DSDN141 - Project 1 - Further Materials Testing

Boiled mandarin peel, leaf and onion.

My first three experiments were largely unsuccessful. I was testing the effects of a leaf when boiled using a mandarin and onion as a measure. The effects of hot water on the leaf, in contrast to when boiled where very minimal. The leaf lost some structural integrity but no color or consistency. 

Heated and liquified sugar.

The results of sugar when introduced to heat produced some interesting results. The sugar liquified and then hardened to create a solid that was extremely solid. I then proceded to pour the sugar on ice so that when the ice melted and the sugar hardened a structural form was created out of the sugar.  

DSDN141 - Studio 1 - Material Selection And Manipulation

Through manipulating different materials today i found two particular types that caught my attention. Polymer plastics was the first and through the introduction of heat it is a material that molds itself to its surroundings then through the cooling process is able to retain most of, if not all of its key structural integrity. The was it set was also aesthetically pleasing to the eye, however there wasn't much more i could do to this material without breaking it and it has no memory like acrylic so is unable to return to its initial form. The unexpected highlight of these experiments was how foliage off trees react when introduced to extreme heats from the heat gun. The surfaces began to pop and crackle then burn. The interesting thing about this was that it exposed the many layers the leaf was made up of. I feel further investigation through boiling and drying could reveal a way to take advantage leaf's skeleton like structure although it is unforeseen how integral to its structure moisture is when removed from it. I would also like to further investigate the structure and forms that can be created with sugar. It is a compound that is easily shifted from solid to liquid through the introduction of heat and seeing other students workings with it as a surface material has gained my interest.