Pochade carriers for Italy

A stack of carriers

 Open carrier

Closed

I am slowly preparing for September's trip to Italy, with a new run of carriers. These are deeper and larger than previous carriers. 

They are unpainted. I like the utilitarian brown, which I think contrasts happily with the contents. But, of course that means they are not so well protected against moisture. Perhaps I can varnish them.

This sort of craft work is therapeutic and makes for a pleasant escape from the sort of intellectual work I normally do.

A quiet street 2, X-factor

A quiet street 2, oil on card, 6.7 x 13.2 cm

This is the sister painting to that of two days ago, showing the same street but facing the other direction.

To me, this ´picture is less interesting, either because of the excessive use of black paint to mix the greys- which tends to kill the palette- or perhaps the heavier brushwork or perhaps because of some x-factor related to mood, which here is less delicate somehow. The picture was painted from the car because it threatened to rain: this always, obviously, makes one experience the world less keenly.

The notion of an x-factor in making art is one that is critical in distingusing art from craft: a craft object, to me, being one that is capable of being reproduced; while a successful art object contains always the element of surprise and of individual authorship.

*

I am glad to have worked here on a wide scale: it will be nice to do a series of the quiet roads round here. They have their subtle differences of mood which are charming to relate.

Birds and mask: "gesso" experimentation

I'm experimenting with a mixture of P.V.A. glue, water and Plaster of Paris, which is similar to traditional gesso.

The more water in the mix, the more liquid the paste and the longer it takes to dry. Using just glue and plater makes the mix thick and makes it dry extremely fast.



When this "gesso" dries it is slighly malleable, and can be sanded quite happily, leaving quite a smooth surface.

Strips of paper can be dipped in this "gesso" and used like bandages, to help sculpt the piece.



There is something strange about these pieces that is lost with painting.

A selection of finished birds; painting the birds

The birds are nice to hold, and striking to see.


The enamel paint that I used is smooth and thick but can disguise only the slightest surface irregularites. So, for the birds to achieve their true potential, their surfaces should be much smoother before painting.


The paint is too thick to allow delicate detailing, so the birds' designs must aim for boldness over complexity.


In general, I am happy with this batch: the birds are bold and amusing, and there are inevitably hitches in any new projects.

And craft processes proceed in very definate stages, so if you screw up in one of the stages, you usually have to take several steps back to rectify your mistake; given that each stage usually has to dry, experimentation can become laborious.

Wire faces, masks; toys and art; labels

Earlier

Later

It is quite hard work shaping his copper wire to form an armature, which will be the basis of a mask: the wire ends are sharp and can cut your fingers wickedly. I think these armatures need a bit more tweaking, especially around the moth.

It is also quite hard to work the wire in three dimensions to make a good face shape. I think perhaps using wire netting might have been an easier option.

I find with these craft pieces that often in their earlier stages they are more striking, weirder, and as they progress they become less suggestive and more like mere toys. I intend this mask to be quite realistic. I think the more realistic masks are, the creepier.

What is the difference between a toy and a work of art? I suppose a toy is necessarily restricted in intention, while that of an artwork is diffuse, though its purposes are first of all aesthetic.

I love the interactivity of masks; they cross and confuse the boundaries between toy and artwork, between serious and silly like nothing else I can think of.

*

Regular visitors will see that there are now labels at the bottom of the page, making it much easier and fun to find things on this blog.

Papier-mâché birds - Final stages, finishing touches

All the birds need some last touches: from left to right: Woodpecker - detail beak and face; Blue- paint legs; White - detail the eyes; Blue (open beak)- make adjustments to legs/claws; Brown- repaint beak; Boy- paint; Small white bird - improve tail and eyes; Heron- repaint beak



This sort of work can go on and on: I suspect that folk art, which often uses labour intensive methods, came into being partly to use up time.

Perhaps because Papier-mâché is a new medium for me, I don't know quite when to declare the piece over. In truth, I don't really have the patience for very slow craft processes, aso anything I work on has to be finishable in about 4 stages or I go very much off the boil. Also, I think the charm of these things must lie in their hand-made roughness, and the level of abstraction that comes with it.

Papier-mâché has existed for centuries but there isn't - so far as I can see from the various sites- a real canon of Papier-mâché artists. This means one can make it up as one goes along.

This is something of a relief coming from the world of Fine Art, where one is constantly aware of a pressure to compare onself and compete, even with various "Masters".

When I've finished these birds I shall probably make some aeroplanes.

Papier-mâché birds - stage 3; some lessons

Two birds after he first stages of painting.

I have learnt the following things about modelling in papier-mâché and plaster.

