A couple of posts ago I said that the most important aspect of my work is time rather material or labor. Now I'm not so sure. Tonight, as I made countless slow, meditative circular motions with my hand to rub coffee ground paste into a piece of cloth, I revisited that decision in my thoughts. Perhaps the material is of little consequence. It doesn't matter whether its dyeing and drying sand, then sifting it back into its fine texture, pouring identical little piles of sand, or neatly arranging sand into smooth rows. It doesn't matter whether its carefully pressing rice paste into fabric to make a pattern or rubbing coffee into fabric to stain it. Clay, sand, newspaper, cardboard, coffee, cotton, rice, flour are all simply materials. Materials that outside of the context of art are not regarded very highly. Labor (the time, process, and effort I exert) is the agent that turns these humble materials into art.
I've made progress on several fronts this week and look forward to seeing where things end up. I've spent much of the last few weeks feeling a bit lost and frustrated that some projects I'm working on are too different and don't relate to each other much. Today, I came to the realization today that I just need to think and worry less about where I'll end up.
One project that I'm working on is a series of object/painting hybrids. I started by building cardboard forms on a masonite base, then covering those forms with papier-mache. This week, I finished painting several coats of gesso on the first two. The built forms are inspired by imagery from the childhood landscapes I've been exploring in my sand work. The paintings I will use them for will focus on experimental surface treatments and abstracted patterning. It takes a while for them to dry in between layers of papier-mache. While I waited, I started building a third object also based on my grandmother's backyard. Today, I will finish applying the 2nd layer of paper.
I also made some progress on the coffee-batik panels this week. I was concerned about the edges which unravel erratically during the dyeing process. I intended for these panels to portray an immediacy that will be lost if I hem the edges. After some experimentation, I found that fraying the edges can be an appropriate solution. I've also learned that for future panels, I need to pay better attention to how I cut them to help the fraying process move faster and more efficiently. I have a rotary cutter for fabric I used a while back to make fabric collages. I plan on digging that out from its hiding place so that I can use it to make precisely vertical cut. While researching African textiles for this work, I uncovered a possible link between West African textile techniques and African American quilting traditions. I'm trying to get my hands on a book of the subject called Accidentally on Purpose to research it further.
Lastly, I'm working on collection of slip-cast biomorphic forms used to create a pattern which will be partially submerged in sand. This project is moving more slowly than I anticipated because I'm working with molds that have to dry between castings. The first firings resulted in work with disappointing surface texture. For these newer pieces, I'm using rubber ribs to burnish the work while its leather hard before smoothing it further with a bit of chamois.
