METHODS AND MATERIALS — ALICE PAYEN

This page outlines the different processes and materials I learned during Unit 1.

This semester, I tried to attend as many inductions and workshops as I could, yearning to become more knowledgeable about my artistic practice and everything that surrounds it and is involved in it. Coming from a graphic novel/comic book background, it felt easy to become helpless and uninvolved in the creation of my work. By this I mean that many aspects of the traditionally published book (putting aside self-publishing or zines and more artisanal techniques, which I am passionate about, but know aren’t particularly mainstream) do not involve the artist themselves. The scenario (if it isn’t written by the artist), the text, the printing and the binding... most of the book, as an object, is left in the hands of the publisher, or someone other.
This didn’t feel right to me, my work is mine, and I should choose the way it is presented to the rest of the world. This is why methods and materials, and their process holds a crucial role in my practice, if not the most crucial.

I view this page as a safe space for all of my notes, somewhere. I can look back to whenever I need in order to remember what I was taught. During Unit 2, I would like for all of this new knowledge to play.a bigger role within my work. Asking myself why I use what I do, while contextualising it better.

PAINT

PAINTING SUPPORTS
PaPER

MAKING A STRETCHER

PAINTING GROUNDS & TRADITIONAL GROUNDS

Applying distemper, mixed with a pigment to my canvas: this acts as both the primer and the size!

UNDERPAINTING AND DRAWING MATERIALS

MEDIUMS AND DILUENTS

ETCHING (DEC 2024)

GLAZES I (NOV 2024)

I chose to participate in this workshop mostly out of curiosity, I had never really thought about glazes before, let alone creating my own- it felt scary and too mathematically and chemically complex for the likes of me. My grandfather, a doctor turned potter, specialized in Crystalline glazes, often raves about the ‘magic’ behind glazes: I wanted to understand this secret world he wouldn’t share with me.
During this initiation to glazes, I was able to understand a glaze calculator is, and how to use one. I learned about colorants, and different metals alloys that I needed to mix, in order to achieve the glaze I wanted. But most of all, I came to realize that there is no ‘magic’ in glazes, it’s just chemistry, trial and error and careful measurements. During the first part of this workshop, I mixed my own glazes: 128 (matte) and 127 (glossy). I also attempted a line blend, this did not turn out as expected, as I was expecting a purple glaze. I understood what went wrong when re-reading my notes though: I had completely forgotten that purples need barium-based glazes in order to work. The next step: experimenting with crystalline glazes!

GLAZES II (DEC 2024)

The results of my first crystalline glaze attempt were lackluster , to say the least. Unlike James Duck’s first test, mine was streaky and lacked the clear crystal formations I was looking for. Some did form, but you can hardly make them out. The second half of glazes 2 helped me understand what I did wrong: my first, most obvious mistake (which caused the streaky running), was my absent mindedness- I had accidentally omitted an ingredient from the recipe. I also learned that Zinc was the most important element in the formation of crystals, in my next attempt, I would need to augment its quantity by 2,5 per cent at least.
In my next visit to the ceramics studio, I will plot a 25-tile quadratic blend thanks to the calculator that James Duck made us, and see how much tweaking the recipe needs in order to favour crystal formations.