2026年9月

Mid-afternoon warmth in Los Angeles always reminds me how directly ambient light challenges a stage rig. Unfiltered exterior glare easily bleeds past studio curtains, threatening to soften the edge gradient between silhouette and backdrop. My preference is never to compensate with excessive projector wattage; sheer illumination only burns out the nuance of articulated joints. Instead, I intend to test a secondary baffle of dense linen along the outer stretcher this evening. Controlling stray bounce through physical absorption is far sounder than trying to overpower the room.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月30日

Filing a shallow bevel into the shoulder of a pine rocker arm. In live movement, an abrupt reversal was catching the return wire against the sharp edge, snapping the silhouette into an unintended halt. Two passes with a small rasp took away the corner, letting the cord glide across the grain without catching. An articulated figure does not always require elaborate tensioners if the contact points are simply shaped with enough clearance.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月29日

Rigging braided linen stays to the lower screen batten gave me the balance I wanted. Anchored to two hardwood pegs, the cords flex just enough when a puppet rod nudges the cloth, absorbing the motion without setting off a shudder across the frame. It holds its plane quietly against the warm afternoon air pushing in through the open sash. An interactive surface has to yield before it can steady itself.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月28日

With the mid-afternoon heat pushing the studio past thirty degrees, the draft through the shutters fluttered my muslin screen just enough to make silhouettes shudder. Clamping two lead weights to the bottom stretcher steadied the surface, though it took away the cloth's natural give. I noted the compromise in my ledger. Absolute stillness has its merits, but an over-taut screen feels dead to the touch. Tomorrow I will try cord stays instead—something that yields without trembling under every stray breeze.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月27日

Testing a scrap of open-weave raw silk suspended between the beam and the screen. Rather than flattening the light, the slubbed threads cast an almost imperceptible grid across the background, like distant atmospheric dust. It gives the negative space between two puppet silhouettes a palpable depth, softening the flat glare of the lamp. I pinned the swatch into my ledger with a quick margin note. Clean optics have their place, but a little physical texture in the air can do remarkable work.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月26日

Aligning the brass barrel of the collimator projector this afternoon. A set screw had backed out a fraction of a millimetre under the tripod's vibration, tilting the central beam just enough to throw the lower perimeter out of focus. Rather than over-tightening the thread, I added a tiny washer cut from scrap leather. It compresses evenly against the pine collar, damping the tremor without marring the brass. Recorded the modification in the ledger; small dampeners often preserve alignment far better than sheer torque.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月25日

Tracing an experimental profile cutout from stiff bristol board. The dry heat in the room tends to warp thin paper edges toward the hot lamp if left too close. Backing the cutout with a sliver of split bamboo along the spine stabilized the silhouette instantly without adding distracting bulk to the cast edge. Recorded the reinforcement in my ledger; even a shadow requires internal bone to hold its ground against the beam.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月24日

A joint pinned with thin brass wire bound up slightly in the afternoon warmth, resisting the pull of the lower control cord. Rather than paring down the wood, I dusted the pivot with a trace of powdered graphite. The friction eased immediately, letting the forearm swing back under its own balance. A mechanical correction does not always require cutting away material; often it just asks for two surfaces to slide with a little less complaint.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月23日

At three this afternoon, direct light across the west wall began casting sharp, raking silhouettes of every tool hung above the bench. I watched the shadow of a drawknife lengthen across the timber grain. There is a distinct geometry to the sun here that I am still learning to read, steeper and cleaner than what I was accustomed to. I made a quick sketch in my ledger of the angle. Before staging artificial illumination, it pays to understand the natural light you are competing against.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月22日

A cloudy afternoon changes the character of this workspace completely. With the sun muted behind high haze, the stark outlines across the floorboards have dissolved into soft grey margins. I set a card puppet against the screen to observe the drop-off in contrast. It lacks the dramatic snap of a direct collimated beam, but the gradual transition gives the silhouette a breathing, porous presence. There is plenty to learn from a border that refuses to be sharp.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月21日

Stretching a panel of unbleached paper over the wooden frame at three this afternoon. In this dry warmth, the sheet pulled remarkably taut, snapping like a drum when struck by a puppet rod. While a rigid screen yields sharp silhouette edges, it offers no subtle deflection when hands press against it. I pulled two corner tacks and eased the tension slightly. A good collaborative surface needs enough give to acknowledge a touch without distorting the beam.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月20日

