Last month I came up with a little project to help keep me going creatively - namely, submitting old work to new shows. The point is to be creative with the old work, and the
first submission involved reformulating what the work was about.
This month I'm using much the same statement to support the
submission of "the second scroll".
It was started while the first was being exhibited somewhere, I forget where ... I loved that way of working, and how it slowly but surely grew. At the time I was using this stitching as a way to start my studio-time, trying to focus on what I was planning to work on that day.
No.2 is shorter, 206cm rather than 370cm (they are 26cm wide). I photographed the siblings together -
The box in which No.2 is kept also contained the colour-catchers onto which the strips of newspaper are stitched - but they haven't been inked. It's a beautiful day and I'm determined to get away from the computer and do some sewing while in the garden. So some colour-catchers have been inked up and are drying. They are very absorbent, and I experimented with how to extend the ink - how far could it be diluted? Haven't finally answered that question; my experiment involved spraying the fabric and loading the brush with neat (chinese) ink
On the left, the right side was sprayed before ink was applied; on the right is the back of the piece, with the left side sprayed after ink was applied. So, the ink spread nicely but didn't soak right through, the water got there first. Whereas, once the back had been sprayed with water, the ink came through and spread.
While getting the sheets nice and dark, I messed about with a little mark-making - nice dark, soft marks scribbled with the end of a paintbrush -
Next experiment, dilute the ink and apply liberally.
Top, 50%; middle, 25%, bottom, sheet folded and 25% added liberally. Applied with sponge brush.
These are the "monoprints" (footprints?) of the three -
And then I piled up the sheets on top of a fresh one, to see how much ink might be forced onto it -
The marks aren't as black as "spilt ink" would be, but it's certainly an easy way of filling a dauntingly white page!
The proof will be in the pudding - how dark will the diluted sheets be? Did it actually save ink to do that - a teaspoon of ink stretched to three sheets. It was certainly quick to do ... if you don't get sidetracked into markmaking.
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