dc91: Discovery and dc87: Shelter
I came up with an idea for the drawing challenge this past weekend, and my results, after a series of unfortunate mishaps, are less than satisfactory, but nonetheless are shown here. This is a puzzle purse that we will discover...
...shows us a poem that slowly presents itself as we open the puzzle purse:
And reveals more as it is fully opened:
There are two layers of discovery for me personally. One is how I handle it when things go completely wrong (with the realization of my art idea anyway.) In the end, I willfully forced myself to complete the purse. I'd spent two days designing it; one day learning how to fold it; one day trying to make a nice finished one which I had to abandon; and one day trying out another nice finished one which I realized that was NOT going to work (once again). I decided to finish that last one to the final and bitter (on my part) end. Here is what I had to work with (or against):
1. every single type of paper I could find around here (I have lots) would NOT accept the india ink without bleeding;
2. my favourite nib pen was dropping the nib and was so loose the nib would fall out on its' own and would not allow me to make a line in an upwards or even sideways motion so that absolutely every mark was made in a downward direction;
3. as I was making a mark the nib was so wobbly it wiggled from side to side every step along the way;
4. the nib finally crumbled right onto the work surface;
5. my only other choice was a huge nib meant for poster work. You can see the change in the mark-making.
6. my earlier designs were too fat and would not fold:
Here is my original design plan prototype:
The puzzle purse is a poem and meant to be carried as an amulet or a prayer. I plan to carry this with me even though it is a dog's breakfast of ugly. Here is the poem:
GOD SEND US A LITTLE HOME
God send us a little home
to come back to when we roam-
Low walls and fluted tiles
Wide windows, a view for miles-
Red firelight and deep chairs;
small white beds upstairs,
Great talks in little nooks;
dim colours, rows of books,
One picture on each wall;
not many things at all.
God send us a little ground-
Tall trees standing round,
Homely flowers on brown sod,
Overhead, the stars, O God!
God bless, when winds blow,
our home and all we know.
What I discovered personally, was the kind of home I would like. I want a small orchard, and chickens, and a strawberry patch, and flowers. I want my home to be kind of exotic.
As this lends itself to the theme SHELTER, I decided to combine two drawing challenges in one. I am very late for a few of them it seems.
Thank you for dropping in today and to see more work with these two themes drop by to see
Emily who is the host for DISCOVERY, and
Renilde who is the host for SHELTER.
See you soon, I hope! *smiles* Norma*
This is wonderful Norma! In all it's unfinished glory :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea and poem is so lovely...I think it's brave that you posted it even though it didn't live up to your ideas- I would take a little break and go back to it- I can picture the end result and am betting it would be worth it !
Norma, I agree totally with Kristen! xo Carole
ReplyDeleteWell I too like it! Love the poem, the purse, and your drawings! but I do know what you mean when something doesn't unfold (or fold in this case) the way you want it to. I posted a project that didn't work for me too...
ReplyDeleteYour series is really inviting to me. Tomorrow we have an art department faculty development with book baking and I am feeling your discoveries visually as I see your trials, lessons, discoveries. I think the opening up, altering, of a structure lends itself so well to metamorphosis, change, transformation, evolution, etc. Your book/page/purse with the tea color looks like it is an antique letter. Thank you for the unpacking of your process.
ReplyDeletexo emily
your photos are really touching, the handwriting, the ink bleeding, the image of your exotic home in an orchard with chickens, your poem, there is a heartwarming beauty in that,
ReplyDeletethere is a mathematician in you i discovered, a great problem solver, and (also) in art that's what it is about, finding solutions,sometimes using our brains but often purely intuitive.
it was a pleasure to look at your search, with the right materials and a little more time you will make what you intended, and although that result would be great, the true beauty here, lies already in this post i think ,
thanks for showing dear Norma, xx
it's a great idea and a wonderful work. such a beautiful poem with loving thoughts, fine little drawings and your great handwriting. I love it in its unfinished form very much! :-) mano
ReplyDeleteHi, Norma, I'll tell you something, my mind works in a graphic sense. I see the letters (text) as drawing, not as an union of signs and words with a specific meaning) I mean?
ReplyDeleteletters, words, stains on the paper, colors, etc., have the same "weight" for me in a work. are all "elements of art"
So when I see this, that you show, I see it as a work of art in itself, with different elements that make up this masterpiece.
later, I read the text in which you show the poem, and adds a big dose of quality to your work, but, for me, from the first moment I saw this work, it is a great job done by a great artist!!! :) Congratulations!
Norma this is right up my alley fantastic! love the black and white.
ReplyDeleteHelen x
PS: are you joining me for the drawing challenge this week the theme is Postage stamps. I would love to have you onboard.
What a delightful post! I love your puzzle purse (especially the chickens) and I think it turned out exactly the way it was supposed to regardless of your intentions. Art is like that.
ReplyDeletei am always intrigued by a-maze-ing paper works, such as exactly this a-one. so happy to discover this here this morning. very inspiring! i love what you have made of this, aged, and crumpled and stained.
ReplyDeletesomehow this brings me to keats, you know?
n♥