Using examples from my samples in ass3 was an interesting and really useful exercise in developing new iterations of a concept. I had gathered a number of rusted artefacts and became quite intrigued by a particular piece.
I picked it up fascinated, hefted the weight of it and enjoyed the jangle, I then discovered that it is probably a military strap for holding a gun shell and was repulsed. A challenging object, clearly full of story, it sang a refrain from an ear worm that keeps returning – The Crow on the Cradle A version by Karine Polwart, a sad lament that can be traced to the 16th century.
The song questions the balance between personal liberty and what the Government might dictate as being for the common good – ultimately the people that must decide what is true, fair and right. First voiced four hundred years ago – and so it goes on today.
I had tried to work with it in ass2 but really struggled with the amount of imagery. Perhaps I could use music as an inspiration?
I took some time to investigate the artefact with drawings and photos.
A detailed drawing made me really observe the construction, a frottage was more a representation of the history and texture.
Using rust to draw the artefact I got a little carried away with objects and a bird appeared, Phoenix rising?the crow on the cradle?
When rust dying previously I have wrapped object quite tightly to get good contact with the fabric. The mossy lawn has a lot of spring so I layed down the much washed sheet and placed objects on the surface. I then used a ladle to add a vinegar solution for a few hours, followed by strong tea, left overnight for the dew and a rainfall gave marks time to develop. 
Fascinatingly I observed texture that seems to be from the individual grass blades.
It feels macabre, but then guns are a dark subject matter. It is totally out of my comfort zone working with this subject matter but it feels compelling to follow it through.
taking photos of the object it was immediately evident that hanging would be obvious to use the tension in the chains and to control the form, slumped could be interesting however in ass 4 I observed a new awareness of hoe a piece of work can be viewed and for this exercise hanging seems right.
adding a rib cage ?
make love not war!
it was difficult not to anthromorphisize the object, however I was keen not to make this too obvious.
I also spent some time combining the artefact with various combinations of elements from earlier samples through photos and drawings.
The final iteration was a result of then experimenting with size and layers of the little – pods/shrouds . I needed to remove a restring a couple of times, adding a structure of tape to hang the pods and also hanging them in groups rather than singly helped to create fullness at the top and a taper towards the bottom, as did stitching pods of a range of sizes.During my development work they resonated most and came to represent the thousands of souls affected by war. Empty shells, missed opportunities, unpatched dreams… I think that the simplicity of the forms enables a wider interpretation by a viewer, it is a little shrine like , a piece for reflection.
It could be named Crow on the cradle. An abstract reference to the song that I found so difficult to represent in ass 2.
