When everything fell apart

I faced a huge obstacle today, probably the biggest challenge of the entire project. During the half-term break, I had been worrying about whether I had used the correct PVA-to-water ratio throughout the piece. My original face-to-face work consisted of two layers of clothing, with every garment fully saturated in the glue mixture. This new piece was much larger and contained up to four layers of clothing in some areas, as I wanted to create more relief and depth. Looking back, I do not think I was as consistent with the glue mixture as I had been with the earlier pieces.

When I returned to the studio, most of the clothing appeared dry on the surface, but the inside was still damp. After lifting the board slightly from the table, I discovered that the underside of the board and the table surface were covered in mould. Because the board had bowed and was sitting flush against the table, there had been no airflow underneath it during the break.

I knew I had no choice but to lift the board into a vertical position to allow it to dry properly. With help from my tutors and friends, we carefully raised the piece. As expected, some of the clothing began to fall away, but thankfully it was mainly from the centre. The outline, which was the most important part of the image, remained intact. I left the board upright for 24 hours and, when I returned the following day, no further clothing had detached. I was also able to clean the mould from the back of the board.

After discussing the issue with Don, the wood workshop technician, he suggested adding support battens to reinforce the frame. Unfortunately, this required the board to be turned over. To my horror, most of the central section of the work fell away. I was absolutely devastated. After a few tears and a moment to step back, I decided that I had come too far to give up.

Using photographs I had taken before the collapse, I began rebuilding the piece. This proved to be a slow and frustrating process. Because all of my reference photographs had been taken from a bird's-eye view, it was difficult to judge the proportions. I found myself repeatedly climbing a ladder to photograph the work and compare it to my reference images. It was incredibly time-consuming and tested my patience, but I was determined to see it through.

Although this experience was upsetting, it taught me a great deal about materials, drying times, structural support and problem-solving. More importantly, it reminded me that setbacks are often part of the creative process, and sometimes perseverance becomes just as important as the artwork itself.