Sifting

This week, was a sifting week. Well, first it was a drawing/painting/working week, then after critique it became a sifting week. Below is the drawing I've been working on most (there's been a bit more work done on it since critique, but there's still a lot more to do):

It is very hectic and chaotic, so next I'm going to push some of the lighter and darker areas, create some larger dark and light shapes for the eye to settle on and create more depth. From now on I'm considering this piece my grand experiment, and seeing what comes of all this chaos of stuff coming together in one place. The funny thing is, that's kinda what's going on in my head every day.

Besides working on that drawing for a good many hours this week, probably a good 5 to 7 at least, I also started work dying new paper for new drawings. I want to see if I can grow some of these drawings out of the dye and see how they evolve. Below is one of my starting points:

Lastly, I continued working on my small study drawings, which I really enjoy and whose portability allows me to work on them whenever I have a spare second. Here is the progress on one, which I probably spent a couple hours on this week if you add together all the small random moments I was able to catch:

This coming week, I hope to start several new drawings and see what resonates with me. Critique fed me a lot of ideas and thoughts, and I'd like to test those out and see what might come of it. I know I have some techniques and trials to sift through, and I'm hoping in the next couple weeks to really hone in on what works best for me and for these drawings. As for today, I bought several sheets of brand new paper, and they are teasing me with there blankness. Can't have that, off I go!

New Materials

So I tried some new tactics this week. Color, gesso, and and new paper. First, I was feeling a little disconnected from my work so I decided to get some energy out. Instead of starting with a drawing I started with paint. Bright red paint, to be exact. The change of pace was refreshing, and gave me the reboot I needed to work on some other drawings.

In addition to the painting, I spent time experimenting with gesso, as recommended by my review committee. I did an underlying drawing, then gessoed over it, and attempted to sand part of the gesso off. This worked to a certain extent. Because of the texture of the paper, only the most raised bits of gesso would sand off, and so the only parts of the under drawing that can still be seen are the parts where I used watered down gesso. Good thing to note for future reference. I began drawing on top of the gessoed drawing as well, but am feeling a little apprehensive about the extreme white background. Maybe if I water it down more next time...

Lastly I started a new drawing on top of my natural dyes, this time involving some color. As it turns out, lemon juice on top of red wine creates this beautiful pink/purple color, and I rather like the effect with the drawing. I also used some gesso instead of white prismacolor for the highlights I added. This gesso technique I actually enjoyed and might continue to use in the future.

Total amount of time spent on these projects was about six hours or so, and I continued some work on some past drawings as well, but the fresh experiments really have me ready to get a lot of work done this weekend and next week. I have a lot of fresh thoughts flying about my head and I am want to get them down on paper asap!

Mixed Media

So, it's been a while. Break left me with a lot to think about and even more to do, and with that in mind I started some new drawings, which have transformed into partial paintings in a sense. Here are the drawings, which I spent about three or so hours on:

So far I have only worked on top of the natural dying treatment I did to the paper, but I plan to go back into one or all of the drawings and add more dye where I see fit. I want to deepen the amount of space I can create, and I think this might add the dynamism that I need to really push these drawings into the place I want them to be.

In addition to these new experimental drawings, I decided to try and paint on one of my sewn paper projects before I draw on it. My midterm committee brought up the valid point that the stitching brings the viewers' attention to the surface of the paper, disrupting the visual illusions of volume and space that I have been creating. I see where they are coming from, so I decided to see if the added color might distract from the sewing and bring the eye back into the field of depth I like to create. Here is the paper dyed, which took me an hour or so. Next week/this weekend I plan to draw on it:

I also went on a supply shopping day, picking up some different papers to try out, just to keep my options open, along with gesso and sandpaper that my midterm review committee suggested I check out. I have yet to use these new materials, but plan to start working on them next week in addition to continuing my current drawings. It's a long, constantly evolving processm, but if I keep pushing forward I think the end result will be satisfying.

Lastly, as suggested by the committee, I spent a couple hours this week absorbed in the paintings and methods of Thomas Lyon Mills, who I am happy to say is absolutely fascinating. His paintings/drawing are inspired by the Italian catacombs, where he is the only non-archaelogist allowed to roam about freely, and his use of mixed media and the organic liveliness he captures in his paintings are inspiring to say the least. Check it out:

With that in mind, I leave you with a beautiful quote of his (which happens to reference maps, just like my work! I'm liking this guy more and more...)

