Woven Experiment No.63 - Double alternating Clove Hitch

Woven Experiment No.63 - Double alternating Clove Hitch in wax thread using 6mm wax as an anchor cord.
The results are very neat, but how they might apply to a more 3d shape I’m not sure. Onwards with more experiments. #wax #macrame #art

Weaving on a Plaster Core, the results so far

So far the results of the three weaves on plaster have been varied and have created more problems than solving them. Heres some of the problems I have encountered:

1. The lack of the visible negative space has meant it is very difficult to view the effect of the sculpture.

2. The plaster core is heavy and is mounted on a cross plate. The piece can be spun around but only on one axis and I have gotten so used to be able to turn my pieces in any direction to allow the weave to flow across the surface.

3. The underside of the sculpture sags so to prevent this happening each piece has to be bound with strips of plastic to prevent movement. Alternate fixing is using lengths of waxed thread but I am concerned about over using the thread incase it prevents a clean burn out at the next stage of the lost wax casting.

4. Using a thick guide line works well at the beginning of the weaving process to mark out the shape you wish to create with your weave, but when you need to anchor the main weave to the guide it requires a degree of give which it doesn’t have. If the guide line was first applied with ample room for anchoring the later weaving then this would solve the problem, but it creates another as the guide line would simply fall off the plaster core.

Does this method of solid core casting need to have a core of plaster?

Can the core be added at a later stage and a more flexible light weight core be used?

Woven Experiment No.59 Oval woven form with a side split

Woven Experiment No.59 Oval woven form with a side split

The second experiment using a solid core of plaster, this time carved into an oval shape. Two guide lines of 6mm wax bands were first placed onto the oval and held in place with waxed thread and finally a weld with molten wax.

The form was then covered with layers of crochet leaving two slits down either side of the oval.

The weave went on more easily this time as I worked the top first, then turned over the form and placed it in my lap to add wax to the underside. This allowed me to work without worrying about the other side slipping off, but the heat from my lap softened the wax and the wax beca to flatten a little. 

To remedy this I created a soft box which the sculpture could be placed into whilst I worked the underside using a box filled with polystyrene chipping and a layer of bubble wrap. The wax didn’t soften this time but it still continued to flatten.

The resulting woven form has a more successful weave application, but I don’t think the 6mm bands welded together are working to well aesthetically, maybe there is a neater method of creating the guide lines.