Small Object Making class: start at the beginning:

• Sculpture at Tafe

Continuing with the experimenting with materials we have to do for Tafe, I came up with this mad idea and was very surprised at how well it worked… One of our final projects for the class is to come up with some kind of bowl inspired design. It doesn’t have to be functional or long lasting, and needs to be small enough to put on a mantelpiece.

Fresh rose petals from my garden, plus a fine needle and white cotton thread:

Isn’t it gorgeous? Incredibly fiddly and tricky, the petals tear easily and have to be sewn very very gently with short lengths of thread.

It’s lovely like that but won’t last long, it will wilt, then dry out and become incredibly brittle. So, I decided to crystallise it. That involves painting it gently with egg white inside and out, then powdering with fine sugar, propping on paper and gently drying it out in the oven.

I’m really stoked that something so far out worked so well!

It’s really delicate and lovely. I want to try again with a larger bowl, and also experiment with different ways of preserving it and see how it works. The sugar somewhat disguises the stitching which is a shame, it’s quite a feature of the work. More experiments to come!