I decided I needed to experiment with how I am going to progress into the communication side of the work. I decided to hone in on the sound aspect, experimenting with how I could create an instrument with the aesthetic of fungi. I looked into various instruments and the form of mushrooms, through research of imagery I decided that mushrooms growing from a branch could make a quirky and interesting xylophone. Serena Korda's mushroom bells inspired me that I could use ceramic as it makes a pretty sound as an instrument.
I drew up a quick sketch and got to work
Very quickly I realized I needed to carefully plan how I was going to construct it in order to create the best sound. I made sure the log and mushroom stems were hollow to ensure sound vibrates all the way through the instrument
Just before going into the kiln some of the stems were loose and at one point one came off, this really concerned me and I was worried it wouldn't survive the kiln. I was incredibly relived when it came out intact and in one piece with no cracks!
When my xylophone came out from it's glaze firing the colours didn't quite come as I expected but I think I am ok with that. The colours are musty and duller than I'd expect but I feel it works for the piece and the natural aesthetic instead of the bright and vibrant colours it could have been.
I was also nervous about how the piece would sound. I wasn't sure what what to use to play it, I got spare piece of welding rod and this worked a treat. The thinness of the metal tapped on the tops of the mushrooms made a beautiful twinkly sound. Overall I am happy with how this piece turned out and Think I could experiment with making the sound louder where it could be placed and played.
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