INTENDED & INSCRIBED (WAP; Istanbul #17)

 Having returned from two months exploring Iceland & Norway, I have now recovered from jetlag & am trying to get back into the rhythm of my life!
Naturally, that means regaining a disciplined art practice, of which a weekly art project is an important part.
What to do though!  Do I forget all about the rest of the places I visited in Istanbul & start afresh with exploring my more recent travel adventures in the Nordic realm?? Or do I complete my series inspired by beautiful Istanbul?
SUCH a hard decision to make...but, back to Istanbul I go!

For the month of August, I want to specifically focus on the wonderful Hagia Sofia. Absolutely reeking of history, with every step revealing some form of creative beauty... the month of August might not be enough!!

I have started with two rather different inspirations.  These carved pillars have the most beautiful leaf pattern and the stone contrasts with the brightly coloured & decorated walls .  A lot of my own work has been inspired by architectural decorations like this, so it seemed a good place to start.

 The other  source of inspiration is from markings inscribed in marble.  These were not intended by the builders & decorators of this great place.  These are graffiti marks...runes left by a visiting Viking back in the 9th century.  As I've just returned from the land of the Vikings, it seemed appropriate to include it in my first post-holiday piece!

 Visual note taking involves the question, "what am I seeing?", and in answer I use pen & graphite crayon to express my answers.  As I draw & shade in tones, I begin to get an idea of how I might use these marks to create my own design.

 I decide to use the 'mirror image' technique, with a border inspired by runes. Gradually it comes together on paper and then it is time to rummage through the fabrics.

 My fabric choices are dramatically influenced by the coloured pens & crayon that I'd been using to draw with.  I liked the combination of warm neutrals with the cool greys & it didn't take me long to find some worthy fabric candidates.  The gold swirl fabric was an unusual choice, but I was desperate to get rid of it.  It  has a large stain over the bulk of the fabric from when the cat decided to pee on it!  (This is why I generally don't allow our cat into my work space! ) There was just the right amount of non- stained fabric for this project & then I can toss the rest away without feeling guilty!!! 

 The golden brown fabric was to be my top outline layer, but because it has a sheen on the surface of the cotton, it wouldn't take my air erasable pen.  After three attempts with three different pens, I gave up & resorted to sewing from the backing.

 Once the stitching was complete, I flipped it over and began to cut away to reveal the outlines.

 The second cut back varied a little. For the upper portion of the design, I cut back 2 layers of fabric at the same time. This gave me another outline ( the background), from which I could cut into layer #2 and know where I was going. The requirements for the bottom section were different, so it was cut back just one layer at a time!

This is how it looked when three layers had been cut back.

And...the end result.
This piece has taken a LOT of intricate cutting and I have to aknowledge that the whole process has taken me more than a single day to complete.  Clearly, I'm a bit out of cutting practise!!!!!!  Nevertheless, I am very pleased with it & I particularly like the randomness of the runic patterns at the bottom.

I haven't used my 'layout' phone app for a while, so I couldn't help wondering how this design would look if it was manipulated & repeated.

WOW!  I like that!! What a great way to get back into the art of cutting back!