Homer and the Deconstructed Book

Rocky Shore Aldeburgh, fused plastic on paper with stitching,  25x20 cm

 I looked at a delicate sketch by Winslow Homer for Rocky Shore Aldeburgh. I am exploring the potential of holes and the way the colour bleeds through and the mark making potential.  I love the purple in the centre. 

While walking Lyra I wondered whether I could make a fused plastic book by deconstructing a book, preparing it as pages (so I could sew on them), adding to them and using fused plastic to respond to words on the pages. Obviously that was possible, so got on with it. 

Racing Cutters, fused plastic and stitch on altered book page,  24x18cm

One thing I forgot about was that the two page spreads would not be facing pages, so will have to think that through differently and work on a few pages at the same time to get the desired effect.  This book, entiteld 'Looming Lights' will be put back together to make a new shorter book.  There will be 32 pages with 16 fused plastic collages total.  I will try some opened books (a book opened and glued that way with an image on the top page) for the Minories show in this way too.

A Handful of Pebbles, fused plastic and stitch on altered book page, 24x18

Red Tide East China Sea, fused plastic with stitching, 20x20cm

This project needs a bit of research. Today I woke with the idea of 'red tide'. We have more and more red tide in Maine over the summer.  We can't gather mussels or clams most of the time anymore.  One year fish washed up on the beach. We have more jelly fish.  The water is warming. I wondered whether there were any historical paintings of red tide but couldn't find anything. I did find a work auctioned at christies in Hong Kong by a young painter, Na Wei called 'The Red Tide Landscape'.  Incidence of dinoflagellate red tides in the East China Sea is on the rise too. 

I looked at scrolls from the Quing Dynasty and thought about living in Singapore. I find the result a little dystopian.

 I took this in an earlier form to Patrick and gave him a little context - 'the theme is the sea,' I said, 'where is this and what could it be about?'  After a pained look and a little grief he replied 'Japan.' I'm not sure why it should matter but for some reason I seem to think art should communicate something universal.

Exciting new project to prepare for!

Nocturne in Turquoise and Gold, fused plastic collage and stitching (responding to Whistler) 

I met with Michele Webber last week to discuss one of her latest events. She is coordinating and participating in a show at the Minories in August and asked me to take part as one of the artists with a 'solo show' taking over a room upstairs. The theme is plastic pollution around East Anglia and particularly on the beaches/oceans. I will be showing fused plastic and opened books.  Sometime in August I'll also be doing an interactive demonstration about my plastic process.

If you folllow my other blog: https://virtualdrawinggroup.blogspot.com you will know that I haven't been focusing on my plastic so much lately, although I did have a piece in a show in Hailsham, East Sussex recently which coincidentally was about the sea 

Plastic Flotsum, for Vital Water Week, fused plastic collage with stitching

For the show at the Minories my first thought is to make a series of pieces responding to some of my favourite sea paintings, using found fused plastic. Nocturne in Gold (top) is my first piece using this idea and it is in response to Whistler's nocturne number 5.  Obviously we will have to see how that goes but I loved really looking at Whistler, thinking about the way he breaks up space and the marks he makes - finding a language to describe what whistler says and does using plastic is a different kind of challenge. Now I need a title for the body of work I am imagining making.