Fabric And Eggs Dyed Using Onion Skins :)

As my resist dyeing didn’t work, I decided to use the fabric and print my designs on top with white acrylic paint. This is to mimic a traditional blue print. I think that all of the shapes turned out well and I am quite happy with the outcome as the design looks quite illustrative.

My own drawing of a traditional Slovakian woman for my project ‘Then and Now’

Inspired by one of my favourite illustrators Katarina Kerekesova for the graphics workshop :)

Sculpture and patination, Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois , ‘J'y suis, J'y reste’ (Here I stand, Here I stay) - Sculpture, 1990

Louise Bourgeois is known for her surrealist and abstract sculptures. Her assemblage piece ‘Here I stand, Here I stay’ (J'y suis, J'y reste) is of a pair of feet resting on a roughly cut block of marble with a glass house placed on top. In 1967–68 Bourgeois travelled to Pietrasanta in Italy, which is where she discovered the same marble quarries from which Michelangelo sourced his material. 

Bourgeoise’s work often explores the themes of feminism, family relationships and the unconscious. Born in 1911, she grew-up in Paris where her family owned a tapestry gallery and tapestry restoration business. When Louise Bourgeois Mother became ill with Spanish flu, the family hired a British au pair to teach Louise and her brother English. However the au pair soon became their Father’s mistress. This caused him to neglect Louise and her brother which was especially hard for Louise as she had to also care for her sick Mother often. Those childhood feelings of abandonment would become prevalent themes and ideas in the future artwork of Bourgeois. She married an American art historian and lived in America for the rest of her life, leaving her childhood in Paris behind.

The patination of the pink marble is irregular and coarse which makes it seem worn and ancient and this juxtaposes with the smooth texture of the feet which are also sculpted from the very same marble. The glass house which sits on top of the feet gives a certain fragility to the assemblage. The heavy marble again contrasts with the delicate house construction. It seems almost too fragile to be a safe shelter. This could possibly reflect Bourgeoise's own childhood which left her feeling exposed and alone in her family home. The fact that there's only one pair of feet could be referencing the abandonment she felt as a child and could reflect the unstable and lonely atmosphere. The house may also represent Bourgeoise's life as an artist. It gives a home to the bare feet which stand on a rugged piece of marble. This suggests that her art had given her a new way to express herself and fathom those feelings that she experienced as a child.

Sources:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656887http://hdamarly.over-blog.com/2015/06/louise-bourgeois-enfance-et-creation.htmlhttp://www.theeastonfoundation.org/biography

painting work in progress.......

Recent lino cuts for my project re-connection. Looking at folk stories in modern day contexts. The top right lino cut was inspired by the Russian folk story, Vasilisa The Beautiful and the second lino cut (top left) was inspired by the Mexican folklore character La Catrina who is a symbol of The Day of The Dead.

My final sculptures. Two characters inspired by Baba Jaga and Nastenka from the Russian (1964) film Morozko. They show the juxtaposition between old and young and naïve and wise. They are also inspired by the woodcuts of Kathe Kollwitz with their harsh lines and feeling of movement and expression. I covered a pair in ZIP to create a metalic effect, a pair in copper and left it to oxidise and I painted a pair with acrylic paint and finished them off with gold leaf.

Some illustrations inspired by the contemporary illustrator Katarina Kerekesova and also inspired by Russian and Czech vintage matchbox designs. These are for my Graphics workshop poster 

An oil painting which was part of my A-level coursework, inspired by Caravaggio. (Oil on Paper)

Casting and making a mould from a real pig’s heart. I am planning to suspend it at my end of year show and have threads come out from it. This was a really interesting experience, I am happy with how the plaster cast turned out. I had to make multiple versions as the artery on the first cast broke. It was quite delicate.

I painted the cast with a PVA glue and water mix and then painted on top :)