Once I had decided that I wanted to make sculptural work, I had to think about how I wanted to create the pieces. Previously I had applied my background colours to the top of the piece, in an area devoid of any architectural structures, only allowing the ink to drip slightly into the image. This wasn't going to work as that part would be cut away and kept for other uses, the drawings would then be mostly devoid of colour and I didn't want that to happen.
One technique I was keen to explore was the use of PVA and ink. I covered the page in wet glue, before applying the ink in different ways, allowing the too materials to react together and create different textures and patterns. Once the ink was on the paper I tried using a range of techniques to achieve individual outcomes. These included the application of heat using a hair dryer, scraping the ink, blowing the ink through a straw and allowing the ink to sit where it dropped onto the paper. I liked the way the ink created cell-like entities on the paper, the marks looked almost like magnified bacteria. Although ink does this when dropped into water, the way it reacted with the glue was different. The ink was restrained by the thickness of the material which meant the ink cracked and made the marks more interesting. This method showed the layers of colour present in the ink.
As well as allowing the glue to dry and then drawing into it, I decided to see what would happen if I drew into it when it was wet. The black ink bled into the glue and created a slight haze to the image. This was an interesting effect but it didn't quite fit with some of the panels I had already created.
I loved the glue technique and I knew that I wanted to use it, but I still wanted to try more alternatives. This included something similar to acrylic pouring, but using ink. As ink is a translucent medium, I wanted to try pouring it over the top of the drawing. When first poured over it was opaque, though as it dried the drawing became visible. Although this technique did work, I felt that it wasn't as effective as others I had tried previously.
