Finishing Phase Three and Experimenting with Colour
We are already nearing the end of our priming process for our letters after only beginning last week! While we got to painting the rest of the letters on Friday, I prepared a few things earlier in the week for our next step, painting the letters in a fabulous bright red.
After deciding on a colour a couple weeks back, I picked up an exterior paint made by Behr. Initially I was going to pick up an oil-based paint, but in speaking with someone from Home Depot, he suggested I get a water-based gallon if we wanted a brighter, glossier colour. The change slipped my mind as I was running tests, nonetheless it seemed to work and I was told it would work fine with the primer we chose anyway.
I tested out the different amount of layers. While discussing with everyone on Friday we decided it best to try one, maybe two coats of the red to keep the colour poppin’. While the paint was still wet, I applied a patch of the retroreflective glass beads, trying my best to spread them evenly together.
Justin tested my experiments with a flash. The small bottom patch is my try at using glue to adhere the beads. We concluded, however, that neither made a huge difference in retroreflectiveness. The paint is also able to hold the beads in place perfectly fine.
Before beginning with the red paint, we had a little more priming to do. With more hands (and brushes) we are finishing much faster than previously anticipated! I am really excited to see the outcome of this project.
Thanks to Danielle’s keen eye, we realized that we neglected to paper-mache AND prime the I !
We also discussed how we are going to effectively and evenly attach the beads to the paint, perhaps using methods like a sifter of some sort, or a salt shaker? Looking even further ahead, we are still in talks with WHERE we’ll be displaying the letters and/or to whom we should speak to regarding where/how they think the letters should be displayed.
There will be much more discussion and experimentation next week leading to the time we get together again for our next painting party!
![So … the book we created from our research project, How to Forget the Border Completely, finally showed up!!! I’m really happy with how it looks and I can’t wait to have some time to read through it all. After this week’s activities, we should plan some kind of launch for the book. Tom’s renderings [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/IMG_5370-150x150.jpg "Guess what showed up today?")
![Just little reminder if you’re in the Hamilton area… Vous invite à participer à : « Les Fables d’une Chronologie – L’atelier des Histoires de Hamilton » Développé de la recherche amassée des archives et de questionnaires présentés aux habitants de Hamilton, l’atelier Les Fables d’une Chronologie engagera ces participants à créer collectivement une histoire vaste [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IMG_7103-150x150.jpg "The Tales of a Timeline / Les Fables d’une Chronologie")
![The day before our launch. Rosina paints with Kiki. The table of letters, ever-changing as each layer dries. The letters that remain to be painted as of this afternoon. Josh and Kevin’s project for the day… Sara and Rosina headed out to do a bunch of short installs and photograph them. The single-use camera Hiba [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/wpid18548-IMG_0126-2-150x150.jpg "12-06-20 4:39:10 PM")
![Another week, some more steps forward in our attempts at a planter that can have a magnet embedded in it. While it wasn’t looking like we were making any real progress, this idea came up near the end of Office Hours—plastic cups with holes, paper pulp, and a small cup on the inside to make [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/img_3849-150x150.jpg "Progress on Making Paper Planters")
![Over the weekend, Emily Colombo wrapped up Miss Em’s Friendly Services with an awesome zine-like handout. Lots of food was prepared and shared. On Saturday, Emily made a tasty fruit soup using fresh berries from the Downtown Windsor Farmer’s Market. Joe has been a regular, visiting SRSI almost daily. He knows a lot about the [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/DSC_07312-150x150.jpg "SRSI, Day 30: Em’s Little Book of Friendly Services")
![Another great day in 406 Pelissier. We got lots of brainstorming done and continued our planning and work with plastic bag recycling projects. It’s been a fantastic three days, and being able to work in such a concentrated way in just one week has been really helpful in pushing forward on some new ideas. We [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/IMG_2834-150x150.jpg "Being Productive Again: Day 3")
![Well, our strawberry-thyme-apple jam slow cooked overnight, but it’s now ready, and we’ve jarred it and added the labels from last night’s All Tomorrow’s Preserves workshop. Special thanks to Jen Delos Reyes for walking us through the wonders of jam making and Fallen Fruit for the tasty idea. Next week, All Tomorrow’s Problems returns as [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/wpid22625-IMG_2936-150x150.jpg "All Tomorrow’s Preserves: It’s about thyme!")
![I’ve been meaning to take a look at this location for a potential projection project that we’re looking into for Harvesting the F.A.M. The wall is dark brick, but we need to work out the logistics of projecting onto such a surface anyways for another project we’re working towards. What exactly we’ll be projecting is [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/FAMFEST09-sm-150x150.jpg "Projection Site for Another Project?")
