matanuki

After several failed starts, I finally have the surface material planned out in an effective way. Initially I intended to stretch the fabric over a wireframe that preserved the hard flat edges of my design, then treat it with a chemical stiffener. But after failing to get anything resembling a hard edge using tape and wire, I stumbled onto the pleasing natural curves that appear when the surface is stretched tightly. Using staples, I was able to apply the surface in an unobtrusive, non-permanent way.

I tried out three fabrics as a potential surface material–Pellon JAS Interfacing, Pellon Easy-Knit Fusible, and a generic white chiffon. The JAS Interfacing was cheap, thin, and responded well to the stiffening liquid, but shared more properties with paper than cloth and tore easily under stress. The chiffon was durable, received light well, and had a very tight knit but at $8/yd was too expensive and difficult to work with. I ended up going with the Easy-Knit Fusible, which is slightly off-white but has a very stretchy, strong weave that creates a tight projection surface without bankrupting me in the process.

To reinforce the surface and ensure it retained its form, I planned on chemically treating it with a fabric stiffener. I conducted a spot test with commercial stiffener versus a mixture of Elmer’s glue and water (another method) on all three fabrics, and results were relatively positive for the commercial stiffener. However, during the test I had applied it to saturation against a flat surface. When I finally finished stretching the cloth over the wood frame, I tried to apply the liquid onto the freestanding cloth, with dripped and streaked horribly. I ended up peeling the ruined surface off and trying AGAIN, this time without the stiffener.

After a series of poorly measured cuts and a bit of cursing, I was able to create a serviceable prototype for the final surface design.  I marked and removed the cloth from the form, and am now working up a cutting pattern that will ensure clean, identical pieces for each of the six arms of the sculpture.