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Beanbag Bench

     In order to take my Jeanbag to another outdoor location I decided to make a bench which fixes around a lamp post and supports the beanbag which is thrown over the top. In order to do this I routed the wood and fixed together the wooden bench with old chair legs to support it off the ground. This was cut in half so the two sections for around the lamp post.
     I then took the pieces outside and displayed them appropriately. I like the idea of this being a public artwork so I left the piece in a busy park area outside the Playhouse and recorded the public viewing and sitting on the bench piece. The photos are below.

Routed wood into circle

 Sanded for quality finish

 Pillar drilled old chair legs

 Routed centre out and cut in half

 Drilled piece to join two halves

 Screwed chair legs onto bench

 Completed underside of bench

 Public sitting on bench

 Sitting on bench

 Person reading book

 View of bench in park location

 Comfortable

 Relaxing on Jeanbag bench

 People came and sat on bench

Bench in park with people using it

'Rest Work Play Shop Dream Connect' Exhibition, Stew Gallery

           For the exhibition ‘Rest Work Play Shop Dream Connect’ at the Stew Gallery, Norwich, I created a sculpture entitled ‘Flowerbed’. With the size restraints of 40x40cm and the theme from the ‘Location’ project, the context of furniture, I decided to use miniature furniture to create my sculpture. I used a dolls house sized double bed which I reassembled with more volume to hold a flower, a Thyme plant. In order to add flowers I used tiny paper roses which I entwined into the plant so that it looked like it was flowering. (It is not the right time of year to buy flowering plants)

Flowerbed was inspired by a larger scale work I created with real bed posts that I positioned amongst the flowers in my garden. Therefore I think the miniature version was an appropriate model for the space available. The larger version played on the idea of bringing the bed into a new context of a garden, but the miniature version was the reverse of this, putting the flowers in the bed, in the setting of a miniature bedroom which I created. In order to tie the miniature sculpture and the larger one together, I included a small picture on the wall of the model bedroom of the real bed sculpture which was in my garden.

            Of all of the sections in the exhibition I decided my work fitted best in ‘Rest’ zone. This is because of the function of a bed although the pun means that there is a comical twist on the sculptural piece. The title ‘Flowerbed’ which is spelt the same as flowers in a section of garden also emphasises the pun. This sculptural play on words could be linked to the foot stool which I upholstered for the ‘Clarify’ project, as I stuffed socks in order to create the impression of feet on a foot stool. This work was one of my most effective pieces from the Clarify project so I feel that the Flowerbed is a positive progression from this.

            For the display of my Flowerbed piece, I initially felt that a plinth would be the most effective. This would be positioned against the wall so that the miniature picture and curtains could create a small model of a bedroom alongside the flowerbed. In order to experiment with other possibilities for display, I considered hanging the piece with fishing wire. Although this may not require a plinth, I felt this would not be as secure and it would be more difficult to keep the pieces in the correct position. Finally I created a small shelf platform to support the bed and chair. When I positioned them together it was not as sturdy and I was not happy with the way it looked, as it was almost hovering in mid air. Back to my initial idea I decided that the work definitely looked most effective on the plinth, so I painted this a crisp white for the most professional look. I also did a coat of cream paint on the top surface of the plinth. This meant that the items looked like they were in a bedroom setting with a carpet or painted floor rather than blending in to the white plinth.

            Overall I am pleased with my work for this exhibition. I feel that looking at my work as it is displayed I am glad that I took the time to carefully consider the best ways to make and display the piece.

Below are photos of my final piece of work, preparation of the gallery space and the private view.

 Preparing Gallery Space

 Painted Plinth

 Fixed Work to Wall

 Experimented With Display

 Shelf Display

 Final Display of Work

 Gallery Space

 Other Students Work

 My Dog Cards for Sale

 Private View

 Guests Viewing Exhibition

 Close up of 'Flowerbed'

 Private View

 Exhibition Guide

Visitors Viewing My Work

Beanbag Swing in Tree

    In order to experiment with different locations for my work in this unit I have also displayed the beanbag swing in a tree in a public grass area beside the river in Norwich. The piece could be weather proofed for permanent use in this tree or the metal frame could remain and the fabric beanbag be placed in the frame when required. In order to protect the tree, I used old clothing to prevent pressure on the branch. Below are pictures of my swing.

 Hanging swing in tree

 Tying securely

 Positioned beanbag in frame

 Cone.

 Swinging

 Side view, comfy swing

 Other people to test the swing

Fun swing

Swing displayed at park

     Here are photos of my beanbag swing which I displayed at a park in Norwich. The beanbag swing worked well on the existing swing frame although a park may not be the best place for the beanbag as it is not weather proof.

 Putting up swing

 Front View

 Top View

View of park

Flower Bed

     Whilst rummaging for inspiration in the loft, I came across some pieces of old bunk bed, which I decided could be used to make a sculpture. For this piece I simply positioned the two pieces of bed opposite each other amongst the flowers in my garden, to make a 'flowerbed'. Clever eh. I thought so. ;)
     This work plays on the idea of location as beds are not typically located in the garden, although it is also a play on words so the location is quite appropriate.
     The photos are below

  

Beanbag Swing

     As a follow on from the 'Clarify' project, where I focused on my strength, textiles, I have been working on the location of the textiles work for my Location project. My jeans beanbag (Jeanbag) was my favourite piece from the Clarify project and I am creating ways for that and other works to be used in a new location.  
    The first creation is a swing, which consists of a welded frame - my first welding attempt, which supports the doughnut beanbag and can be hung from various locations. I rolled the metal rods, welded them, angle grinded any rough edges, filed, painted and painted again before hanging the swing in my garage to test it. The photos of this process are below.

 Measured the rolled steel hoops for welding

 Angle grinded the steel bars to get better surface area to weld

 Positioned pieces ready to weld

 Welding

 Electric sanding to remove splashes of weld and smooth welds

 Base coat of paint

 Coat of blue paint to blend in with denim beanbag

 Hung frame in garage to test, used 6mm climbing rope

 Beanbag hanging in frame

 Testing of beanbag swing

 Testing of beanbag swing

 Testing of beanbag swing

 Handy pockets to hold phone!

 Covered roped with jeans for aesthetics

     Base view of beanbag