7. Filler Experiments

Earlier this project, I experimented with painting leaves with nail polish.

I loved the effect and felt that it was a good "artificial alternative" to making an object look like it has been overtaken with crystals. The glitter speckles do a great job at mimicking tiny borax specks, whilst simultaneously sealing the object.

In this case the object is leaves. I had many leaves left over, and I had ran out of borax and alum. So whilst I was waiting for them to be delivered, I returned to nail polish.

I also had the left-over "crystal shards" from the plates that I created before.

I painted a leaf with plain, clear nail polish to act as an adhesive, and begun to stick the intact "shards" onto the leaf.

I loaded the leaf with as many of the "shards" as I could, and topped it up with the leftover "dust".

This is the result after shaking off the excess. It was still wet, which made most of the dust seem translucent at the time. Once it was dry, it looked like the leaf below.

The result is very interesting. Some of the crystals are almost "fluffy" because the sharp edges dissolved in the nail polish. I am not a huge fan of the result, but I think it was a worthy experiment.

I attempted the same process with smaller leaves, only instead of loading the leaf with the dust, I dipped the sticky leaf into the dust. This way it would only pick up what it could, and it wouldn't end up too chunky or heavy.

I prefer the results of this method much more. It is much more convincing, and it

looks like the crystals have grown onto the leaf rather than being stuck on.

Real borax crystals on a leaf

Glued alternative

This leaf was created using the same process. It almost looks like frost, or decay. Maybe mould, but that thought may be from the way the earthy colours show through the translucent crystals.

On the leaves below, I used a kind of polish meant to give a "gemstone effect." For what I have been doing, this sounded perfect.

(SIMILAR, but not the same as the first oak leaf I painted)

I love the effect. The polish itself is rough with many tiny hard particles incorporated into the solution, to make a genuinely crystal-like surface. To the touch, it is like sandpaper, which is similar to the touch of the borax and alum crystals.

I think these small leaves look like tiny emeralds.

I began to experiment with other polishes and other ways of applying it.

Nail polish dusted with loose glitter

Transparent glitter polish

Red polish and loose glitter

Glue and silver glitter (unsuccessful - the glue never dried)

Painted evenly with a metallic gold polish

Front side

Back side

I love the way that the back of the leaf is completely littered with veins and lines - they were practically invisible as a normal leaf, but with the metallic polish, the reflecting light makes them very clear to see.

I love the contrast between artificial polish/metal and natural lines. It is an interesting mix between futuristic and eternal (because leaves will always be around (you would hope)).

I began to get experimental with how I applied my polish.

I took a large and healthy leaf.

And began to randomly pour two colours onto the leaf, leaving random lines that wove into eachother. The natural curvature of the leaf meant that the polish began to run into eachother, creating unique, organic flowing shapes.

I began to tilt the plate that the leaf was on, to force the colours to run together.

Once I had covered most of the leaf, I used a brush to spread the excess polish across the rest of the leaf and onto the edges.

Then I allowed it to dry for at least 12 hours, outside, in the cold.

This was the result once it was dry. I think it's incredible. The patterns that formed within the leaf are fluent, organic and unique. See below.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to capture the piece in good lighting without many reflections, as the polish is very shiny and reflective (as it is designed to be).

The result reminds me very much of "Fluid Art" which consists purely of pouring masses of wet acrylic onto a canvas.

An example of Fluid Art by Laura Adams Wilson: See below

I am a huge fan of fluid art because of the bright colours that are often used, and the organic shapes that are formed through allowing the paint to run freely. Fluid art is often created without brushes and without physical interference, apart from perhaps tilting the canvas.

I do not think that I will further pursue this direction, as I am more interested in sculpture than painting at this moment in time, but it was a valuable experiment.

It did not take long for the leaves to begin to curl. Most of the leaves I painted were only covered on one side, meaning that the other, natural side was exposed to the elements.

They looked like the perfect cradle for something small, so I placed my wasp inside an oak leaf.

The wasp almost looks to be floating in space. The photograph makes the wasp completely free of dimension. There are no indications of size or place.

I think these images are far more effective than the ones that I have previously taken.

I find that the contrast between blue and yellow is very effective, as it brings out the natural colours in the wasp.

The roughness of the glitter creates a seamless transition to the crystals on the wasp. Again, there is a lovely contrast between natural and artificial in this image.

I experimented by recreating similar photographs on a differently coloured leaf. I think that the warmer colours are not as effective, as the wasp seems to get lost in the middle of them rather than standing out.

I returned later to the wasp with a macro lens in order to take some higher quality photos of it.
I aimed to capture the small details of the wasp, and the crystals on it.

The first image isn't the best, because of the low natural lighting. Thankfully, the sun came out shortly afterwards.

I love the way that the macro lens properly focuses on the minor details of the wasp. E.G the veins of the wings, and the tiny hairs on the wasp's body.

The natural light makes all the difference, as it illuminates the crystals.

I don't feel that a background is necessary for these images. I feel like a white background is perfect to allow the wasp to stand out as its own statement piece.

I am specifically taken by the details of the wing. I love how the formations of the veins make small, geometric shapes that compliment the sharp edging of the crystals.

 Flipping the wasp over allows us to see the iridescent shards of glitter. The natural light allows them to shine gently, adding colour to the photograph without overpowering the wasp.

 We can still see the crystals and the natural colours of the wasp, but the little pops of colour make it look that little bit magical.

This image was taken in lower lighting. I do not think it is effective, as the shards of glitter reflect what light they can, which overpowers the image.


I chose my 2 favourite images and edited them slightly, to bring out the colours and contrast.

I zoomed in on image A here in order to highlight the vivid details of the image.

Here you can see the separate segments of the wasp's striped body, each hair on his head, and each crystal individually with vivid detail.

I find it very interesting to be able to see what cannot usually be seen with the naked eye.

I think it has an impact on the viewer in many ways. It can be seen as interesting, amazing, or even daunting. Especially daunting with an insect. Generally, people are afraid to see insects from a distance, let alone uncomfortably close up.

Personally I find this image to be beautiful and I am sure that there will be viewers that share my view.