Southwell inspiration

i started to look into installations for inspiration that i could apply to my own, i wanted to focus on use of objects and installations that could be freestanding or something that i could take an aspect from.

i really like the use of frames because when we were at the workhouse it was said that the inmates were stripped of their identity when they came to the workhouse and feel that a frame is quite representative of this. i really like the use of multiple objects or repetition of things.

I also like the possibility of being able to use light within the piece.

Southwell workhouse first visit

Southwell workhouse is a very interesting building, i really like that its rooms have no furniture in because this allows us to have quite open spaces for the installations. i was looking for open spaces that i could have an installation in that  would be fairly free standing because it would be fairly difficult to have anything on the walls or to be able to suspend something. i really like the rooms that are in the older section because you can see the original layers of paint and there is more of a sense of the people within the rooms.

Puppetry workshop-making the body

The body needs to be worked in multiple parts, this is worked out from the front and profile drawings. The arms and legs are made in two parts and the rest is work as the torso and the pelvis. The parts are cut out in the same way as the head, the side and front view is marked out onto the styrofoam and cut round using the bandsaw.

After all the parts are cut out they need to be shaped using rasps and sand paper this allows us to work the parts into the right shape that would match the natural body shape of a person and also allowing us to allow the parts to move as needed for example making sure the knees and elbows to bend as appropriate.

Once all the parts have been shaped correctly they need to be joined using small blocks of wood and webbing. Firstly slots need to be cut into the ends of the parts of the limbs for the small blocks of wood to fit into, the webbing needs to be glued to the blocks and this is what creates the joints.

On the last day of the workshop i had joined the limbs together, started carving the head and made one hand. I know need to finish the torso and join all the parts together, finish the head and make the other hand.

Puppetry workshop-making the hand

For the hand again we needed to have a profile and a front view of the hand in the right position, i chose to go for a neutral position because i don't know as of yet what the puppet will express with the hands but most of the actions will involve neutral hands for the most part. The fingers are then worked separately, this involves cutting them out individually shaping them and then gluing them together in the right position. Both hands are worked the same one will be a reflection of the other.

Puppetry workshop-making the head

To start off with the head we needed to have a scale drawing of what we wanted the head to look like, i based mine of what i believed one of the feminist society look like based on listening to the radio section that i transcribed. I put together a drawing using a few images rather than just basing it on one person in particular at the moment. From the drawing we traced the front and profile views which we then cut out and traced around onto a block of styrofoam which we cut out using the bandsaw.

You have to ensure that you keep referring back to the original drawing to ensure that you get features in the correct positions and at the right depths within the Styrofoam, the face is carved using large knives at first then once you have a shape established you work with a scalpel for the smaller details and begin to carve away the features and work into the face making sure things are at the right depth.

Everyday sexism puppetry project

For this project we will construct a puppetry verbatim play formed from interviews and stories that we will carry out and gather. The transcription of which we will then edit to form a script and this will be perform with the puppets that we will make based on some of the people that we interviewed.