Jesmonite – Eco-Resin
The Ultimate Chameleon Material
I was recently interviewed by someone from a company called ‘Jesmonite’ about my use of their marvellous eco-resin, endearingly referred to as ‘The Ultimate Chameleon Material’!
Jesmonite has earned its ‘chameleon’ credential because it can replicate an incredibly diverse range of textures, forms and fine details. It has become the go-to material for artists and designers around the world because it is a unique, eco-friendly resin, making it the greenest possible solution for creative casting applications.
Jesmonite has enabled me to produce sculptural elements using traditional woodworking techniques, then make a mould of these original wooden forms and cast multiple editions of them. Using this method has meant that I can create more intricate, larger pieces, without spending the hundreds of hours which would have previously made the time and costs involved prohibitive.
I hope you enjoy reading this article published by Jesmonite about how ‘The Ultimate Chameleon Material’ has enabled me to evolve my sculptures further.
Here’s how they introduced the article…
“And Relax…
FUTURETRO has transformed relaxation into an art form by creating interactive light sculptures that enhance wellbeing.
You can learn more about the therapeutic benefits of their sustainable sculptures here…”
The Art of Relaxation + The Ultimate Chameleon Material…
Sound responsive, interactive light sculptures, inspired by nature to induce relaxation and enhance wellbeing… not something you come across every day.
But thanks to Jesmonite, Futuretro (pronounced Future-retro) has been able to upscale and provide these throughout the UK and beyond.
Inspired by his grandfather, a master furniture maker, artist / sculptor Jamie Barrett first began making his products by shaping and joining wood, which took a lot of time and effort.
Traditional Woodworking to Jesmonite
Now Jesmonite has propelled his creativity and allowed him to upscale in ways he hadn’t imagined.
“My grandfather had incredible woodworking machinery and tools which I inherited from him, along with the coaching and tuition I’d had from a young age”, he said.
“I use traditional woodworking methods with a wide variety of woods, which is my main love, but it can take hundreds of hours to make one section of a sculpture. I wanted to be able to create something more repeatable and in an accessible price bracket for a wider range of customers. Jesmonite does just that – it has transformed my business!”
Sustainable and Repeatable
“I love the fact that Jesmonite is sustainable and enables repeatability of intricate forms. It has an organic stone-like finish, and as a lot of my work is inspired by the sacred geometry of ancient architecture, that is very fitting.”
“In a lot of cases Jesmonite is actually a better surface than wood to complement the lighting elements of my sculptures. Wood doesn’t allow the projection of light in its most intense manner, while Jesmonite’s consistent, white finish facilitates the reflection of coloured light beautifully.”
Jamie also likes Jesmonite for the fact you are not working with nasty chemicals and, therefore, not having a large impact on the environment – unlike other resins.
“Jesmonite is easy to use, it is nice to mix and the way it cures and hardens miraculously in no time, it just blew me away”, he added.
Satisfying and Thrilling
“I create the original pattern out of wood, then make a mould from that to cast the Jesmonite forms. It is a massive joy every time I make a piece, revealing the Jesmonite cast from the mould is so satisfying, with the excitement of unwrapping the ultimate present.”
“I can also use my woodwork tools on Jesmonite to refine or shape it, if necessary. Most of my machinery and tools are perfect for it.”
Jamie, who is based in Farnham, Surrey, England, first discovered Jesmonite when working as a production manager at top contemporary sculpture foundry, London Bronze Casting, in 2018.
You can see an example of Jamie’s Jesmonite casting process in the video featured here.
Sound Responsive Lighting
His fully customisable products include geometric wall sculptures and illuminating tables with integrated sound responsive lighting, which can convert music into a synchronised audio-visual display.
The sound response function of the sculptures enables bass sounds, which have the lowest frequencies, to be translated as red, which in turn has the lowest frequency of coloured light. As the sound frequencies change, so does the colour, ranging from red at the lowest end, going up to violet and pink at the highest end of the frequency range. All controlled via an app using smart technology.
Therapeutic Benefits
Jamie’s individually handcrafted work has been commissioned in New Delhi in India, Osaka and Tokyo in Japan and clubs and bars around London. The sculptures make radiant, interactive additions to home, work, healthcare, hospitality and leisure environments.
But it is about more than just sculptures, light and sound…
He said: “Patterns found in nature are known to have a calming effect, my sculptures are inspired by these forms and are designed to help you relax, thereby improving your wellbeing.”
“The therapeutic benefits of my work are important. A psychological research study was carried out with one of my sculptures, ‘Essence’, which is inspired by fractals found in nature. A fractal is a geometric form in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales. The human mind is hardwired to find calm in them, this is especially true when they are naturally occurring. The sheer symmetry and cohesion of these patterns soothes the part of our brain that is constantly trying to make order from the chaos around us. Examples of fractal patterns found in nature include corals, shells, plants and trees.
It is also known that coloured light, together with music, can induce relaxation. I wanted to find a way to combine these three elements in a single piece of eye-catching art that induces relaxation and enhances wellbeing, and that is how my ‘Essence’ interactive, wall light sculpture was conceived.”
“Futuretro brings together futuristic technologies with traditional methods of construction and craftsmanship, symbolising an equilibrium between the future and the past, creating harmony in the here and now.”
For more information on Futuretro visit the website or follow them on Instagram: FUTURETROart
Jesmonite – The Ultimate Chameleon Material
I hope you have enjoyed learning about why and how I use Jesmonite, ‘The Ultimate Chameleon Material’ to create my geometric, interactive light sculptures. It really is an absolutely magical, eco-friendly resin!
If you’d like to see the original article published on the Jesmonite blog… Click Here.
To see other examples of the diverse designs that can be created using Jesmonite, check out their Instagram profile: www.instagram.com/Jesmonite_Ltd
To see more of my FUTURETRO interactive light sculptures that are made using Jesmonite… Please click the names of the three sculptures below…
Jamie – FUTURETRO
September 2022