also a criticism of today's society and our constant dependence on caffeine to function.