Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from September 2, 2012

Wall 2

One of the criteria I set for myself when designing the module was that it should create different effects according to the orientation and way of assembly. In that respect, I think it is successful; walls 1 and 2 have very diverse characteristics. Wall 2 is more static and regimented, partly because it is straight and of uniform height, but also due to the pattern of laying. Wall 2 has less of a sense of thickness than Wall 1, but it has interesting surface effects and shadows. The wall is two wythes thick- one wythe has 8 bricks, and the other has 7. This is so that the pattern of interference between them creates varied sizes of openings. The effect is not as noticeable up close, but from a distance, it is visible. It is only when viewed from an oblique angle that the depth of the wall is made apparent.

Two Handed Tooling

The mortar joints of Wall 2 are unusually complicated due to the different angles and overhangs. I found that I can get a good clean finish by having a tool in each hand: a butter knife in my left, and my favourite scraper in my right. I start with an upstroke to trim one side, and then a downstroke to clean the other side. Then another upstroke to clean out the gap. I finish with a soft brush to clean up any 'crumbs' of mortar.