Layers, Experimentation and Process
August 23, 2007
The first layer of a new piece [48" x 60" - I think]
With all the "guys" wandering in, around and on top of our house today it is a crazy wonder I have been as creatively productive as I have been this morning. All the projects for our house this year have involved a wide assortment of "guys". There are painter guys, drywall guys, stereo guys, phone guys, an internet guy, a plumber guy and today two art installer guys, two bookshelf guys and I honestly don’t know how many other guys – plus a crane – who were here to replace a huge broken skylight.
I somehow managed to work like a fiend and get at least one layer on somewhere around twenty panels or canvases. Because this next series of work is all about multiple layers, my work needs to be done in the early part of the day so each layer has plenty of time to dry. By the time my clock rolled into the afternoon hour, I was a walking series of layers myself with paint, glitter, ink, glue and scraps of paper all over my hands and on the bottoms of my feet.
As a collage artist, I have plenty of experience working in layers, but taking this to the level I am aiming for has its own new challenges. The largest piece I am working on began with sloppy layers of paint and a message being sung to me by Deb Talan as I worked yesterday (pictured above). The first thing I did to it this morning made it look like this:
These are pages from one of my grandma’s old sewing books, an old music book and one of my old Swirly notebooks. From here I applied more paint, ink and molding paste and it is now drying in the sun looking like this:
One of the challenges I am facing is the wrinkling of the paper and figuring out the best way to adhere it to a new canvas or wood panel. I keep reminding myself this is all about experimentation, and the fun thing about working with so many layers is I feel free to try pretty much anything knowing it will most likely be covered up. Then again, if the papers keep wanting to fall off or peel away I may have to tear them all off and start all over again, but I am not worried about that right now.
What is also interesting about working on so many pieces at once is that I can try different things on different pieces and see which ones begin to stand out and feel stronger. One of my favorites so far started out as a Cuba piece, but I covered all of that work yesterday with this ("Just Stand"):
[That was for you, Denise.]
…a few layers later, it now looks like this:
I am experimenting, learning, making a monstrous mess and relishing the process of watching each piece evolve step by step. These early layers aren’t even going to necessarily contribute to the visual impact of the final piece. More than anything, they are there to make each piece more interesting, and to have its own unique story. The next round of layers will have colors, images and book pages chosen more carefully because they will contribute to the story a viewer will actually see.
I believe every human being walking the earth has an interesting story to tell, and perhaps that is what this current series is all about – a celebration of those stories, some of which are known the world over and some of which are kept hidden on tiny tropical islands or in remote villages in a rainforest. We all have stories that make us feel proud, heartbroken, joyful, shameful, angry and giddy, each story a layer that contributes to who we are and how we make our way in the world. Each layer a lesson in the art of discovering our selves.
hi! this is my first visit to your blog and i am so grateful to have stumbled here. i love reading about the artist’s process, and the layers you are creating are just wonderful.
i can also relate to the worker’s in and around our house. it has been a few months since we painted the outside and redid a bathroom. now we are getting ready to replace a ceiling, maybe two and replastering…oh my, all those people! it is so hard for me. so it was nice to see i am not the only one—at least you manage to be productive.
The only way I’ve ever figured out to make the paper actually dry totally flat to the canvas and not warp or crinkle is–oddly–to get it wet. First I glue it down using rubber cement. Then when it’s totally solid (usually I wait a few hrs) I just take a dry brush, put water on the brush, and then “paint” the paper with the water. Using my finger, I press the paper down so that it will lay flat (the water will make it temporarily warp more). Then I use my handy blowdryer to make it dry completely flat.
I swear I’ve tried every possible method of getting paper to dry totally flat using rubber cement, and nothing but what I’ve just described seems to work–as it turns out, my discovery of that was actually just a happy accident! ;o)
xo
Kate
oh christine…this is A M A Z I N G.
you’re so brilliant.
and free.
i feel it…
i think the concept that layers of your story are embedded into your art is so perfect and valuable and unique. so many pieces of you and your heart hanging on someone’s wall.
that’s priceless.
and beautiful.
please keep sharing your process here.
i am so inspired by you!
i cried when i saw “Just Stand”.
thank you, so much.
my spirit was with you sister.
i actually just wrote about it on my blog.
harmony.
love you.
You know I love EVERYTHING you do but I can feel this is taking you to another level. Its fun seeing the process and I can’t wait to see where it takes you. xoxo
i dunno. i have a feeling about these pieces. a very good, wondrous feeling. i’m thinking this is all the beginning of something for you…hmmm.
Thank you so much for sharing this. The works in prgress really excite me.
I would love to come and sit with you for a little while as you paint and glue and cover and create. When I lived in Gaza one of my best friends and neighbours was a Scottish artist in Gaza teaching art as therapy to traumatized children in a refugee camp. In the evenings he made his own art. I sat in his little studio with him, sipping gin watching the fruit bats around the tree outside the window and feeling that all was okay in the crazy, war-town world. Your art makes me feel that too.
My first ever attempt at making a collage has the words “tell your story” stamped across it because Deb was singing to me too!
have you tried spray adheasive? Beatiful post….we are doing similar art.. always interesting to see.
apasionante !
I LOVE love LOVE these paintings! I am an aspiring painter…just beginning and am intrigued by these!! I love the “tell your story” it is beautiful! Thanks for sharing some of your soul!
I LOVE love LOVE these paintings! I am an aspiring painter…just beginning and am intrigued by these!! I love the “tell your story” it is beautiful! Thanks for sharing some of your soul!
I am catching up on all your blog entries of late and wow! They are mesmerizingly inspiring and JUST what I needed today, this moment, beyond words. (I passed my exam Thursday!) Since then I am just peeking my head back into my own heart to see how I am, where I am, and HOW I really am doing and looking at these photos just reawakened something inside me that said “Go directly to your journal and collage and write the next hours away.” Your path and journey, and most of all your questioning of life and yourself, always makes me smile.
How did you adhere the pieces of paper? With glue? Paint? molding paste? I find your work very intriguing!
LOVE the paintings-gorgeous!!
FYI, Rubber cement is one of the worst things you can use-for numerous reasons (including health reasons). If you use “regular” gel medium and apply a thin layer on the back of whatever it is you are gluing, then quickly adhere it to canvas/paper. “Burnish” and rub out bubbles and wrinkles. Let piece dry 100% (if you touch the paper it should not feel cold if it feels cold it’s still wet). Once the piece is dry you can go over it with gel medium or varnish to protect it. Hope this helps. LOVE the work.
so inspiring to see your new work, and the evolution of it. I missed a couple of years, the piece of you i have here is so far from where you are now!
Hope all is well! x
So exciting…..to see what will evolve!! This new process looks so fun and mysterious and free ~ now that’s ART at its finest!!!