Case Study
Lunch with Gertrude | David Eustace × Midton Acrylics
A collaboration between Scottish artist David Eustace and Midton Acrylics, exploring the preservation of delicate natural materials through specialist clear acrylic casting.
Lunch with Gertrude
David Eustace × Midton — Art, Encapsulation & Preservation
Our collaboration with Scottish artist and photographer David Eustace began much as every project we’ve worked on together since: with a quick phone call that soon turned into a visit to the foundry.
David has a genuine curiosity about materials and the processes used to shape them. Perhaps this comes from his early career in photography, working long before digital cameras, when developing negatives and producing prints in the darkroom were as much a part of the creative process as taking the photograph itself.
That same curiosity has become an important part of our working relationship. David doesn’t simply arrive with a finished design to be manufactured. He wants to understand the material, explore its possibilities and take part in the decisions that shape the finished piece.
Capturing a Moment
For Lunch with Gertrude, David arrived at Midton carrying a box of leaves he had collected during a visit to Gertrude Stein’s grave in Paris.
His idea was to preserve these delicate objects within three solid columns of clear cast acrylic. But the intention went beyond simply encapsulating the leaves. David spoke about the beauty of their individual forms and how he wanted them to appear suspended within the acrylic, almost as though they were being carried on a gentle breeze.
The challenge was to translate that sense of movement into something permanent.
Working with the Material
Much of our initial discussion centred on the positioning of the leaves and how the blocks would ultimately be machined and finished.
Normally, when encapsulating objects in acrylic, we aim to maintain a clear margin around the contents. This allows the cast block to be machined and polished without exposing or damaging anything embedded inside.
David was interested in doing something different.
He wanted the three columns to stand together with an almost seamless relationship, allowing the leaves to extend towards, and potentially through, the surfaces rather than being contained within a visible border of clear acrylic.
It was an interesting decision, both aesthetically and technically. Rather than treating the acrylic as a protective display case, David wanted the leaves and the material to feel like a single composition.
These early conversations helped establish the approach to the sculpture and, perhaps more importantly, the nature of our collaboration.
Some of the Designers and Artists we have Worked with
Bring Your Artistic Vision to Life
From delicate object encapsulation to ambitious sculptural installations, our team works closely with artists and designers to explore what’s possible with cast acrylic.
The Beginning of a Creative Friendship
Lunch with Gertrude became the starting point for a series of projects with David, each exploring different aspects of acrylic as a sculptural material.
Some have focused on transparency, light and the physical qualities of the material itself. Others have returned to the idea of encapsulation: preserving something fragile, fleeting or deeply personal within a permanent form.
Throughout, the process has remained remarkably consistent. A phone call, a visit to the foundry, and an open conversation about what might be possible.
For Midton, these projects are particularly rewarding. They allow us to combine decades of experience in acrylic casting with an artist’s curiosity and willingness to experiment, often taking the material in directions we might not otherwise have considered.
Lunch with Gertrude was the beginning of that journey.
You meet people who care, who want to do a good job and believe in what they’re doing.
David Eustace Reflects on His Collaboration with Midton
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