Twisted Sisters

Twisted Sisters - 2B, 4B, & 8B graphite; compressed black charcoal, and white charcoal drawing on paper

The body of work I have created for my art class. I am yet to receive a mark. The concept behind these drawings are self-image, how one presents themselves, and how other people can distort that image. This is not in any way related to body image.

Giraffes for Mum

Linocut print, approx 30 x 30 cm

It's been a long time since I've had a chance to post, or even been inspired to.

I finally was able to print a lino block I had crafted for my mum, who's favourite animals are giraffes. It turned out relatively well. Personally, I'm not fond of depicting animals as an artistic subject. But mum seems to like it, which is all that matters.

Breaking It Down

(compressed black charcoal, white charcoal, 2B, 4B & 8B graphite on paper)

I made this for my body of work on the human body - hahaha, a play on words - at school. I have a couple more to do yet. But this is the first completed one. I'll be mounting it on black card. I've cropped this image digitally to what I want it to like like, but I'll have to cut it in real life.

The concept of this image deals with misinterpretation of who a person is / what they stand for. This is a distort external self, that everyone sees. This is not about body image or anorexia or whatever. This is about self worth.

Cheek to Cheek

When I began to design my next lino print, I decided I would ask my mother if she wanted me to make something for her. I've never painted or drawn or created anything for anyone other than myself before, as artmaking to me has always seemed something personal and exclusive - very much an expression of self. So it truly is an odd phenomenon to be making art for someone else.

I know that she particularly likes lino prints. She was rather pleased when I brought home my Venus prints, and she has - what we expect to be - a linocut print of a platypus hanging in our house, it looks embellished (touched-up) to me.

Anyway, I simply enquired as to whether there was anything she'd like me to picture in it. And, because her favourite animal - other than the platypus - is the giraffe, she requested that I created a print of them.

The quick sketch, before it was transferred

I accepted the challenge, and on Google Images found a rather lovely photograph of - what is presumably - a mother giraffe leaning down towards her baby. They were cheek to cheek, and I knew it was something that would make my Mum happy. After all. I'm her only baby. I adapted it to a quick sketch and then transfered it to the linoleum square (30 x 30 cm), of which I was aware it would be printed backwards.

The actual lino square, complete with carving haha :)

Long story short; I didn't feel that I'd be able to draw it opposite to the original, but whilst I drew and carved I frequently held it infront of the mirror - making sure it was symmetrical enough not to be freakishly disproportionate.

Showing the cuts

I've finished the carving, shaded over it with a piece of paper to check my cuts. Now all that's left is buying some larger paper for the printing process. Back to Eckersley's haha.

IMT: Chalk

A really slack effort on my behalf, I've been busy once again which is my usual excuse. The real deal: productive procrastination. Earlier on in the year I took this photo randomly of the chalk board in my photography class...

I totally promise I will try harder next week. I will make an effort. No more slacking off and waiting until the Tuesday or Wednesday to get something randomly done.

This is part of my 101 Things, which I'm struggling with at the moment.

Ink and Graphite

Soul Comes Out - ink & pen in VAPD

I'm really loving working with ink and pen lately. I've also rediscovered my passion for graphite drawings.

This first ink drawing was an impulsive drawing and I think it was influenced by those face mugs you see around. Revolting things they are.

Abstract Female Form - 2B, 4B & 8B graphite in VAPD

This second drawing is more or less inspired once again by the armless "Venus di Milo", and Brett Whiteley, and many of my previous odd nude drawings. It's not finished yet, but I'm doing a series of works similar to this for a body of work at school: I think. I've not decided yet. If I do, I think they'll be a mixed media work.

The world seems a little better since I got my muse back :)

Child Art

As part of IMT's theme of "Child Art" this week, I've created a child-like drawing inspired by my own childhood drawings. I used pretty pink paper like I would have, and a felt-tip pen. Gosh. I really love felt-tip pens when I was younger.

I thought about the way I used to draw, and soon I found - almost straight away - that I had channeled my inner child and crafted something that could easily have been mistaken as something I'd done aged 4 or 5. It was amazing, to pick up on that.

I used to draw like mad - almost obsessively - as a child. Pens were my main tool, and paper. I grew up in an office, basically. I often made little books aswell, and asked Mum how to spell illustrated, so I could scrawl on the front of these stapled pages "Written and illustrated by Sarah I...".

We still have many of my drawings and the little books I created.

A later entry in the week, but I've really enjoyed this topic and getting to re-visit my child self.

IMT

While I haven't created anything just yet, I'm really stoked that my suggestion of "Child Art" was chosen for Inspire Me Thursday this week.

I really hope everyone has fun with this topic, as I know I will. I'm really motivated this week to create something messy like Aelita Andre, or something primal like the drawings I made when I was little.

I can't wait to see how everyone interprets the theme :)

Poem: "Letters"

I've been experimenting with poetry lately, as part of one particular challenge in my Day Zero Project. Number 27: Write a poem a day for a month. This wasn't for the challenge, but one of my other tasks is doing IMT everyweek for the duration of the 1001 days (143 weeks). There are more poems on my other blog, if you'd care to have a look.

Here goes.

...

"Letters"

If I were to post this today
Dear Postmaster,
would this fragment of my sould reach my
Dear John,
in time?

Do you think that it could arrive tomorrow
Dear Postmaster,
if I were lucky?
Dear John
don't think I didn't get yours.
It was the fault of our
Dear Postmaster
that you didn't get it back straight away,
if only it were to be: the very next day,
as I had yours.

Inks & Lino

Just a quick update. I'm rather glad, you see, as I'm beginning to find a bit of inspiration again. Hoorah! This Queen's Birthday long weekend has been going quite well.

Pen & ink experiment.

On Saturday Mum and I went into Newcastle to buy some art supplies. One of the new goodies I bought was an ink nib and pen to work with at home. I've always had an interest in inks, but it wasn't until this year at school that I developed one for pen & ink. I'd only ever used brush & ink. A totally different method really does alter the image you create. I'm having fun working with cross-hatching. It's a strange way to shade, but it's growing on me. The ink drawing above was something I crafted this morning, just randomly. A quick sketch, and then it was inked.

Lino print equipment.

I also bought some lino printing materials: silk-cut linoleum squares (30 x 30 cm), block ink, lino carving tools, and rollers. I really should have made a point of buying some paper while I was there. It took me until we arrived home at 4pm that day (we did make a point of staying in town all day) to realise my 11 x 14 " VAPD would be large enough to print on. Silly, silly illy.

In addition to all of these I got some charcoals: willow and compressed. I've never had proper charcoal at home for drawing, so that's really nice too.

I've suddenly got a lot more motivation and inspiration on the art front. Part of it, I think, is staring the Day Zero Project; in which I will attempt to complete 101 preset tasks in 1001 days. My blog that will be journalling my challenge and all it entails is located here.

Things are going alright :)