Canvas preparation

Name: Wenrui Zhao
Date and Time: 2016.2.15, 12pm
Location: lab
Subject: sewing the canvas

• Fold over each side of the canvas for roughly 1.5 cm.
• Put the thread along the folded edge, and fold the same margin again, so that the thread will go inside the folds. Do that for all four edges
• Pin the folds. Each side requires 4-5 pins.
• Get a scrap piece and use the thread from the scrap to sew.

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Name: Wenrui Zhao and Donna Bilak
Date and Time:

2016. 2.19, 9am - 2pm

Location: home and lab
Subject: stretch the canvas

First attempt

• Assemble the wood frame (4 pieces)
• put the string through a yarn needle
• Sew along the hem of the canvas
• tight the string
• I used one single string to sew all the four sides at once. It was very difficult to adjust the position of the strings and also adjust the tightness of the strings. The canvas was clearly unevenly stretched, and not aligned with the frame. Also, the stitch was unevenly spanned.

Second/third attempt

• I pulled the strings out and redid the whole process again.
• This time I sew one side per time.
• I started by trying to align the canvas with the frame by sewing one stitch on each side.
• Then I processed to complete one side after another.
• The gap between stitches is roughly the width of one finger.
• The outcome was a much more evenly aligned and stretched canvas

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Name: Wenrui Zhao
Date and Time: 2016.2.19 2-4pm
Location: lab
Subject: apply rabbit skin glue

• Heat the rabbit skin glue to between 50 and 55* C in a double boiler
• Apply the glue evenly on the canvas
• After applying the first layer, leave the canvas in the fume hood to dry.
• It took around 30mins for the canvas to be dried to apply the second layer
• The second layer dries much faster than the first one.

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Name: Wenrui Zhao
Date and Time: 2016.2.22 10-11:30 am
Location: lab
Subject: apply the red primal layer

• Mix the burnt sienna pigment power with cold pressed linseed oil using palette knife
• Mulled the pigment to reduce the particles
• Pick up the pigment with palette knife first, and then use fingers to spread the pigment evenly onto the canvas.
• Also tried to use the brush to even out the pigment, but less effective than using finger.
• Left a 1cm margin empty on the canvas.