Finally, one piece that worked

This has to be one of the hardest challenges I have had over the last 5-8 years, embedding images consistently into durable objects. Consistently is the linchpin here as I've gotten on piece to work here or there, but always find a way to confuse the products and process to where it doesn't repeat itself. The exposure to the chemicals like Epoxy and polyester resins don't necessarily help my efforts, but they keep me confused enough that I just keep trying. I don't consider it passion, so much as surprising that I haven't settled on a process after so much time. Admittedly I keep raising the bar on my standards and switching materials in order to get a maximum effect at a reasonable cost. As the learning curve for the materials I am using keeps me switching things it just takes more time than I have to get to a logical conclusion with a final product. Ifeel like I am my a Research and Development department for my company, but at the same time I have to run my business and keep my wife and 3 kids happy.

Today's point is that I got one piece to work on something that almost resembles a product. I used Epoxy resin, pigmented with Fillite and Iron Steel atomized powder, with digital print and a back coating of gold that almost looks like a true gold foil, but it was a mixed bronzing powder with a basic Acrylic medium. The bond to the epoxy was 100% and the image is as embeded as it could be, not a sticker or laminate, but a bonded flush 2-color image that bleeds into the black epoxy. I don't think this one is water proof, so I still have a ways to go, but as I previously noted, this ain't easy.

The funny thing is that the back of this small piece, an ipod shaped christmas ornament, looks better on the back than the front. Since I have so little faith in any of these samples being an actual product, I often play with the casting and do something stupid to make sure it won't look complete. This technique is the genius of my creativity as these incidental mistakes and modifications are always the way a new generation of the process is born. My latest silliness has me sticking left-over images on the back of the epoxy while it is setting up. The problems I used to have with air bubbles have vanished in my newest test, which is why I stopped applying images to the top of epoxy in the past, and these images actually look better in some ways than the images that I am doing all this work to make appear embedded.

The problem with the floating images is that the tops of the image have a thin plastic veneer, which is only negative because I know it is there. The average person would not care or give a shit about this, in fact, they may like the shiny coat that the plastic surface provides. The fact that I hate this so much is all the more reason why it is probably the right way to go. If I keep in mind that the idea is to have a reasonably priced item that is consistently easy to make then I have found it with this technique, I just don't want to admit it, but it is true. My last batch of castings all have a back image and it was hardly any more work at all. I've started embedding magnets with these castings so the a magent will be now be embedded into the iphone shape too, but I have to wait until tomorrow to see if it bonds adequetly or if it sinks into the epoxy and gets lost in the resin. Still it may be funny if there is a magnet embedded below the surface and it may even help a second magnet stay on to the piece too. Manyana.

Vicious Cycle

It seems I am testing the same products over and over, but somehow I know it is different this time. I have several more specific ideas in mind when I move forward, but each time I change a substrate or a pigment I tend to get different results. As I test more my control of the environment gets better and often the test that I did on a product earlier, do not seem to apply any longer, so I then need to start over with the same products again and again. Currently I am rediscovering epoxy as my main casting medium because it is durable, strong, waterproof and finished looking when mixed with the right fillers and pigments. I strength is the more important factor as a set epoxy can withstand physical shocks better than most cement and gypsum based plaster products. The smell of epoxy is not as strong as polyester resins and epoxy does not shrink like polyester resins do, so there are fewer problems with warping in the final pieces. The bonding of epoxy to images also seems to be more consistent than with the gypsum plaster products, polyester resins and cements, especially when I use acrylic paints.

This is where I am currently analyzing my products for the most affordable and superior way to embed images into epoxy. Earlier I was casting objects, painting them with a variety of pigments and methods and then coating the reinforced pieces with coats of clear epoxy to give them an exterior strength and finished looking surface. The extended production time wore me down pretty fast, not to mention the additional cost and problems that are associated with clear coating things and trying to make them smooth and clean. By acquiring some epoxy paint and attempting to print with it my systems were available to simply cast with pigmented epoxy to begin with and surprisingly the results appear to be promising.

Image a thin veneer of epoxy with the image cast in the pigment, either by screen printing or by impregnating the veneer with acrylic. Depending on the mold I have been able to get a variety of finishes from glossy to matt using epoxy and by directly putting the images into the epoxy I have made a seemingly durable surface that does not need a thick coat of clear epoxy to protect it as the protection is in the pigmented veneer to begin with. The jury is still out if acrylic mixed into epoxy has a more durable surface than simply acrylic on it's own, but in my mind the acrylic can wear away over time with extreme weathering and a relief would be created where an image otherwise would have been. I know this is a projection without any evidence, but I am basing this on the sense that somehow the epoxy is merging with the acrylic otherwise there would be no bond at all between the two materials.

