Thursday 11th September – The penultimate day of In:Site 14

Another sunny start, we have been so lucky this year! Abigail Heath was the first to arrive in Cathedral Square on the penultimate day of In:Site14. A BA Ceramics graduate from Cardiff School of Art, Abigail set up her workshop in a tranquil, shaded area of the park to create her plaster sculptures directly on her chosen tree.

Abigail uses adapted patterned socks, which she has cut and re-sewn with various other patterned materials as her casting moulds.

Once filled, Abigail rushed up a ladder to drape the quickly hardening plaster over the limbs of the trees. Once set the plaster forms are then carefully removed and the fabric peeled off, ready to be used again. The resulting plaster forms retain the texture and patterns of the woven materials and in some cases the colour of the dye too.

Abigail has only previously worked in cylindrical forms previously and had to overcome a number of unforeseen hurdles to successfully create her draped forms in the branches of the trees.

The final pieces looked like strange ripe fruit dripping from the tree. the unsuccessful broken attempts transformed with a careful sanding, lay on the ground emulating over ripe windfall.

The second of Artist of the day Amy Peace-Buzzard is yet another of Birmingham School of Jewellery’s Continued Collective graduates.

Amy worked under a gazebo right in the busy centre of the Square, through out what became a blisteringly hot day. Amy created scaled up versions of her jewellery, using a silicon and wax hybrid to form ethereal open ended boxes which appeared to be the most delicate objects, but were surprisingly robust.

Amy made a large interlocking framework onto which she attached her fluttering forms to in small clusters. Once finished, her piece joined the others from her collective.

More members of the Continued Collective worked with members of the public, helping them to finish the colourful garland of links they started on Tuesday.

Stefanie Cheong continued with members of Shelanu to encourage participants to make the most sophisticated pieces of jewellery from offcuts and found objects, transformed with gold leaf and her impressive array of jewellery findings.