making of

surface texture

Bakelite comes with a surface structure. Every morning, when turning the computer on, I see an empty pentagonal flacon with a bakelite top, in dim light and the surface looks a bit like skin, shiny skin. I was told, by the guy responsible for the production of my flacon bakelite tops, that they call it “orange peel”. So there you go….

This surface, with its structure, is part of what makes bakelite appear warmer, less artificial (in comparison to other polymers), and also a bit retro. And interestingly enough: It also feels warmer. I mentioned it before: I am in love with these bottle caps.

Texture can make a big difference, and it is the imperfection that it brings, the irregularities that make objects appear warmer and a bit less artificial. The same is true for illustrations: today I share another water color illustration, of a chicory, below is a detail of the surface, emulated on photoshop, of course.

detail of water color illustration, showing the paper surface and its texture

The reason why there is an empty flacon, white glass, with a top cover on my desk: It sits there to remind me of a couple of projects and ideas. A memento mori, a litttle bit, and a memento that time is running. And it is running fast, and who knows how shaky my hand will be in a few years.

There are a few uncertainties, still, in the planning of one of these projects. The project sits in the GANTT chart for 2014, at least. That’s good. This year’s GANTT chart got pretty detailed. I am looking forward talking about it, as soon as I got some feedback from a couple of third parties. One reason why I am looking forward to talking about it: Writing and reading comments helps setting priorities.