Currently I have three different acrylic bases set in epoxy to see if there are any variations between the materials. I have already had good success with one of the acrylics so that is the control acrylic to compare the other less expensive acrylics to. One of the acrylics has a polyvinyl acetate in it's chemistry, so I am not sure if it will provide a decent bond with epoxy and I anticipate that acrylic to have the least success. Nonetheless I am moving forward with using this acrylic because it is thicker and it wouldn't be the first time I was surprised if it turns out to be a good paint.

All made up, but nothing to be

Sensibly speaking I've gotten to an almost finished state with super durable materials, mostly epoxy mixed with pigments, and I am not sure what to make of it. I've been mixing a flexible epoxy that pops out of my molds and has a nice top finish, but the brick wall things I make can only go so far in that they are heavy wall hangings and not too practical for modern living. What I am most happy about is that I do not feel I have to provide a finish coating on these castings and there isn't much that can damage the image since it is made from pigment and epoxy.

My latest experiments have been to make a thin print using acrylic and then by pouring the epoxy behind the print I get a decent bond between the expoxy and the arcrylic which allows the image to carry into the final piece. The top layer then appears to be resiliant and flat so that it could be used as a table without applying another clear coat of epoxy which increases my handling time. Also I have been reinforcing the back with gypsum cement and wire mesh to add some strength to the pieces. while also laying down a silicon mold to make the back uneven in case another layer of reinforcement is added later.

The point of all this is that I have a one big step, 24 hour cure time, solid yet flat piece that can withstand weathering and a good beat down. I put two identical pieces outside to allow them to weather, but I don't expect much to happen quickly, so now I am forced to think of more things I can make with this technique before I get bored at staring at them not eroding. I don't really have a product to make besides the tables and some sort of shrine, but the more I think about it the more I realize that there isn't really anything that people want that I can make.

I can reduce my cost now that I think I have a single step process and don't have to go through extensive finishing processes, but it doesn't help just to make things cheaper. If I am just going to make cheap things I can stick to t-shirts which is what I am trying to get away from. If nothing else I can now relax about the concepts I've been playing with and go back to my day job to make some money. I love the idea of making a house out of these bricks, now that they are resiliant, and fitting together a montage that is interchangable.

The other idea that keeps popping into my head is that these pieces could be used to build a fortress quickly, somewhere like at the Occupy protest, to keep the cops from tearing down the structure like they have been doing in Portland and Oakland. For example a group of 50 people could each carry a brick and then stand side by side stacking them and make a quick wall that could be used as a temporary structure. Or the individual pieces could be used as shields, yet still be justified as a free speech tool.

Blog Whore

I may be a blog whore, but I love this blog the most. I have started posting on a new blog at http://site.yque.com/word using a wordpress format. It does not mean that I am abandoning this blog, but frankly the world has abandoned blogs so it may not really matter. Blogging has been reduced to a primitive form of communication and it's usefulness may be the same as a diary, for personal use only. The format here is simple, which I like, but it may be too simple to allow for growth. I think of this place as a rambling technical jargon world where I can mumble while I drink about epoxy, resins and other fast setting materials. It is the dream world of magic that lies in the chemicals that are pigmented and toned into something that may resemble something else and it is here that I can transliterate the intent.

I am challenged by the newer tools, like facebook and twitter, "Why?", I say. "Why?" Do people not know how to make web pages, but they have to rely on 3rd party software to organize their lives. FTS (FUCK THAT SHIT) if that is not already an acronym. I don't see any benefits to the limitations that exist in a pre-organized format for social relationships in th digital world. I don't have a valid reason why it isn't good, but I don't have a reason why it is good either. It is like I can't be personal if I feel that I am literally in a pre-formatted So check out http://site.yque.com/word because I won't be posting here quite as often.

Hidden Values have no Value - Epoxy Clear Coating takes away the texture effects

The riddle, hidden values have no value, means that many of the processes I have used to get to my final product are now ending up being hidden under a layer of epoxy, which provides a great finish. I have been doing casting with resin and plaster and printing using vinyl and acrylics which have come together as a finished rectangular framed pieces. Although I have built walls with these framed frescoes as I call them, because of the plaster, but when I fit several frames together I have been able to make small tables that look ikea like modern. The effect that makes them seem useful as a table is the final coat of epoxy, as a clear coat, and this also works to smooth out the top surface. Once this clear coat of epoxy is applied, then all of the effects of the raised plaster and printing as flattened into the base.

The flat effect of the table top means that all of the work I have put into the fresco under the epoxy seems wasted. I could just as easily printed out a picture and pasted it to the top of the frame and gotten the same effect. I can tell there is something going on underneath the epoxy, but I don't think anyone else would really care. I do think over the long haul, 20-50-100 years, the benefits of the plaster under the epoxy will hold up to any exposure to elements and to long term exposure to UV, better than a print out of a piece of paper would. Actually, I am not sure that the durability comment is even true since to destroy the paper you would have to go through the epoxy.

