Experimenting and Just a Few Glimpses of Delight

Further experiments and I'm still thrashing about producing little that I really like.  This is a familiar feeling and I've learned not to take it too seriously, but to let my imagination play with the ideas and apply some patience.  I'm also looking for a colour scheme.  As I said in the previous post I was particularly taken with 4:2:8, a bleach and Brusho sample which is blue-black, deep turquoise with greens and rich creams.  Many of the successful samples below are created with Brusho.

Lettering Techniques:

4:2:9 shows writing samples using black ink following the suggestions given in Chapter 2.   The final two examples use a cork and a stick.

4:2:9

4:2:10 and 4:2:11 show bleach on Brusho experiments.  4:2:12 rubbing with wax candle on canvas, paintstick writing, glue applied with a card strip and finally glue writing using a pipette. These four samples are all painted over with Brusho.

4:2:10

4:2:11

4:2:12

At last a glimpse of  a technique that appeals -- glue printing. The card printed shapes remind me of an embroidered piece based on the shipping forecast which I did last year (4:2:13).  The letter shapes are angular, reduced to simple unembellished lines.

The rubbing idea also seems to have potential but the canvas surface here is too regular, something rougher and less uniform would be better.  Below in samples 4:2:13 and 4:2:14 I've tried the techniques again.

4:2:13

4:2:14

And what is it I like about this rather rough and ready piece?  Well, the Brusho covers the glue rather than sliding off it and that surprised me. What I'm seeing here are letters subtley gleaming, the slightest hint of a change in texture on the surface.

4:2:15

Now a candle wax rubbing, lettering done on a curved and rough textured fossil.  This time the writing is distorted by the surface, the Brusho runs off to reveal white marks.

Blocks of Writing:

Creating these blocks of writing are the most delightful way to spend time.  They are experiments using a range of writing implements: fine to thick felt tips, some with chisel ends, soft pencils and a water pen. Again the word written is "encoded", sometimes in capitals, mostly lower case and joined.  The paper has been turned, sometimes frequently so that the words run in opposite directions or at right angles to the first layer of text.  A variety of networks are created.  On the two middle samples only part of the square is covered by a second layer.  Tonal effects result. All these samples hark back to 4:2:4 and 4:2:5 in an earlier blog, but this more recent group shows greater intensity.  Each square has been worked into again and again.  None of these though have the appeal of 4:2:5 and 4:2:6.

4:2:16

Below, in sample 4:2:17 the words have been written repeatedly in wax, then flooded with Brusho and further worked into.  I was very taken with this piece, so much so that I printed it out on a piece of silk organza and stitched into it.

4:2:17

4:2:18

This is as you can see is only a start. I like the variegated stitching using the same shaped letters as on sample 4:2: 14.  In the navy markings I tried to hark back to the Alice Fox piece I talked about in Chapter 1 (4:1:26). Each stitch shows the first marks of each letter, resulting in a series of curved and straight lines.  I took this idea a step further and in the ecru markings only an acute accent and line are made.  The thread's too heavy creating a sinuous breaking with the angularity of the whole and part letters. What is attractive is the shadow of the thread beneath, something I remember noticing in Sarah Burgess' workshop.  Overall I think the ideas I'm grasping at here have merit, but the selection of threads and stitch execution need much more careful consideration.

Jewels in my Pocket:

We always talk at home about those facts, insights, stories, memories that you squirrel away as points of reference.  What are mine from this chapter so far?

• Glue Writing and Rubbings densely worked
• Angular Lettering with its potential for further reduction
• The Colour of Brusho which will provide a Colour Scheme