Chapter 4 Design pattern from an ethnic source

still with the Aleutian Islands, i took for my design source 3 similar pieces.

a mask representing the sun collected by Francoise Pinart in 1871, not Aleut but collected from Kodiak Island and there are quite a few similarities. 

the top of an Aleutian gut skin cap, National Museum of Finland

and another, national Museum of Finland

 i used to HATE circles and everything had to be linear or square (that must say something about me!) but i have gradually warmed to this shape. with these pieces i have used the shapes within the circles themselves to develop designs. firstly doing some general drawings.

drawing from the mask using Markal and chalk and fingers!

using graphite and the point of the stick playing with segments.

i then cut some stencils based on the cap segments, these worked with graphite, markal and chalk.

i then used black spray paint and 'deconstructed' the circles using the cut out segments to make further patterns.

pattern on the left using the pieces to create a random spiral, i also rearranged the pieces back into vaguely circular shapes and more conventional patterning.

i then went on to stitch, piece on left i think is like a thick tracing paper. i am smitten with rusting paper at the moment so have used this quite a bit. piece on the right is graphite stencilled shapes and cut shapes made translucent with 'water effects' resin. all stitching with horsehair.

some more bits similar. shoebox tissue, graphite and some stitch with peacock feathers.

and finally more random patterning! on a paper bag.

 i wasn't looking forward to this chapter but i have enjoyed getting to the final outcome.

Here we go, here we go!!!!

At last Chapter 3 'Transform and Personalise' took a while but here it is. the idea was to take materials from my stash and transform them using some unusual colourants. although the colourants i used were not so unconventional they were certainly messy!

i love this paper its a sandwich wrapper that is slightly glazed on one side.

 

1. creases made with a ruler then graphite and coal dust worked in.

more sandwich paper

2. More graphite, chalk and coal dust. chalk worked through a mesh of holes.

shoe box tissue

3.and more of the same, sample on the right has oil worked into it to make it transparent.

brown wrapping paper

4. using old type stamps with ink, turmeric, coal and oil with a strip of aqua wax at the top

brown paper and plastic

5. brown paper folded with metal pieces i found on the pavement by a bus stop and rusted with vinegar, i have then printed with coal dust in 'water effects' using creased sausage skin as a carrier. the piece of plastic is what was left from my rusting process, so it does work on plastic!

an old drawing and brown paper

6. i used an old drawing i wasn't happy with to work more rust and the lower sample was rusted with oil and ink blots added after.

aleut bird skin parka looks like ink blots

not quite recycled but i didn't buy it recently!

7. i was thinking of the transparency of gut and thought of devore! i still have some mix in my fridge from way back and as you can see it still worked! the sample on the left was soaked in turmeric before the process, again i was thinking of the bits that are put into the seams on gut parkas and i have a thing for the bits of paper that are left when you tear file paper off a sheet so used them as masks. sample on the right was stitched and gathered then printed with the gunk, dried and stitches removed.

Chinese character practise paper

8. more ink blots and sausage skin prints

scrap of note pad and old baking parchment

9. more inkblots with 'water effects' and coal etc

old bank envelope and calico

10. i made some egg tempera with coal dust and more shibori, the sample on the right was soaked in turmeric before, the stitching was removed after printing through a screen. i like the shiny quality of the tempera but not the smell! afterwards i was reading other recipes which mention putting something in to stop mould growth which i wish i had done considering how wet it is down here!

all in all this has been quite a smelly chapter, oil, coal dust, turmeric and egg pleased i didn't use compost.