Sunday, 7 January 2018

On the 9th day of Christmas…

… this blogger gave to thee…
 … nine resin paintings…
… eight endings too soon…
… seven shoes to choose from…
… six party dresses…
… five gold rings…
… four living hinges…
… three books for reading…
… two felted tooties…
… and a day Binging with Babish.

For some people, they get joy and relaxation from watching ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos of soft sounds and whispers, some like watching paint being mixed or fresh slime being touched. Some people like compilations of kittens, puppies, babies, nail art, lip swatches and makeup being destroyed.

It gives us that satisfying happy feeling without any naughtiness (unless you’re into that too, no judgement!).

For me, I like watching lots of different videos, I’ve said before I could watch makeup tutorials until the cows came home, but equally I find myself getting trapped in a loop watching craft videos. It’s probably because that’s what I do, but I love watching other people making things, and one of those people is Peter Brown. Peter Brown is primarily a woodworker and wood turner, so I enjoy watching his videos turning bowls out of wood, pencils, resin encased odds and ends because I like the idea of trying to use a lathe again, having spent a large portion of my final undergraduate year using one as part of my design work. But, Brown also likes to delve into other crafts and particularly seems to enjoy using resin.

Resin – another material I used a lot in the past – is a finicky two part liquid acrylic which you have to be incredibly precise when it comes to measuring because, since it relies on a chemical reaction, can go very wrong when miss measured, you’re additives have side effects or you mix it too much or too little. I like resin, but there is no love lost between us thanks to inaccurate measuring, slate/marble powder and bubbles. Oh, the bubbles!

Resin, you may have guessed, is the subject of day nine, and while Brown’s own creations in poured resin art inspired by Just Resin, don’t feature up front, I have included two videos of his in the playlist because he gives good instructions on how to do it, whilst learning how to do it himself. There’s a definite watch one, teach one attitude and he makes you laugh whilst doing so.


I’m not planning on saying too much about the individual designers, this is more about showcasing the technique of acrylic pour painting and the beautiful designs that can be achieved through a relatively simple process.
'Commission'
by Just Resin

This subject was inspired by Just Resin, who I found thanks to Peter Brown’s experimenting, however Tara Bach, AylaniDesigns (Etsy), Guy Lougashi, Shanpyatt Art and AntuanELLE (Etsy) are all here because when I searched for examples, they were the ones that I was most attracted too.

'Genesis' 
by Deborah O'Loughlin of AylaniDesigns

'18kt Gold '
by Tara Bach

They’re organic, both in the actual process of pouring and the finished artwork. Summoning up the appearance of agate slices, galaxies, moons and water, a lot of the outcome is down to the colours you choose and the initial pattern you pour.

'Untitled' 
by Guy Lougashi via Shanpyatt Art*
'Bliss Bomb'
by Deborah O'Loughlin of AylaniDesigns

Batches of resin and separated out and individually coloured in preparation. They’re then poured in swirls or layered pools and then the board is tilted to encourage the resin to move towards the edges of painting, the colours allowed to blend together to greater or lesser degrees. More and more layers of resin being poured on top, bringing back definition where it is needed and adding more colour where it’s wanted.
'New Life by Adam'
by Just Resin
'Yellow Orchid '
by Marie Antuanelle of AntuanELLE Designs

As the patterns begin to emerge, another tool is implement, a heat gun or blowtorch is used to warm the resin, encourage bubbles to come to the surface, which drags pigment up through the layers of colour. The force of the heat hitting liquid surface makes it ripple, pushing the pigments around like oil on water, creating edges and fine streaks.
'Zephyr' 
by Just Resin
'Liquid Light' 
by Just Resin 

There’s something hypnotic about watching the pour patterns change and shift just using gravity and a little heat.  The translucence of the resin base making them look like layered glass when they’re fully cured. Waiting for resin to cure is the worst part. After eight hours, you can risk touching it, but that could leave finger prints, marks, dust and debris on the surface if you’re not careful. After twenty-four hours you’ve reached the hard cure stage, it should definitely be safe to touch the resin by now, but it can take up to seventy-two hours to reach fully cured, so long as your measurements were correct right at the very start.  Get it wrong and you can get a sticky, non-curing mess.

I haven’t honestly used resin for a few years, and the main project I used it on, I thought I’d got the measurements right, but was slightly off, meaning I ended up with spongy resin (mixed with slate and marble powders) which took far longer to cure than I needed as I panicked about deadlines. Will I use resin again? Absolutely. But I’m buying better scales first!

When I said at the start measurement accuracy was key, I wasn’t kidding. If you want to use two part resin, get good scales, ones that go up accurately, 0.1 grams at a time, so whether you’re working on a large scale like this, or miniature scale, you can get a good start.

And get gloves. Lots of gloves. Read the instructions, multiple times, don’t play fast and loose with those. Work somewhere you don’t mind getting messy, put down something flat, or make a box or tray just for resin and keep everything nice and contained. Open the windows and keep your space ventilated. Wear a mask to avoid fumes and, also if you have to sand your work (you have to in jewellery all the time in my experience), so you don’t inhale the dust. It’s bad for you. But let’s assume if you’re going to try this, or resin in general, you’re going to have done your research and taken the precautions.

Nod and agree. Okay, great, now if you ignore all of that, it’s not my fault.


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Part ten tomorrow or there about…
(… twelfth night, decorations down and three days adrift. It could be worst!)


* Note: These are the only names I can find associated with this image, and I believe it’s Lougashi’s work, however I’m not 100% sure. So I’m pointing out both.)


Link || Just Resin | Website | YouTube | Instagram
Link || AntuanELLE Design (Marie Antuanelle) | Etsy | Pinterest | Blue Thumb
Link || Guy Lougashi | Website | Facebook
Link || Shanpyatt Art | Instagram | Pinterest (Image)
Link || Aylani Designs (Deborah O’Loughlin) | Etsy | BlueThumb
Link || Tara Bach | Instagram | Pinterest (Image)


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Listening: Stand By Me - Ki: Theory

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