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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Collage turned affirmation turned wall decoration

This is the way I've turned the collage work from yesterday into something useful. I‘ve written sort of affirmation onto it, that I have to recall myself quite often last time. Choose to be KIND rather than being RIGHT. Somehow I‘m feeling that I‘m sort of oppressing my little girl with ALL the important things I know SO MUCH BETTER. Simply because I'm an adult.  Though I do not actually think that imposing my rules all the way is that constructive. Of course it‘s okay speaking of physical dangers, but anywhere else I really have to hold myself back with „Stop, I have a better idea“. So I should better let her realize hers, whichever they might be. 

That‘s how I made this piece – the most difficult part being to find the right place, scale, and font for the words – I‘ve spent a couple of sleepless hours mentally going through my fabric piles, paper scrap baskets and, and, and… To find at the end that the most simple way would be just as right. And yes, I had to ruin a bit the frame, I've bought long ago - a simple cheap white wooden frame, that I've sanded to let it look older and vintage-like.

Well, now I‘m working on those illustration project or supposably-going-to-turn-into-a-book thing, that has to involve so many things like crafty projects, creative ideas along the reading – today I‘ve started preparing the backgrounds in a messy mixed way. Stay tuned, I hope I can share them soon.


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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

About a failed project and spontaneous work as a remedy

For today I was planning to finish the book about birds, and, yes, I‘ve finished it. And it was rejected. Too simple, somehow diluted, not that strong. The rainbow colourway didn‘t appeal to me in a way that I‘ve expected. I‘ve spent quite sometime figuring out why I didn‘t like it. About colours, about shapes, about composition and layout – in every singe point there was something to critisize. Now I‘m gonna take time and re-think it completely. I still do like the „Ansatz“ of the whole idea, but it has to be re-defined in lot of terms before the realisation goes any further. 

Well, for today I‘m gonna share results of some collaging late this morning. Starting point was that I didn‘t want to use any of primary colours more, and I needed something quick as well, to paint afresh and wipe the polychromy of prevoius project from my sences. I needed a remedy.

Actually I do prefer secondaries and tertiaries (colours), taking maybe a couple of them for accents, and lots of graduations in between to fill the space (one of the reasons why rainbow from the previous attempt made my uncomfortable). So knee deep into pink and olive, jawohl! 

This all being a part of learning how to collage the backgrounds for any other projects. Right now I only want to get acquainted with some sort of spontaneous work, some fun activity that I could easily squeeze in an hour or two without worrying much about getting some mature result. I would like to make it part of my creative routine – finding time to work spontaneously, with the minimum of planning, drafting and pondering, just let some sort of instincs or you name it, flow. 

What it can be good for? No idea, for nothing, actually, and for whole lot of things – for pleasure of working with a couple of beautiful colours, for some creative meditation, for pleasure of being spontaneous, for quick start and suprising results, for maybe some future projects, for watching it evolve quickly and generate new unexpected ideas, for pleasure of feeling free and not to have any path to follow, but only that of a feeling of the moment, for minimum of technical constraints, because paper works allow it. Quite a lot of PRO‘s to continue. 

Anyway, if I‘d bring it to some sort of sketchbook, doing it regularly, I would be happy. I cannot help but expect to have something that features a certain usability, something that has been made for some purpose, that‘s how I am. Well, maybe there IS a purpose, only that I do not see it clearly right now, but I have to trust my instincts, that's who I want to be.




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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Preparing new soft books - COLOUR birds

Here‘s a project that I‘m making based on sketches for another project. I was simply playing around with different birds, like flying bird, bird taking off, sleepy bird, singing bird, making drafts for the illustrations that I‘m currently working on. Than came the idea to put all those birdies independently into another soft book, though actually I was making a soft book on triangles (pretty obvious after having made a soft book on circles). And here‘s a peek preview.
 


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Monday, January 28, 2013

A couple of new pencil cases in mixed technique

Here are some new pouches, that I've finished this morning - they are actually looking rather like pencil cases. 

They are all about 13 x 23 cm, made of variety of fabrics (lino printed corduroy, cottons, mixed linens, linen, printed and painted linen, some woolen mixed fabrics). They are all padded, so that they stay nicely in shape, and lined with some middle weight pink cotton. They all have a decorative strap of orange nubuck leather, attached to the zipper -  a nice detail, not very practical though, for nubuck leather is not that much pull-resisting.

