CHARCOAL Encounters- An Exploration of Material by Nawoda Sandamini Suraweera Arachchige

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 08:09:35 UTC

I thought to encounter charcoal because i was inspired by the idea that drawing is not it's only purpose(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, Kocher, 2016, p.34). According to Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, and Kocher (2016), it is a continuous story, an event and a doing. This image shows my setup and materials i brought to encounter charcoal. I was so excited to do the exploration.

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 08:27:37 UTC

These are the materials I borrowed from the classroom to support my exploration. I didn't have fixed outcome in my mind when collecting any of these materials because "Charcoal is intensely hospitable to encounters with others" in differnt ways(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, Kocher, 2016, p.34)

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 09:15:02 UTC

As first step of my charcoal inquiry, I explored the smell of this material. I compared BBQ charcoal, Burnt wood charcoal and artist's charcoal stick. I haven't noticed any smell in BBQ Charcoal, while the burnt wood charcoal given a comforting and familiar smell by remembering the memories of sitting by a fire pit. The charcoal stick had very faint, fresh smell like something new and this is about noticing the unique qualities and small details about each material(Pacini-Ketchabaw et al., 2016, p.9). While doing this, I understood charcoal is not just a drawing tool and it's a material with stories and histories(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.5).

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 09:53:52 UTC

Same as I compared smell, I have compared this by drawing a straight line and writing my name using three types of charcoal I had: Charcoal stick, Burnt wood charcoal and BBQ Charcoal(From top to bottom in the image). The charcoal stick given the clearest and most defined marks which are sharp, dark black and smooth. The burnt wood charcoal created darker marks, but not dark and sharp like stick. The lines were textured with visible sublines and irregularities caused by natural lumps in the wooden charcoal. And also I noticed charcoal slowly shedding onto the paper. The BBQ charcoal produced the faintest marks which are light black and lacking clarity. So this experience "provokes different ways of thinking" (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.4) with same category of the material. At beginning I thought charcoal would behave consistently and sharply, but encounter teached me material cannot be fully defined in advance and hopeful waiting provides unexpected results(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36).

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 11:17:01 UTC

Breaking Down Charcoal - Traces, Pressure and Sound

In this exploration, I used a motor to grind a piece of charcoal into small fragments and dust. At first, the charcoal was bit hard to break and I put some pressure to break it. Then i had to gradually increase the force on the motor. As I have added more pressure and rotated it, I was able to break it down into soft traces and fine dust while remaining some large particles. The act of grinding created different sounds depending on how i applied pressure. I heard loud cracks when hitting hard and lower continuous sound when rotating motor. I observed how the small pieces scattered cross the white paper. The traces were so soft to touch and my hands were marked with charcoal by reminding me how closely i entangled with the material. My fingers met charcoal, blackness met my skin and the traces of charcoal scattered over the paper while some dust interacted with the air(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.41). Charcoal interact with the others and make marks while announcing it "compels a response"(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36).

Mixing charcoal traces with other materials

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 12:00:51 UTC

After grinding charcoal into soft traces and dust, i extended my exploration to mix the charcoal particals with different materials. I used wool, leaf, small rock, a wooden piece, hite paper and cardboad. I placed them together in white transparent box and mixed all together. I heard the sound of materials when mixing and observed how the walls of the transparent box slowly became darkened. The wool collected a significant number of charcoal particles and when i squeezed it, i saw how dust fall away and scatter with the air as the charcoal traces always in motion. The leaf hold a shiny fine coat of dust and all other materials also had their memories with charcoal on their surfaces. And this proved that charcoal "marks, spreads, covers and envelops"(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36). So charcoal is something that keeps going like a story or something continuously hapenning(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.34).

Revealing patterns - Charcoal and glue

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 12:25:38 UTC

I created a random pattern using glue on white paper and then sprinkled charcoal traces over the surface by fully covering the glue. Then i gently removed the excess dust, I observed how the charcoal traces sticked with the glue, revealing the pattern clearly in dark, textured lines. The sticky surface captured even the finest particles. when I lifted the paper, i noticed the leftover dust drift away in the air without settling. This reminded me charcoal's behavior of "mark, spread and cover"(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36). Here, the combination of glue and charcoal traces made the invisible pattern a visible one. This proves the charcoal is not only for drawing(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.34) and it can be something other than a material use to draw(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36). Charcoal reveals unexpected things with the relationships with different materials(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.34). It takes time and we need to interact with materials hopefully and patiently to see what it become(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.39).

Revealing and Tracing with Sticky tape and Charcoal

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 12:55:47 UTC

I experimented with sticky tape and charcoal traces. I began by placing sticky tape on white paper with random patterns. Then I sprinkled charcoal dust across the surface and rubbed it gently into the paper.When I rubbed, i noticed an emerging sound with the friction of charcoal particles against the paper.

Then I removed the charcoal traces and took off the sticky tapes. The patterns I had made were clearly visible and the area under the tape was clean while the surrounding space was darken with charcoal traces. And i observed the charcoal traces on corners of sticky tape when taking them off. To enhance the visibility of one pattern, i used charcoal stick to draw outlines. The interaction between the tape and charcoal revealed the process of covering and uncovering(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.34). Until the end we did not know what happens, we haven't expected the sound from friction and this final outcome(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36). So, unexpected things may happens and "waiting hopefully" might end up with unexpected results(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36).

Floating and Sinking- Charcoal and water

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 13:10:14 UTC

I have added charcoal traces to cup of hot water. When the dust touched the water surface, I observed most of the particles floated on top of the water. Only very small amount sank slowly to the bottom. Some pieces were drifting aimlessly while forming clusters. Charcoal is never still and it always affected by the environment and materials we use(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36).

Cutting charcoal with Thread

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 13:27:20 UTC

I experimented usage of thread with charcoal. At first, I used single thread nd applied pressure, but it broke quickly under the tension. Then i tried with two and three threads together. Each time, as i increased pressure, the threads broken at a certain point. I was not able to fully slice the piece of charcoal. i observed a small groove where the thread made contact, and tiny particles of charcoal broke off, some were drifting into the air. From this, i experienced not only cutting, but the relationship between materials under pressure. i heard the sound which produced due to friction amoung thread and charcoal. This proves charcoal is not an instrument use only for drawing, it's can use as something else too(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.36).

Documentation- Page 01

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 13:29:45 UTC

This is the documentation i drafted in class while exploring charcoal.

Documentation- Page 02

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 13:30:37 UTC

this is the document i drafted in classroom while exploring charcoal

References

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 13:37:55 UTC

s8182796 — 2025-05-01 13:45:22 UTC

I loved the charcoalness and experienced the charcoal which is always a process(Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016, p.34).