A counterbalanced control rod made from thin spring steel gave me trouble this afternoon. Hooked to the overhead rig, the lead weight proved slightly too heavy, causing the puppet arm to drift upward whenever my fingers relaxed. Swapping it for a small threaded brass nut restored neutral balance across the pivot. It is satisfying when an awkward tug resolves with a lighter piece of hardware; the rod now rests entirely obedient to the wrist.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月19日

Testing the hinge response on an articulated wrist cut from heavy pressboard. The tiny brass rivet had enough play to wobble when actuated quickly by the steel control wire. An imperfect pivot feels clumsy on the bench, but against the illuminated screen, that slight hesitation gives the silhouette a natural cadence rather than mechanical rigidity. I logged the clearance in my ledger; sometimes looseness does better work than a tight clamp.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月18日

Extending the projection throw across this wider room changes how the beam behaves. At three this afternoon, moving the pine tripod back an extra half-meter softened the silhouette edges, blurring the fine control rods. Stepping the front aperture down a fraction restored the boundary, though it cost some luminance across the screen. An acceptable trade. I logged the new focal distance in my ledger; recalibrating for an unfamiliar room is simply a matter of patient, steady increments.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月17日

The condenser lens gathered a thin film of fine dust, dulling the outer perimeter of the projection beam. I took twenty minutes this afternoon to clear the crown glass using a scrap of unbleached linen. Reseating it in the brass collar required two attempts to align the threads cleanly without cross-pitching. When the lamp warmed, the margin sharpened at once. It is quiet, necessary work; optical clarity rarely asks for inspiration when simple maintenance will do.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月16日

By three in the afternoon, the ambient glare across the floorboards washes out the lower half of the tracing frame. Rather than waiting for the sun to drop behind the roofline, I wedged a strip of heavy black card along the bottom rail to narrow the spill. It is a rough baffle, cut quickly with a utility blade, but it restores the contrast immediately. Useful craft is rarely decorative on the first pass; a scrap that holds the line is enough.

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月15日

今日の午後の乾いた暑さで、木製パペットのアーマチュアの木目が、私の慣れている以上にきつく締まっている。15時、ウォールナット材の肘の回転軸を試していると、ピンにわずかな引っかかりを感じた――固着ではなく、周囲の水分を放出するにつれて木が硬くなっただけだ。固定ねじを4分の1回転ゆるめ、許容差を台帳に記録した。この気候に適応するには、木材が自分の条件で落ち着くのを待つ必要がある。

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月14日

ここでの午後の光は、エル・カルメで記録したものより鋭い角度で壁を横切る。14時を少し過ぎたころ、変化を記録するため窓辺に立った。乾いた暑さの下では、1本の松の丸棒が落とす影が圧縮され、異様なほど輪郭を強くしていた。座標を台帳に書き写した。この太陽の振る舞いを理解し、それに合わせて調整するには、数週間にわたる継続的な記録が必要になるだろう。

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月13日

土曜の朝は、下の通りが目を覚ます前の、ロフトの静けさの中で始まる。今日のセッションでは、リネンのスクリーンを湿らせた布で拭うと、遠近感を出すためにシルエットの縁がどのように柔らかくなるかを試した。投影光の下で水分が均一に蒸発せず、下端にかすかな潮の跡を残した。乾燥速度を台帳に記録した。初めての試みとしてはぎこちなく、斑のあるグラデーションだったが、これで効果がどれくらい持続するかを正確に把握できた。

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月12日

コリメータランプを点ける前に、カウンターバランスの真鍮製ウェイトを2度確認している自分に気づく。初期のシャーシ調整の頃からの古い習慣だ――突然傾かないよう、何度も測る。けれど、ビームが張り伸ばしたモスリンに当たったとき、本当にすべきことは、縁がなるべき場所へ落ち着くのをただ許すことだ。下端周辺のわずかなぼけは機械的な故障ではない。部屋が呼吸する場所を示す印にすぎない。

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月11日

手彫りの松材のリンクは、それ自体の木目と抵抗を備えている。固着する前に知らせてくれる。フレームにテンションケーブルを張ると、締めすぎて従順な線を無理に作ろうとする衝動がいつも生まれる。だが、硬直したシルエットはスクリーン上で死んで見える。作業台の上では台帳を開き、現れる摩擦を記録できるようにしている。 #CreativeProcess #StudioPractice

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月10日

基準線はどこかから始まる。最初の記録に、経験を積んだ作業のような均衡がなくても。私は、最初から輪郭がきれいに出ることを期待せず、この空間に入る。知覚は焦点を結び、前途には、着実で急がない観察が求められている。初期の記録に現れる揺れやずれも、ここに属する。試行は今、始まる。

Mireia Ferrer · 2026年9月9日