Restoring and recycling plywood

Tuesday 17th August 

I booked in specific workshops this week to push forward my project in tangible ways. Today’s was lazer cutting which would be tests for my rocking mirror legs. It would also be a test of using recycled/  reclaimed plywood in the lazer cutter. I spent the morning preparing the wood, removing staples and tape and cutting them to size that fits the lazer bed. 

I really enjoyed restoring the wood and found the process quite relaxing and also satisfying to be reconditioning what was waste. It’s a hidden part of my practice but the gathering and reconditioning of waste  materials takes both time and energy, but I’ve found it to also be rejuvenating and inspiring in equal measures. 

Once cut (and after alot of sanding burnt edges) I was able to play with the shapes and consider many different combinations. This was exciting but then also brought me some anxiety- which shape do I cut into aluminium to make the mirror? What legs do I commit to?  As the final stages come up each decision feels quite hard as theres not time or material to re cut, so I’ve had to trust my gut and keep working on my drawings and models to build my confidence. This stage is hard not to create waste, because even if you’ve made models and tested, things can come out not as your expecting.