1. An armature saves a lot of grief.
2. While plaster can be used to smooth surfaces it cannot be used to model them, as it is brittle and breaks off the paper mache surfaces. Plaster cannot, therefore be used for modelling details either.
3. A certain plastic glue ("Puttex") is good for smoothing surfaces. But it cannot be easily sanded, so you have to smooth it carefully before leaving it to dry.
4. The surface of papier mache is perhaps never going to be eggshell smooth.
5. Papier mache made with white pva glue and water creates a stronger form than that made with wallpaper glue. It is also smoother.
6. Papier-mâché is not good for detailed modelling. The forms made have to be quite simple.
7. The process is quite slow. Allowing drying time betweeen papier-mâché sessions, I suppose one should allow up to two weeks to make a little bird such as the one above.
8. Painting hides some blemishes, but not many.

Papier-mâché birds - stage 2 - leg surgery

Bird with leg implantations.

I am using polyfilla to help make the birds' surfaces smooth for painting.

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Bird

The birds observe the leg surgery: Woodpecker's abdomen has been opened: he will subsequently recieve the wire implantation, which will then be bent to form limbs.

The Consultant Surgeon and Assistant Surgeon discuss procedure.

The Birds do not always balance easily. This Hornbill has cheated using blu-tack to hold on. Perhaps I will need to made a little base for him- I hope not, as this strikes me as inelegant.

Slow week

It has been a doleful week. My lack of energy worsened by the coldness of this apartment which seems to have the effect of immobilising me close to our one, tiny bar heater: flats in Southern Brazil don't often have heating, even though it's always quite coold in the winter.

Anyway, with a view to shifting my conception of what art production is onto the digital age, I cleared out old photo files from the computer. I installed the counters (below)- though for some reason I do not really trust them. And I continued work on the mobiles, cutting out more shapes and considering better how to use them- including a wider varierty of shapes and experimenting with flash, and different coloured filters.

The thing is not to lose the naive, folk art feel of the cutouts in the course of photographing them. If the photograph is too highly manipulated this gets lost and the result is like an overproduced live recording of a performance.

You can see the work so far, here-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28509471@N05/sets/72157621606358902/

The Kingdom of Moth

*

I`m making progress here, using the cut-outs to revist a theme I began last year but somehow couldn't really make progress on- a series of monotypes to be called Moth, a Dream.

 I'd intended to make a series of monotypes which Nick Parker would perhaps write a piece to accompany. But there's a time for everything and perhaps the time wasn't right. Or maybe I over-thought the idea. 

 Anyway, here we go again, this time a giant mobile with The Kingdom of Moth as a working title.

*

What's the point of making stuff?

To clarify my mind- some questions I have been asking myself abut my work (not listed in any order).

1. Who is it for?

- Anyone who likes them. There's no target public, but it's usually people who have a taste for the macabre.

2. What will you do with them after you have photographed them?

- I'll put somewhere or chuck them out them, depending on space. The latter is more likely, though. I'm going to extend this disposablility to ther stuff I make, including paintings- so I'll re-use canvases once I've photographed them.

3. Are they for sale?

- Yes, the price is low. Write me, (Tadeusz598@yahoo.co.uk)and I’ll get back to you.

4. What do they mean?

- Meaning is hard to define in visual art. It isn’t proscriptive. These pieces have a function which is to make life more amusing. I guess I’m trying to draw attention to the strangeness and ambiguity that is everywhere, and to add to it.

5. Why do you like making things?

- I like being surprised by what happens when you play with materials. I think the essence of creativity is play. It's an instinctive delight in materials and their communicative possibiliies.
The technique here is very clean- scissors and card. It's not too difficult and because there is only a limited art tradition connected with paper cutouts, they feel fresh and fun to make. I don't know where they will lead to, which I quite like too.

6. What is the point of making things when there are already so many?

- To satisfy your own creative desires, and entertain others.

I say entertain, because before an artwork is anything else it has to entertain, or the public won't be drawn in. It's not a fashionable world, because it suggest you aren't "deep", but then perhaps being "deep" isn't all its cracked out to be.

Sometimes the things I make are unique, or at least, in conception relatively rare, so having them around is offers anther take on things. If I were just reproducing wholesale from a pattern, though, I still think it would be worth doing, just because it's a satisfying exercise.

I think the "what is the point?" question is very important, because if you can't think of a good answer and if you aren't enjoying making art then you should just give up. There are enough reasons to me miserable without adding to them un-necessarily.

7. Do you think any one gives a hoot about what you make?

- Judging by the number of regular visitors to my sites, and adding to that other people I have on mailing lists and who come to exhibitions I would say between 30 and 150 people give a hoot. Sometimes they leave nice comments, which help me believe that my work matters.

I like being part of a creative network- many artists are very isolated, and very frustrated by what they perceive is the indifference of the general public. The internet is helping enormously to break down this isolation.

8. If you work in one style, then another, aren't you contradicting yourself?

- Probably. But it's only art, you're allowed to be inconsistent.

***


If readers have any additional questions please submit them, and I will attempt to answer them.