Wednesday 23 August 2017

WEEKLY ART PROJECT #44; BARKING MAD

My mind has been a bit obsessed with tree bark lately!

I am working on some new art pieces for a small exhibition in February &...you guessed it...my new work is inspired by bark!

To inspire me even further, a friend has lent me this book.  Within these pages are the most incredible photos of tree bark from all over the world. It is such a visual pleasure to look through.  As a result I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to find & organise my own collection of tree bark photos... none of which come close to those shown in this book!

It seemed logical then, to use bark as my theme  for this weeks art project.

Time was in short supply, so I reached across my messy desk, grabbed a sketch pad, a view finder, pens & pencils & started looking at lines!

I was trying to find a place where I could adapt the deepest grooves in the tree bark into lines & from there, I could work out shapes & colour.

Once settled on a design & a colour palette that pleased me, I found some fabrics that were a close match.  A friend has recently given me some discontinued curtain swatches, which are a convenient size for these weekly projects.  They also contain fabrics of different weights & textures.  Having chosen mainly plain colours, I hoped that the texture of the fabrics themselves would provide interest.

For this project I had two different coloured outlines.  The outlines in the first colour were drawn on using a lightbox with the template/pattern/map underneath.  Once cut back, I drew the line guide for the second coloured outline freehand.

After cutting back those outlines, it looked like this & I was pleased to see a bit of textural variation coming through.  Cutting back continued ...

What this last photo doesn't show, is how thick the depth of the piece was!  It was a little like a relief sculpture!

I was very pleased with this outcome & love the flowing lines & colour combo.  Not a bad result when I started this today, completely lacking in motivation & desperately wanting to get on with my other work!
 









Monday 14 August 2017

WEEKLY ART PROJECT #43; TRYING SOMETHING NEW

There is a lot happening in our garden at the moment.  Irises are beginning to burst into flower, more daffodils are dotting the garden with sunshine, and...finally...our agave bud has begun to bloom!

It has been extraordinary to watch the slow development of this plant's flowering process.

The flowering seems to happen in bands. As one layer opens into flower, the layer below begins to die. 
The local bees are having a festival of feasting!!

As I printed off copies of the photos above,  I really had no idea what I was going to do in terms of design, for my art project this week.  Having the self inflicted restrictions of size & technique meant that my options were limited.
Sometimes when in a place of stuckedness, the only thing to do is move forward anyway & hope that something will budge!  Out came the pencils & water brushes.

In the process of recording, it was the watercolour play that I was most enjoying.  The way the colours bled & blended with each other, having begun in a controlled way, but then taking on a direction of it's own... was exciting to watch.  It was the uncertainty that created the magic.
A blank white piece of paper could be transformed with water & colour .
I asked myself the question... what would happen if I tried this with white fabric instead of paper?

Not just one layer of white fabric...

...but another...

...and yet another, sewn in layers on top of each other, with two further layers below...

...and then cut back...

...to reveal a white-on-white-on-white-on-white-on-white flower motif?  Each of those white layers having a design already printed onto it, adding texture & interest... what would happen if I applied water & painted on dye?

This would happen!

Oh...but then the decision...do I paint the background as well, to cover up the colour bleeding, or do I leave it in this gentle subtle state?

Out came the brushes again.

This is the result.
It could easily be a hibiscus for a Hawaiin shirt couldn't it?
Whilst the colour match is not perfect with one of the flowers on my agave bud that was the all important starting point in a process, THIS is the result.

It has been a very enjoyable play today & I am happy with the outcome.  I am particularly pleased with how the patterning on the different 'white' fabrics, show in relief to the colour I have applied to each layer of this piece.  Whilst a strong part of me was inclined to leave it as all white, ( because I liked it like that!), and then another part of me was inclined to leave it at the painted flower point, (because I liked it like that too!), I'm glad I experimented with it to this end.










Tuesday 8 August 2017

WEEKLY ART PROJECT #42; MAGPIE MATTERS

The magpies have been messing with my body clock!

One of the delights of living where I live, is that in the big old trees gathered in my front yard, many birds like to visit.  There is nothing quite like starting the day with birdsong & the caroling of magpies is one of my favourites.

HOWEVER, at the moment, they are in their mating season & establishing both relationships & territory.  This means that magpies can be heard at any time of day or night!  With a body clock attuned to the sound of magpies signalling it as time to get up....their current tendency to chortle away in the earlier hours of the morning is really discombobulating my sleep pattern. Consequently, I am...a magpie affected zombie!

There's nothing else to do, but make magpies the subject of my weekly art project!

After gathering together a few photos, I decided on my water pens & black paint to make some very loose images, with the main focus being on the shapes of black & white.

Further exploration & then a linear breakdown of spaces & shapes helped me on my way to creating a usable design to try out with fabric.

The lines of sewing held only 4 fabric layers & a backing in place.

As  the first two layers were black fabrics, I chose to skip cutting the first layer back until after I had dealt with the lighter coloured fabrics.  This gave a cleaner line to the edge & sharper contrast.

Even with minimal cutting back, it was beginning to look interesting.

Cutting back the first black layer to reveal the second doesn't look like much in this image, but, being satin, that second layer does look good with the light on it! A shiny fabric  dances with the light, & brings energy & interest to a piece.

I had noticed that in my haste to get the project done, I hadn't included a fabric for the background....what little there is!  Therefore, I whipped out the paints & painted directly onto the area.  Problem solved!

Although this type of design is more like what I'd do as a sample piece in preliminary work for a bigger project, I am still quite pleased with the outcome.  With a brain considerably vaguer than usual, multiple interruptions & many distractions, I was just pleased to get SOMETHING done at all!!