Nothing replaces going to a gallery or museum and seeing up close what people create, and thinking about what inspired them, why they chose the materials they did, and whether their techniques were appropriate to their theme or intention… those are big questions I have in mind as I wander through any exhibition. Most weekends I browse for an hour or two on Pinterest, which I regard as the digital equivalent of looking though the latest art books and catalogues, and I can glance through so many more different media ‘shows’ than I could possibly visit in real time.
This morning I discovered the mixed media art of Wendy Meg Siegal with whom I resonated on many levels, for her thoughts about creativity and inspiration, and her techniques, some of which I also use. Her work features lots of raw edges that are mostly also frayed to emphasise their rawness 🙂 but what caught my attention was that many of her works include holes and cutouts as design elements. As my regular readers know, I’ve long had a thing for holes and lace, as you’ll see if you visit this Pinterest board htpps://www.pinterest.com/alisonschwabe1/holes/ My followers and collectors know that my inspiration comes mostly from patterning in and on the Earth’s crust, and Wendy’s art was a timely reminder of ‘holes’ everywhere around us – in both the natural world and in man-made objects.
Now that I’ve almost finished curating my January solo exhibition (eeek – hanging day Dec 27th is pretty close!) … the next project I’m self-committed to is make an entry (or three) for the SAQA Oceania Region’s exhibition “Opposites”, entries for which open and close in January. Back in September I began thinking about this, and I’m STILL thinking about it.
This little sample has been hanging round for at least ten years, along with others which have all appeared in various posts on the concept of ‘lace’ (I should date them like Shelley Rhodes – she has an actual date stamp) Recently this and the others have been on my mind, calling me down a path I should explore more. When we think of ‘opposites’, one of the things I myself go to automatically is black v white, and as I’m tipping there will be several entries in black/white designs, I probably won’t go there. But of course it needn’t be so cliched, as the design could be made using colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel, or even any two colours separated only by enough values so that, like the two above, as used they perform the function of ‘opposites’, the success of which would be determined by the actual shapes and their arrangement.
But first, I must choose some materials to work with ! I’d love to do a grid of black squares and the brushed metallic finish gold polyester I’m so in love with just now (here’s that ‘glitter’ thing again) but that fabric melts with the iron… nevertheless, I’m thinking about some way to work with it…