OOPS, That Didn't Work

What went wrong and where do we go from here.

So the 3D project of carving and casting low relief went bust for some reasons that I know and some I do not.  Now what do I do?

1^st thing I need to do:

• ·       Don’t let students see their projects until after discussion.
• ·       Turn this into an opportunity for creative problems solving that requires some critical thinking.
• ·       Have a class discussion about what went wrong.  Come up with reasons why that may be
• ·       Brain storm ideas on what to do next.  Explain that often artists come into problems and then have to rethink their project design.·       

• So now what do I do to figure out what went wrong wand what to do next.

• Think I know:

• ·       Not enough model making material for all students at the size of their projects and took too long to get liquefied.
• ·       Too much water in the plaster mix for the model part
• ·       Weal walls to hold in the plaster
• Possible reasons:
• ·       Plaster over model material may have caused the model material to constrict and warp
• ·       Let plaster stay in clay mold too long so that it never dried

·       Results:

• ·       Some plaster molds never dried and subsequently fell apart
• ·       The plaster backed rubber molds constricted and warped into some strange shape
• 
  
• Where to go from here: Possibilities
• ·       For constricted pieces that are salvageable clean out left over clay, surround in sand and pour the final casting into it.  Let dry and then combine on a board with other materials.
• ·       Maybe soak the plaster backed rubber molds to dissolve the plaster.
• ·       For molds that fell apart.  Carve into the wet plaster and make some new design.
• ·       Cast a block of plaster and carve it.

Assignment :

Write out a plan for what to do with your art from this point.

How did it go

I first had the class move their seats close to the board to discuss how and why artists go back to the drawing board with their artworks.  I also talked to them about how artists let the artwork tell them what it will be rather than the artists forcing something to immerge.  Going with the flow can lead to unexpected surprises and new creations.  The discussion went well even though I had to prod them along to come up with reasons why the plaster didn’t dry, cracked or fell apart or the rubber mold warped.  I used a student’s warped rubber mold and original clay model to further discuss how we as artists can listen to our artwork and let it lead the way to a final composition.  Basically, what can we do with it now that it looks like this?  Start over with a block of plaster and carve it?  Continue the original process and clean out the left over clay, cast it in plaster and see what we get and go from there?  We looked at the new shape that was made when the rubber mold shrank and warped.  It actually appeared to reinforce the shape of a bird face, which is what the student had originally designed but in relief.