tara flanagan. artist.

fine art appreciator, knowledge collector and all round deep thinker

[taraflanagan-artist]

Finishing my quilt and installing it as a children’s den

[taraflanagan-artist]

Installing the den

At first I used just fishing wire to hold the quilt up, however it became apparent that it needed some more support. I therefore opted to use large buttons on the underside of the quilt. I threaded the fishing wire through the button and back out the top. These then helped to support the quilt from the underside whilst it was suspended.

I chose to use pegs to hold the quilt in place as I wanted the den to be authentic to childhood. These didn’t h old the structure well enough so I stitched the quilt to the cushions in places. I continued to use the pegs to create the effect that I wanted.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Installing the den -

Within the process of installing this den (using the quilt I made from my baby clothes), I kept in mind my intention not to make the area look too much like an exhibition space. I deliberately chose to light the den using only torch light as using a spotlight would make the den seem more like an ornamental sculpture and therefore would not have been as authentic to childhood.

I also installed a half-size entrance so that viewers were required to enter on their hands and knees, re-connecting them with how it felt to be a small child.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Picking a coloured fabric for the entrance to my exhibition space -

I originally wanted the coloured fabric to tie in with the colours in my quilt (and therefore the den installation). After referring back to my sketchbook, I decided against this idea as this would not have been an option when I made dens as a child. I then chose to stick to using just objects that I had lying around at home, making my installation more authentic to childhood.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Creating etched acrylic slides -

After discovering that using cardboard tubes was a successful way to focus the torch light, I made a collection of acrylic slides to fit within a slot in the tubes. Using the dimensions of the tubing, I designed the slides on Adobe Illustrator and cut them using the laser cutter. I colour coded the tab on the slide with the end of the tubing to encourage viewers to interchange the slides from the tubes in exhibition.

Hoping my experiments will have paid off and that this combination of acrylic, cardboard tube and torch will cast a clear shadow from my etched drawing.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Creating tubing to focus the torch light -

I decided on a tube length that would be small enough to be held within my den installation but long enough to create a clear shadow (cast from the etching). I then laser cut a back sheet of acrylic to hold the torch in place. I also made a slot at the front of the tube that would fit the etched acrylic slides.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Visiting the artist Alice Crane -

Choosing to work with symbolic, familiar objects associated with childhood to re-evoke the feelings of safety, warmth and protection, led me to meet with the artist Alice Crane to discuss her work ‘Dollshouse’.

Crane installed her childhood dolls house inside a large barn. The house was lit from the inside, generating a warm glow and casting shadows on the barn walls. This juxtaposition in scale of dolls house vs barn helped to capture a feeling that Crane recalled from playing with her dolls house as a child - when looking in, she felt as those she was inside the house, the size of a doll.

After this discussion and considering a past conversation with a lecturer, it became clear that installing my den inside a room with only a half-size entrance would be successful. It would encourage viewers to enter the room on hands and knees, reminding them of how it felt to explore and feel small.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Experimenting with tubing as a way to focus the torch light -

I explored using glass, acrylic and paper with my childhood drawings etched and cut on the surface. Overall, the longer the tube, the clearer the image was cast. The glass etching was the most successful due to the larger size of the etched drawing. I will replicate this on circles of acrylic. This way I can use them as slides which could be interchanged between the tubes.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Experimenting with different light sources and media to etch/cut my drawing -

Most successful was the torch and etched acrylic. I will continue to refine this combination working towards creating a clearer shadow from the etching.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Experimenting with etching and cutting torch faces -

Experiment 1 - cutting acrylic

Experiment 2 - etching acrylic

Experiment 3 - cutting paper

None of the torch face experiments worked as much alike the lightbulb, the light gets dispersed from the light source. I will look into ways of focusing the light.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Mock up den building (2)

[taraflanagan-artist]

Mock up den building -

My intention was to make a den that reflected those that I (and many others) made as a child, it was therefore important for me to use objects that were lying around my home. I first experimented with two children’s armchairs, mine and my sisters. Although this was authentic to our den building as children, the structure as a whole would have been too big to fit inside my exhibition space. I therefore opted to build my den structure out of cushions.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Etching my childhood drawings onto glass -

A previous experiment with etching onto glass allowed me to discover that when light is shone through the glass, the drawings were projected all over the walls. This was an immersive sensory experience, I wanted to recapture this with my childhood drawings.

The immersive experience alongside the intangible nature of the shadows made me feel as though I was inside the imagination of my three year old self.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Etching childhood drawings onto lightbulbs (2)

This experiment was unsuccessful, I held the sandblaster in one place for too long. This meant that instead of just etching the surface, the sand cut through the glass. This bulb would be unsafe to install as it would explode due to the damage.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Sandblasting lightbulbs -

Using a template created using the laser cutter, I sandblasted one of my childhood drawings onto the surface of a lightbulb.

The aim was for the light to cast a shadow of the drawing onto the surrounding walls. This didn’t work. I will experiment with etching the drawing onto a torch face as this may be a good way to focus the light on the etching and therefore successfully cast a shadow of my drawing.

[taraflanagan-artist]

My childhood drawings -

These are drawings I did aged 3. The originals were scanned into photoshop which allowed me to remove the background. This way there were no distractions from the drawings. When searching for blankets from my childhood in the loft of my house, I discovered a collection of notebooks which contained these drawings. I may consider using these in my final outcome as 3D raised line drawings to be viewed using sense of touch. They relate to the memories I associate with blankets - warmth, safety and security of childhood. I also want to experiment with etching these onto glass using the laser cutter.

[taraflanagan-artist]

Further drawings from my childhood