Fat Bastard
Robert & Dina
Lessons in fabric casting
Lessons in mixtures
Fat Bastard
Canvas
Primed Spandex
Spandex
Eyelet Spandex
Felt
Fabrics
Fat Bastard Tools
PREPARATION + SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS •Set the formwork on a plastic sheet, as all the excess moisture will seep out of the fabric. •Test out all your fabric with small constructs at first, to get a sense of the strength, stretchability, and permeability of each.
OBJECTIVE Our objective was to demonstrate how different types of fabric perform as formwork for concrete. By selecting fabrics with unique properties and patching them together into one formwork, the final piece reflects all these different qualities and their consequences on the concrete.
Procedures
1 - Prepare Fabric
Cut pattern out of fabric(s) for the tentacles using template from digital model as guide. Pay special attention to seams and connection between the different types of fabric. Roll each template so that the seams meet, and sew as instructed.
Procedures
1 - Preparing the fabric
Procedures
2 - Prepare Formwork
The Formwork is simply for hoisting the tentacles to give time for them to cure in the desired position. The legs can either be suspended from the top of the formwork, tied to intermediary supports, resting on the floor, elevated above, or resting on the shelves.
Procedures
4 - Pouring Techniques
•Mix the concrete slurry, using one part water to three parts quickcrete. Make sure there are no lumps or large aggregate, as those may clog up the narrower parts of the fabric tentacles. •Pour the slurry into any one of the concrete pour holes, until the base is filled. Make sure the other two legs are properly lifted so that the concrete doesn’t leak out of the other two pour holes. •Brace the fabric with zip ties as needed. The spandex will need the most bracing, because it will stretch significantly and lose its shape. •Shape the concrete as you pour to ensure there are no deep wrinkles in the fabric. This will cause the fabric to be trapped into the concrete once it sets, making removal difficult. •Once the base is filled with concrete, insert a zip tie or other re-enforcement rod into each leg, making sure that the zip tie properly connects with the base and into the body of each leg. This will help ensure that the legs do not snap off the base.
Procedures
5 - Hoisting The Tentacles
•Continue filling each leg as necessary, reshaping, bracing, and hoisting as you go. •Once you have filled all the legs, use the zip ties to hoist and attach the top of each leg to the wooden frame so that the shape is maintained once its cured.
Fat Bastard - 80 lb bag of mix, 3.4 liters of water - Felt, Canvas, Eyelet Spandex, Spandex, Coated Spandex, with canvas and spandex base.
Fat Bastard - 24 hours later
Fat Bastard, Again - 60 lb bag of mix, 1.75 liters of water - Eyelete Spandex, Canvas, and Felt with Canvas Base.
Fat Bastard, Again - 6 Hours Later
Fat Bastard - 36 hours later