I recently read "Surfacing" by Kathleen Jamie
a quick, delightful read, it's a most interesting collection of personal experiences and explorations around subjects that embody "surfacing" in some way or another
it naturally led me to think about how "surfacing" presents itself in my world and likely the most common way is through my creative work
the ideas and techniques that strike me the most seem to have a way of circling around and around, eventually coming back to the surface to be worked at another time
at least once
often more than that
(I like what I like)
what is occupying my thoughts, time and hands these days is something I trialled a few years back when exploring all things "icy"
I was investigating different ways of depicting river and lake ice, particularly the layers that are created as it freezes and thaws at the beginning of winter and then again when it breaks up, most especially in a swift-flowing river
more especially the Yukon River
one way I had sampled that effect was to use silk cloth and paper, cut into rectangles and stitched into sections
I wasn't really trying for realism rather, I was more in pursuit of abstraction at the time
they didn't fit into the final work but my interest was piqued and they have stayed close by since
this week they are inspiring my work once again
one version of the previous trials is a regimented ordering of off-white rectangles of different silks and paper, the other has shapes that are little less regimented and a few flashes of blue along with a tempering grey silk
it's the one I'm most drawn to
I began today's work as before, working in sections but decided fairly quickly I would rather it wasn't that lined up so have already begun changing out some of the pieces I had pinned in place (the top left one in the photo below is since changed as well)
still the same colour palette, mostly the same fabrics and papers though I may have to paint some soft blue-grey paper as the ones I had are down to one or two small fragments
this time I'm working on a much larger version - the base fabrics are cut 3 3/4" x 25" and there are two of them
I have a plan, a loose one and it involves a section of "open water" in between them... we'll see
in my usual fashion I'm beginning with what I know for sure and the rest will sort itself out from there
I hope!
3 comments:
Once again I find myself studying the photos of your work and then looking at the photo at the head of your blog and after that, seeking out other photos previously posted of your beloved frozen Yukon and I see your work and the reality blending into one. Your work is abstract but embodies the reality of those cracks and fissures that have captured your imagination.. and the sheer frozen beauty of it all. Your samples are beautiful and hold so much sense of where your heart lies.
I am sure it will sort itself out as you get to it - it usually does!
Hi Jillayne:
I loved the other piece you already created, and I can appreciate the process you're sharing. Thanks so much. You're inspiring, to be sure.
xoxo
Donna
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