Ok, I will admit it….it has been too long since the last post.  I have excuses though….  1. I am working on figuring out my blog “schedule” and if you know me, you know I am not very good with schedules.   2. Roger and I have been very busy working on new stuff for the holidays.  Excuses aside, here you go……

For this post I am focusing on some things I had done in graduate school, revisited this spring, and the strong links they all have to what I am doing now, and a few AMAZING coincidences that go along with both projects.  WARNING:  this is going to be a long one…..but it’s good…I promise.

Project 1: Monotypes. Monotype is a printing process in which you paint on plexiglas with ink and roll through a press on damp paper which absorbs the ink.  You only get one shot, it is immediate and can give you great layering.   I have a little history with printmaking that dates back to grad school (and undergrad too) where my first teaching assistant job was for the printmaking classes at Clemson, and I could not get enough!  The process is so different than painting. It allowed me to switch gears, learn many different new techniques/materials, all while focusing on a similar subject matter.  So, fast forward to this spring…..I received a call from Gypsey, the Clemson Library Director (who is a totally rad person) saying that in their re-organizing they found a drawer full of my prints!  These are prints from 2004, practically vintage!  I had done a collaborative marathon monotype print session (a crazy story in itself) while there and stored the work in the library.  So why did I leave them there so long that I forgot they existed?  Well, again, those of you who know me know that I often forget things in my impulses to do new things (and that is what happened).  She sent them to me and I went back into them with paint, charcoal and pastel to modernize them and the photos below are what they look like now!  The final image is a photo of one of the prints framed and installed at it’s new owner Sarah Brady’s house.

                        

                      

Project 2: I have always been obsessed with patterns….patterns in life, creating pattern, patterns in any form.  I have also been a texture junkie since I was little.  I used to choose library books based on the way the pages would feel (my mom can confirm this).  So naturally, I have experimented with different textile design before with screen-printing and dying but neither process satisfied my fascination with pattern itself. So….fast forward to now, BATIK!  Roger and I thought this would be a perfect medium for me (thanks Rog).  And here is where the second coincidence comes into play.  My aunt Kathryn who is one of my creative inspirations and my namesake, randomly (the universe knows it is not random) sent me a book by Richard M. Proctor called Principles of Pattern Design.  She knows I love pattern and is often encouraging me in new ways, oh, and she had no idea I was thinking about doing batik.  As I opened the book, I FREAKED OUT!!  Most of the examples inside are…none other than….BATIK!  I mean, even Roger was freaking out.  This was too perfect.  I had to do it.  So, below are the photos from my first attempt at batik, which will be stitched together into one tapestry and will act as a tablecloth for an upcoming event I put together.

   

       

                          

              

Moments like these make me realize that I AM doing the right thing.  I mean, even talking about it now, I can hardly describe how satisfying it is to have people in my life who support the creative life (and are creatives themselves).  Thank you Gypsey and Aunt Kathryn, this post is dedicated to YOU!

       

31 Oct This entry was published on October 31, 2012 at 10:59 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.