October 31, 2022 - November 1, 2022
This mirror is my favorite creation to date. Though it only took a week, I think it has been my most intensive and took the greatest time commitment, of at least 29 hours.
I made this using expanding insulating foam as the base, clay to fill in any gaps, and then added the mirrored tiles on top to create the disco ball effect. Finally, I added the center LED border to add an extra pop.
I have a full description of this mirror, and the process that went into making it on the main website, as its own page. Check it out here: 1970's Party Disco Mirror.
Though I love how it turned out, there were many mistakes I made along the way, which I am excited to learn from in my future projects. First, I should have used a different backing as the support for the foam. I placed cardboard under the sides of my mirror to use as the base for once the foam was added. Though this did work, I think it would be more structurally stable if I had used another material, or even placed the cardboard next to the mirror instead of below it. If I do a similar project again, I will use either a stronger material, or i will simply refrain from placing anything behind the actual mirror, to ensure the back is flat and even.
Another mistake I made was in some of the kinds of glue I used, and how I placed it. Throughout this process, I used three different kinds of glue. Since I wasn't sure how the materials I was using would react with different glues, I wanted to experiment so I would know for future use which works best.
Hot glue: I started out with hot glue. This did work initially, and was particularly helpful for areas that there was some uneven space or holes in the base. I used this for some of the sections of smaller (0.2 inch) mirrored tiles, but I quickly came to realize that it may be an issue to use for the whole project. Firstly, since the tiles are made of glass and are mirrored, the glue heated them up quickly. Because of this, it got increasingly difficult to place hem with precision, because I kept burning myself. Additionally, it took a large amount of this glue to complete even a small section, which was very economically inefficient. A few of the sections of tiles also started to peel off after the glue had dried, which was problematic for obvious reasons.
Super Glue: Next, I tried using superglue. This was definitely easier to use, and allowed the tiles to dry faster and stick much more, but was similarly economically inefficient as the hot glue, but more. Had I continued to use superglue for more than a few tiles, it would have quickly accumulated to hundreds of dollars in glue. Additionally, if a little bit of this glue got on the tile, it would add a cloudy film, which is unideal for something meant to be a mirror. It also got on my hands quite frequently, and created an unwanted sticky and rough texture.
Elmers Washable School Glue: The final glue I experimented with, and the one I decided to use for the remaining majority of the project, was good ol' Elmers School Glue. This was much more efficient, and was sufficiently effective for my desired effect.
If I were to need to make this extremely strong and durable, the super glue would likely be the way to go about this, but, since it is intended as an art piece to be hung indoors on a wall, this wasn't necessary.
The clay I used to cover and fill the gaps in the foam may also not have been the ideal material. Since this clay was wet clay, when it dried, it contracted and caused some cracks in the form. This wasn't much of an issue for my project, but it is something I will know to avoid moving forward.
Finally, if I were to redo this, I would have added the lighting before I did the mirroring. I would do this so I could add a bit of mirroring on the other side of the light, so it blends in more. I would also have added a hole in which the wire for the lights could have exited through the frame, so it did not have to dangle in front of the frame and can just subtly sneak behind it.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the results of this project. Not only do I love the final product, but I have learned valuable skills and techniques, through things I did right and mistakes that I made, which I can use to improve and develop my future projects.
Kommentare