Playing as I do, I took small left over cropped pieces from larger abstracted photgraphic images and rolled acrylic paint over them selectively with a narrow paint roller (brayer). As I was finishing, I rolled the remains of the colour onto strips of an old white cotton bedsheet from my mother's house - this was all about using up left overs, after all! I then experimented.
I stitched a small square from the pile of painted croppings onto the cotton sheeting and added some other rows of stitching to add extra texture. It was interesting how much the parallel stripes of rolled ink suggested the high rise buildings from which the small photographic image had come. They seemed to have come full-circle.
In this, it was interesting how strongly the black elements in the photos came through the ink creating depth and a quite different and less static effect which I may explore further.
It's always encouraging when idle experiments and 'what ifs' generate thoughts for what may come next.
I stitched a small square from the pile of painted croppings onto the cotton sheeting and added some other rows of stitching to add extra texture. It was interesting how much the parallel stripes of rolled ink suggested the high rise buildings from which the small photographic image had come. They seemed to have come full-circle.
Then, I assembled small croppings from the abstracted photographs.
In this, it was interesting how strongly the black elements in the photos came through the ink creating depth and a quite different and less static effect which I may explore further.
It's always encouraging when idle experiments and 'what ifs' generate thoughts for what may come next.
I dont know why I hadnt thought of rollong off the excess paint onto fabric! I have a folder full of brown paper that I have used for this purpose as I love the effect of scrumpling it but fabric pieces would be useful and I have plenty of old sheets. Thank you. I love your blue. xx
ReplyDeleteThe intermittent print that resulted on the sheeting was the most interesting thing. As you can no doubt see on the top image, the inking was very variable. When I re-inked the roller to use up more of the left over acrylic, I got interesting contrasts when it was reapplied to the fabric. I’m sure this could be exploited further.
DeleteBrilliant Margaret ! I love the way you play !
ReplyDeleteI've become a bit lazy, normally having several stitcheries lined up, but still doing my 'ink spots'. Will they ever end ? ... daunting to say the least.
Happy Easter and be safe out there !
There's a danger in playing too much - I generate so many approaches / images that I struggle to decide which to choose when starting work in earnest. Still, I'm not at that stage this time ... yet!
DeleteYour experience confirms that you can't always get to something by just using your brain to imagine it. You have to do the work, you have to work with your ideas and be open to seeing the accidental or unintended as something that becomes perfect to incorporate. The idea that a brayer mark intended primarily to clean paint off it now reads as one of your high rises is such a perfect example of this.
ReplyDeleteFor me, there really is no substitute for working in the way I do ... with the caveat described to Sharron (Threadpainter) above. It does so often throw up all sorts of things I never expected when I started out. The brayer cleaning on cloth is certainly one of these for this work.
DeleteYes, your response above to Sharron did make me giggle a bit. There's a limit to how much "play" results I can stand lying around. I do think there's such a thing as too much input, the inevitable one thing leads to another that can ultimately lead to nowhere!
DeleteThe trouble is you can't always tell which play is going to yield most fruit ... and maybe there's something even better just round the corner!
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