Walking into the Nasrid Palaces of the Alhambra is an overwhelming experience. The walls are lined with intricately carved plasterwork, there are jewel coloured tiles, elaborate wooden ceilings, arches, porticoes & exquisteness everywhere one looks!
Therefore knowing where to start in regards to a weekly art project focus was almost as difficult. I am a keen list writer, so I resorted to this tool as a means of organising some options, and from that list, I made a decision.
This week I was going to focus purely on plasterwork.
My initial plan was to divide my 20cm square into sections and create a different pattern in each section, just like so many of the Palace walls. With this in mind, I flicked through my photos drawing diagrams of the different composition layouts. During this process, a voice inside my head kept reminding me that a 20cm square is not a very big space to execute a variety of patterns!!
It also occurred to me that the artisans who carved these incredible plasterwork panels, were also skilled in composing the placement of the panels alongside one another. Although intricate they all cohabited so well together, mixing linear with lacey, more open work alongside very close detailed carving etc.
As I recorded the compositions I'd captured on camera, I was enjoying the way the diagrams looked & wondered whether I could use the layouts themselves as my design and use patterned fabrics to represent the plasterwork. It was worth trying.
It was also a good opportunity to use up some fabric scraps! I tipped my tub of beige scraps onto the work table & started working through the possibilities, identifying different tonal & colour groups within that whole 'beige' category!
I decided that instead of arranging the squares into an overall composition at the start, I would produce each diagram as an individual composition and then arrange them at the end.
And so it began, first the choosing and layering of fabrics, then sewing in the design before cutting away to the layers below. Here's how it went...
I had completed 9 x 6cm squares, each of then unique. It was time to arrange and rearrange...yes...and rearrange again! I'm sure I could have kept on in that manner, but I had to make a decision at some point!
This was the final result.
To be honest I'm torn as to which version I like best. I think I prefer the pre-additional-lines version, but I would have had to think of another way of tidying up the edges of the squares! In that version I like the way the individual pieces interact with one another & if I'd had more time I would have liked to have added some hand stitch or beading, which may have contributed to more cohesiveness.
I don't mind my final result, as it does highlight the individual sections and is definitely much neater. Overall I'm happy with the outcome, either way, and am glad that I allowed myself to explore the 'what if' question. I'm also grateful that in the process of this project I've discovered another facet of the craftmanship of that Palace to be in awe of.
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