Silver Screen Research pt 1

 Funny thing is, whenever I heard silver screen be mentioned to me as a material, I never really understood what it meant. I got it confused with silk screen and thought that silver screen was used for silk screening-who knows what I thought. So, this is where I began. After meeting the artist Elle Hendrickson, and seeing what they have made with silverscreen, I became pretty entranced with the process. They did briefly explain that silverscreen is what is used to make the lines on our road reflective and that it uses tiny glass beads... But did I understand how they used it? - absolutely not. 

So, essentially, you can buy paint with silverscreen already mixed into it and it has a ton of uses. That's not what I want though. You can also buy the glass beads themselves, which I found to be surprisingly particular. Sites that sell the beads list their many specs with anything over 1.93 being sought after because it means it is the most reflective. These sites are also arguing their case for each bead to be a near perfect sphere. Mind you, these beads make up a powder-like substance. So, why how spherical a spec of dust is would matter-who knows, but its a big deal.

For my case, I will aim for getting beads that are over a 1.93 reflective index, but from there I'm going to aim for the cheapest option no matter the spherical state of the beads.

I really enjoy using oil paint, so I researched how these glass beads can be compatible with this medium. If the beads are mixed directly into the paint, the beads will just get covered in the paint, and you won't be able to see their reflective quality, but it will add texture to the paint, which is fun. You can use transparent paints so that you can kind of see the beads and get a nice texture at the same time, which is great. You can also sprinkle the beads on top of the paint to make the piece super reflective, which is fantastic. 

I researched this method because I will be implementing this into my physical piece that is accompanying my abstract video.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Introduction to my Capstone

I welcome, with an artist statement…           My work investigates the emotional and atmospheric language of architecture. Through photography, video, and multi-media processes, I explore how built environments shape perception, memory, and behavior. I am particularly interested in the difference in comprehension between spaces we inhabit daily and those that are spatially and experientially removed from our everyday lives.           In my photographic practice, I often remove the human figure from the frame. By doing so, I allow structures, surfaces, and light to carry emotion independently. I am drawn to architecture not as static form, but as an active presence – something that regulates us quietly and persistently. We are inseparable from the environments that shape us, yet we rarely step outside of them long enough to recognize their influence. When spatially removed from a place, like photographing London rather than Lo...
Read more

Experimentation with Glass Beads

Image
 While adding to my physical painting, I experimented with different ways to apply glass beads that I had bought for this project. Initially, I knew I wanted some sculpted elements in the piece, but I didn't know exactly what I was going to sculpt or with what. One day in my painting class, the professor brought in some roofing tar. Other oil painters have used it before as a base for their shadows. But, since it was a very thick substance, I tried to sculpt with it. I sculpted some hands in a sign language position that meant "reflect". My plan was to paint over these hands that looked like poop smeared on a piece of paper at this point, but the tar never dried completely. So that option was scratched. My next experiment was how I was going to work with these glass beads. At first, I mixed them with a transparent oil paint, and the beads had a nice look to them, however, they were hard to move around, they couldn't be stacked, they took way too long to dry and they j...
Read more