"Like mapmakers, we draw and paint what we observe, but find our drawings inevitably cross over into the unknown, for, like maps, they are never truly, wholly accurate, never allowing for shifting points of view, or even the necessity of dreams.

This then, is our region – where the visible and invisible meet, where the observed and the intuitive lie side by side, and where the seen pays a constant debt to the unseen."

images and quote from http://www.luiserossgallery.com/mills.html

A Fresh Palette

So I went to begin drawing on my paper quilts this week, when I realized I wasn't quite ready for them. I needed to do some experiments first, to see what extra depth I could add to my drawings, and decided to have some fun painting paper with tea, wine, and lemon juice. I spent about 3 hours on these experiments, and the results were quite intriguing.

My paint palette: red wine, raspberry flavored tea, and black tea.

Above is some finished product, hanging to dry on my makeshift laundry line. The purple on the left is red wine, the brown is lemon juice (ironed so the heat would brown it), and the right most piece is a combination of all four paints.

This piece above particularly intrigued me: it is a combination of black tea and lemon juice. The piece was originally just black tea, but when I accidentally dripped some lemon juice on the tea, I noticed it was acting as a natural bleach. I couldn't resist playing with that to see what would happen. I really need to start drawing on these scraps now to see what happens. This weekend/next week, for sure.

In addition to my experiments and preparing for the review next week, I spent a good 6 hours on this drawing. Slow going, but yesterday, after much frustration, I think I broke some ground. There is still a lot of work to do, which I intend to continue this week and into break, but I feel there is progress being made.

As for this coming week, preparation for critique all around! And some drawing, if I can find the time. Finals week, you know? Fingers crossed I survive!

Needles and Pins

My fingers are sore after this past week, but contrary to what you might think, I am quite enjoying the itty bit of pain on account of all the productivity it represents. I completed sewing two large paper quilts of sorts on which I will be drawing all of next week (hence the sore fingers...handsewing is brutal!). If I were to tally the hours, I'd say it would be at least 10 spent sewing. Yeah. Who's the smart one who thought hand-sewn paper would be a good idea? Oh wait, that's me.

But enough complaining, I quite like the effect. I'm interested to see how some drawing will work on/with/against the sewing, and to see whether I prefer the more organic, unplanned piece or the more map-like, gridded, though still somewhat loose piece. Or maybe both will be in order. It's hard to say at this point.

I also spent a couple of hours working on the following drawing, here are some snapshots of the progress:

But once again, the upcoming week will be busy, busy, busy. Much time will be dedicated to drawing, in addition to preparations for Midterm Consultations. I'm thinking it will be a powerpoint making, outline memorizing, speech practicing bonanza. Talk about a party.

Sewing

So, turns out Thanksgiving break is not the best week for productivity. But I did work on my sewing on Monday for a good four or five hours:

Basically, I'm hoping to finish this up this coming week, in addition to another one with a pattern a bit less organic, and get to drawing. Larger scale, I like. Also, need to do some major preparations for midterm review. It's going to be a busy week.

Experimentation

Experimenting was the theme of this week. I bought a supply of lokta paper from Hollander’s, learned how to sew on the new sewing machines in the fibers studios, and practiced several different types of hand stitching.

I really like the subtlety of the white thread, and the organic qualities of hand stitching. At this point hand stitching is winning out as the stitch of choice, but the time it takes to hand stitch is a slight issue...more experiments need to happen before a final decision is made.

All in all, supply collecting and sewing machine learning was couple hours, and I practiced and experimented with different hand stitches for about 5 hours. (Took way longer than I anticipated, something to keep in mind when putting together the final larger pieces). But the time was worth it, cause I have a much better idea now about what I want the stitching in the piece to look like. I intend to do some sample drawings in the stitched paper next week, just some small studies, to see if the stitching I like best right now meshes well with the actual drawing.

I also continued to draw, for a good three hours or so. This drawing was frustrating me quite a bit. Actually, it’s frustrating me still, but I did feel I had made progress in the right direction after the three hours. I'm at least learning a lot about what does and doesn't work in these drawings, and what direction I want to take in future drawings.

Lastly, I read this great essay entitled "Boundaries/Networks" by William J. Mitchell. Bits and pieces of the essay really got me thinking of how I can push my drawings even further, and I am looking forward to seeing the influence this will have on my future work. We shall see!