The few benefits of the photo fresco versus the decoupage technique is that the epoxy bonds quickly to the plaster, whereas paper seems to unevenly absorb some of the epoxy and it can create inconsistencies in the appearance of the underlying work. I have been resigning myself to consider each thing as totally different and simply moving forward with making as many clear coated pieces as I can using print outs just to get more finished work out there. I just have a hard time breaking down and doing things that way as I love the process that the screen casting photo frescoes create. Fact is the decoupage technique will help me clear out my old screens sooner and that is the biggest issue since I have so many screens left over from my years doing t-shirt printing jobs.

Recently I have been using larger frames for the photo fresco prints and this is very satisfying work as I can place a photo image in the center and build a brick wall pattern around the photo, then later cast in the plaster or duracal, tinted to be the color of brick, and this provides a pattern background that gives the feeling that the photo is on a wall, literally. I haven't clear coated one of these larger pieces yet, but I have been buying one frame a week to do this with and so far this is my favorite wall hanging type of work because of the size and the fact that the photo is not the main element. Also these frames already have two holes drilled into them and are quite thin, so I feel that as a frame it can present itself without having to be adorned with additional wood or finish work.

I have been reinforcing these larger pieces on the back with acrylic and burlap, so I also feel I could use these pieces to build a wall with the backside being the interior part of a structure. The exterior part of the piece has all the character of a plaster wall and I think they could hold up under some severe exposure to UV, rain and whatever else may come the way of our mild, but wet winters in Northern California. The point of this is that as long as I focus my photo fresco attention on these larger pieces, it might free me up to make more of the decoupage type pieces and not worry about the fresco techniques that are not realized with my current methods.

What if all the things I tried before worked now?

Generations have passed since I have last posted. There is an Ipod 5 out now. There is a new recession, possibly even a new President. Also there have been several new developments in my photo-fresco endeavors.

Except for all the technical stuff, one newer change is that I have started using some of my own photos for the content. The images are not as iconic as some of the famous people and symbolic shapes that I usually hack together, but in some sense this has added a personal touch to my work. I will discuss the relevance to my photographic and screenprinting edeavors later.

Secondly I have reintroduced the idea of making the final pieces into tables. I tried this earlier, but didn't like doing all of the finish work required to make a table work and be flat. I have since simplified the process and am using aluminum frames that bolt together nicely. These aluminum frames come from my screenprinting work, so they are recycled, but they also add a modular elegance, sort of modern looking and strong.

Thirdly, I have found ways to keep the brick wall concept in this work. By working on larger pieces I can suspend the photographic print image in the center while finishing a brick pattern around the graphic, thus making the piece fell like a photo made into, or pasted onto a brick wall. Most recently I have started finishing the smaller pieces to the edge of the rectangular frame with red plaster, thinking of each smaller piece as a brick itself, that does not require the grout pattern of an entire wall. This may force me to work more with horizontal images for the smaller work with the idea of placing them into larger walls.

Finally I have merged all of my materials in a way that baffles me, but it works. Screen printing inks, gypsum plaster, acrylic gesso, burlap canvas, silicon molds, wire mesh stencils and clear epoxy. Each piece does not require all of these, but together they make what I am calling photo-fresco. I have been considering the use of the work screen-casting as some of the pieces are filled with plaster and in a sense they are castings, but the photo-fresco phrase seems to have a sensible meaning.

I now have a wall, but what next?

I took my portable brick wall to Los Angeles and set it up in the back of Y-Que Trading Post in Los Feliz, Hollywood, California. It is discreet and blends in with the back of the store. This piece does not cry out, LOOK AT ME!, but is more of an I Am Here With You type of thing. It is not definite, yet it is solid. There are objects to focus upon, but they are not the totality. In fact I cannot even say that I can define the wall except in pieces, and then that does not work because the wall pieces will change over time. Whenever someone mentions it in my presence I try to draw them to the back to look at the infrastructure, which is of no concern to most. I feel I may have gone somewhere with this piece and where it is seems important, in that I have lifted the cement of Hollywood 90 degrees to a vertical position. There are the Hollywood Stars, which are on the ground and people walk on them and are forced to look down. Also there is Gromann's Chinese Theatre which has imprints and signatures in cement, but again it is horizontal and people step upon the work and must look down to see the work. The potential for my new work is to bring into wall form similar symbols that are culturally relevant, through the media, but give these characters that cry out for respect and meaning a new way to be entombed. I am hesitant to push celebrity images into my wall, but this may be necessary to give it cultural meaning. Thank gosh I have so many mugshots of celebrities that I can work with to push this idea. I am currently restrained by the amount of time I can devote to my side projects, but if I consider what is important with my work I can find the time to fill more space with photo fresco brick images. I am also considering a brick sticker campaign, for but marketing reasons. My time is the summer and projects are what I do, so something that won't get me thrown in jail for vandalism is workable and stickers are just not a convictable offense.