T1-MMT-P5 Sketchbook completed

All the sketching work of Part 5 is now bound into a book ready to send for assessment. Before showing that I want to show the final few pages, not previously posted.

p5-sketchpage 077; 20160320

At the top, manipulation of a photo inspired by Dryden Goodwin’s mould prints (http://www.drydengoodwin.com/mould_prints_2011.htm and http://www.drydengoodwin.com/Mould_2011.htm). At first look these seemed like plaster or perhaps clay masks, but they are actually photographs that have been pierced and torn and moulded to become three dimensional.

I wondered if this could be another way of presenting my photographs of objects – so many links to exercises in the course! The result wasn’t encouraging. I was working at small size and the vessels aren’t a common shape so there is no assist from the human visual system. The final straw was that my photo paper has the manufacturer’s name on the back – very distracting.

Below that is a printout of shape play. I’ve spent some time playing with photos to create simplified shapes, thinking of using them to experiment with compositions, or perhaps as stencils.

p5-sketchpage 078; 20160326

Random jottings, including trying to get my head around time zone differences with various changes to and from summer time.

p5-sketchpage 079 20160326

This shows a photo printed on watercolour paper and put into the sketchbook.

photo on sketchpage 079; 20160326

Above is the actual photo, using my simplified shapes and putting them into a space – Flinders Island. It’s very flat, the shapes sitting on top, as if a sheet of glass separates them from the environment.

p5-sketchpage 080; 20160406

In another attempt I used actual photos of the vessels, most of them with opacity reduced trying to get them to fit in better. Not worth pursuing.

p5-sketchpage 081; 20160401

I was taken by Briony Fer’s comments about Hans Arps use of line, so experimented making forms buckle with different scales of line.

p5-sketchpage 082; 20160330

I was dissatisfied with the photographs I took of my vessels wrapped in brown paper (18-Mar-2016). One of many problems was the flat lighting, so I tried drawing on a printout of a photo to see if some highlights and shadows would improve matters. A great improvement, as is simplifying the floor and wall patterning. Definite lessons there.

The plan was always to bind my Part 5 sketch work into a book. I’ve tried to bring together a few ideas from the course.

Sketchbook front

The front and back covers were first covered in crumpled brown paper – echoes of Part 1, and also of various wrapping exercises.

Shapes on the front and back are based on samples in Part 5. I haven’t used paints or collage very much, and was intrigued by Briony Fer’s discussion of Jackson Pollock, in particular Cut Out and Shadows: Number 2. Contradictory patterns of drips of the paint surface and cut-out shapes lead to all sorts of considerations about representation, figuration, abstraction, the nature of painting…

Out of that complex academic treatment I extracted simple ideas of dribbling paint and collage.

Sketchbook binding

For the binding I used a packed cords technique from Exposed Spine Sewings by Keith Smith. I like the use of wrapping, travelling up the cords on the spine, and designed the spiky black attachment to echo the zigzag stitching on sample p5-4.

Sketchbook front and back

One of the useful features of p5-4 is the plumes of black, which arch over space and link areas in my compositions. Here they arch across front and back of the book, sheltering sample p5-8.

I think the end result is attractive, appropriate, not particularly robust but sufficient for the journey ahead.

References
Fer, B. (1997) On abstract art New Haven and London: Yale University Press
Smith, K (1995) Exposed Spine Sewings: Non-adhesive binding volume III Rochester NY: Keith Smith Books.

T1-MMT-P5 Sketchbook completed
Textiles 1 – Mixed Media for Textiles
Part 5: A final piece
Sketchbook completed