![We got up early and headed down to the EC Row pedestrian overpass between the Dominion and Huron Church exits to install YOU ARE AMAZING! It’s hard to describe what it felt like to do this—taking on this project gave us all a genuine excitement about participating in changing a part of Windsor and the way [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/img_1471-150x150.jpg "Installing YOU ARE AMAZING")
![We’re a week into taking submissions for Regret & Resolve and to get a jump start on all the t-shirt making we’ll have to do at the end of the month (remember, submissions close on January 25th), we’ve begun pressing some test shirts. We also got some great coverage in the University of Windsor Daily [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/wpid21099-IMG_2053-150x150.jpg "Behind the Scenes: T-shirt pressing for Regret & Resolve")
![Lee Rodney teaches one of the best courses at the University of Windsor, Border Culture. I took the course in the fall of 2010 and wrote a book: The Creation of Place in Abandoned Railway Cuts in Windsor. The book serves as documentation and comparative analysis of three specific forgotten spaces in downtown Windsor, Ontario, [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/cuts-150x150.jpg "The Creation of Place in Abandoned Railway Cuts in Windsor: 1/4 Intro")
![Friday night was especially fun. With next week being our first research report for How to Forget the Border Completely, we basically spent the evening casually going over some preliminary research, planning out some new directions, and getting more acquainted with the collection of border books next door. Michelle brought a tourism Detroit magazine she [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_8505-150x150.jpg "Quality Time with Books & Imaginary Spaces")
![424 Pelissier was a fun space for kids to be creative all day on Sunday as part of Imagination Lab. Merry Ellen set up her baking station over in that space. Later Sunday night, I accompanied Laura to do some more installations. The kids had a lot fo fun interacting with each other and learning [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/DSC_0650-150x150.jpg "SRSI, Day 24: Imagination Lab & Disco Balls")
![Spent last night around the table with my brother, the high school physics teacher, trying to figure out how one might calculate the resistors and type of battery that would be needed in a circuit powering 200 LEDs. I know there are some calculators online, as Mike had suggested earlier, but because I really don’t [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/img_2048-150x150.jpg "Learning Electricity")
![Another day went by quickly here on the 400 block of Pelissier. I met another member of the Department of Unusual Certainties through Skype, The Breakroom celebrated its last day, Leesa painted some chalkboard paint on a few walls for her project, we found a blooming cactus in Andrea’s space and made some potato stamps [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/DSC_06461-150x150.jpg "SRSI, Day 7: A Blooming Cactus & Making Potato Stamps")
![All Tomorrow’s Problems take a short break this week. We’ll be back on Monday, April 8th at 7pm to tackle problems big and small. Come hang out with us. Here are just a couple of examples of the things we’ve done recently in exploring how to bring people together to talk through their concerns with [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ATP-break-150x150.jpg "All Tomorrow’s Problems on Holiday for Tonight, see you on April 8th")
![Last Wednesday, Justin, Michelle, Josh and I flew from Detroit, MI to Atlanta, GA and drove another two hours to Chattanooga, TN for the City Share conference put on by our friends from Create Here! Veronique picked us up from the the airport in Atlanta. We grabbed a bit of food and then headed straight [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/IMG_3050-150x150.jpg "Our Arrival to Chattanooga, TN and Day One of the City Share Conference!")
Friday should be really interesting for experimenting with these glass beads … lots to figure out, but I love this process!
Also, it’s interesting you ended up going with Latex paint. The tests you did looked great and it’s a bonus that it’ll be easier to clean-up and probably faster to dry. The oil-base will still give us a good seal though.
I’m also really anxious to see a larger surface with these glass beads on it. To be able to do more tests with a flash, or headlights, etc.
Oh, and great great post!
I can’t wait to do tests with car headlights! I’ve also thought of a couple of places while driving on the weekend! Woo!
Oh, what could these places be???
Let’s start making a list!
I was wondering what kind of waterproofing/weatherproofing you guys have done so far, if the letters are to be placed outside. I’m working on a similar project with massive cardboard letters to be placed outdoors in late January. I live in the east coast so our winters are pretty nasty…ideas on the table right now are saran wrap or some sort of water proof latex paint (it needs to be super cheap, we’re on a tight budget!). Any info or advice on this would be much appreciated! Thanks (:
(I love Google. I was searching for how to make cardboard letters and was brought to your site. You guys are amazing! I love the work you guys are doing.)
Ramya, the extent to which we’ve weatherproofed so far is a layer of papier maché, a base coat of oil primer and we’ll finish with two coats of interior/exterior latex paint.
A while back, one of our friends suggested boiled linseed oil. We didn’t try it, but it might be the answer to get things weatherproofed for extended outdoor stays. We’re not anticipating on leaving these out for days on end.
Rust coat paint is also an option, that stuff is supposed to do a pretty good job at sealing surfaces.
Keep us posted on your project!