I like each of them.

That is actually the size that I'm pretty comfortable working with, I'd even say this is the perfect size for my upcoming pouch a.k.a. pencil case projects, so I'm gonna prepare a couple more of them for sell.









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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Fabric paints, lino printing - making of pencil cases

And today I‘ve been preparing what I was talking about – printing, fabric painting. I think they gonna become new pouches/pencil cases. And I‘m still working with this rose-orange colourway, embedded in olive greens and greeny browns. Last week I‘ve already seen some early flower pots during my routine grocery shopping, and all of a sudden I wanted a couple more colourful touches in my work as well …


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Saturday, January 26, 2013

New fun saturday project - illustration

It has been a couple of times since I‘ve started this blog, that I‘ve written about some picture projects for children: drafts of colouring books with stories, collage projects, other sketches. I‘ve also talked about that I like often to discuss/explain questions to my little girl to all the „what‘s“, and „why‘s“. So as long as I‘m trying not to reduce some questions to simplistic phrases „parce que c‘est comme ça  la vie“, I do make efforts from time to time to develop a story based on those questions. Or based on some important things that I‘d like her to understand and keep thinking each time she finds herself in a similar situation. So when I‘m keeping all those things in mind, I‘m sort of feeling myself being placed in front of a mirrow – like „am I actually exemplifying through my behaviour what I‘m moralising about?“. And yes, sometimes I have to correct and pay attention, that‘s what I appreciate a lot, like sort of secondary effect from those discussions. 

Well, well, this time there were ideas about talking about what to do, when we do not get what we want, about looking around, about patience… Lot‘s of questions that somehow all come together in a little story. 

Remember, I‘ve recently talked on a concept about interactive books, including some challenges as side marks, including some questions, that a child has to answer, about pictures, that sparks some sort of brainstorming activity. So this afternoon I‘ve played around with some illustration to that story. My little girl played as well, so we did a LOT of mess in my studio, that I've recently painfully re-arranged and cleaned. Who cares? It was fun, a bit exhausting though to keep her away from squeezing acrylic paint all around, but obstacles motivate me in a quite effective way, otherwise I would have spent my afternoon day dreaming and doodling. 

So there will be a bee in a story, lots of questions, and some illustration in mixed technique you see below – the same way I work with fabrics, the same way I work on paper – messy backgrounds, some printing, lots of cut work – here's the first attempt, for the rest I‘ll gonna keep you  posted.


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Friday, January 25, 2013

Playing CIRCLES - the new soft book is ready!

And here's another book - about CIRCLES. 

Every single image here has been made of circles, semi circles and quarters. Each side of a double page has been composed of the same elements as another side. Three double pages.  

It has been a while since I've been thinking of using this colour way: mustard yellow, some orange and rose - and here it came out - in a book - and I've enjoyed making it, this time without all the beginning's mistakes, and re-makes. Now I'm quite satisfied.

 









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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Preparing a new soft book - playing with CIRCLES

Another soft book I'm currently working at - entitled "Playing with CIRCLES". It's about fun way of seeing CIRCLES, recognizing them, using them. I was surprised actually, how many different things, beautiful and interesting things can be made from cutting a simple circle in pieces - semi circles and quarters. A new, fun and challenging experince that I'm gonna use in my other projects as well. 

Besides of that I'm gonna re-start my fabric painting-lino carving-printing-messy patchworking soon again. This morning I've made a couple of sketches for printing some new place mats that I'd like to realise by the end of the week. We'll see...




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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Another soft book - Book#2

Now one of the upcoming books is ready. It has the same construction scheme – three double pages, both images on each of double pages are made of same amount of shapes – to show how different objects can be composed. It can be used to - first -  teach and explain the basic shapes, to learn to distinguish them, then - second - how anything can be made based on them, then - third - explaining how to use them in different ways – same shapes, but different results – it‘s all this multi-usability principle, that I‘ve detailed in one of my prevoius posts about another soft book. 

I‘ve used heavy linen, as always, and some various fabrics for appliqué. It‘s all free machine stitched around. All the pages are padded for more form stability.










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