Tuesday, 17 January 2012

art tells a story

Cloth book cover from 2004

This is a picture of a book cover made in 2004, measuring about 27 x 19cm. Sometimes people have asked why I don't make  larger scale work. It is generally a practical consideration because I machine embroider directly into the surface of the canvas. Perhaps I should show a picture of the back of one of the completed works so the stitching can be seen! So my preferred scale to work on is seldom any bigger than 70x 1metre because of the practical consideration of getting the canvas and manouevering it effectively under the arm of the machine and the stitching foot.

Yesterday I assisted at a workshop for children with Autism. It was a high energy day! Over 20 years I have taught many workshops to people who want to learn more about making art and attended many as a student myself. There is always something to learn whether you are the teacher or student! I learned this fantastic technique and plan to make some time to experiment with it. Working on thick watercolour paper (or in my case probably on canvas) the teacher prepared about 6 colours of acrylic paint in disposable plastic bowls, thinned about 20% with acrylic thinner medium. Small puddles of paint were tipped at random over the paper and a blow dryer held over them. This caused the paint to move and spread out. More puddles of paint were tipped into this to build up many layers of paint. In some areas because the paint became so thick a really interesting crackle effect started happening. The whole surface could be covered in this way or parts of the background left showing through. The finished "art" was fantastic! 




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If you are interested in buying an artwork or booking a commission, please email me at pearl@upstairs-art.com.au