Sketchbook exhibition: A few words about my sketchbook.

VISUALLY My sketchbook contains a lot of drawings, as I felt this was a good way to start the project. These are line drawings, ink drawings, pencil drawings, and stitched drawings- drawing with thread, which I think is appropriate as they are within the context of my work.

I have also done a lot of scanning/photos from my stitched samples and reworked images of things I have made and developed in the workshops, which I think work quite well in my sketchbook.

Quite a lot of the drawings from my sketchbook are original, such as the drawings from life, whilst I was at the ‘Dark Matters ‘ Exhibition (image 2), also I have done some little detailed drawings, which I think are more successfully done in within a small space, as they are quite delicate, so I think they fit within the space and context of my book (possibly something I’m still trying to work on is translating these drawings, happily, onto bigger and better paper…).

I have thought quite a bit about the layout of my sketchbook, and even though I feel I have experimented more in this project, I have still kept some sort of a-neat-organized-confusing-rhythm to it. I like to write notes, so I know what/why/where I’m going with ideas and such things, so I would like to think my sketchbook is clear, if not with very small writing…

CONTEXTUALY My work focuses around the idea of space, time, memories and shadows, and I have done in depth artist research e.g. Eva Hesse and Caroline Broadhead, however as pointed out, by comments in my book, this is not explored in my sketchbook… I did think it could be ‘wrong’ to write about other artists (as I have mentioned lots in my other notebook/blog) however, I now think it could be useful to illustrate the directions I have chosen in relation to artists and note it down in my sketchbook, for others and myself to reflect on.

Looking at the CONTENT I think that my ideas and starting points are clear, and I think the sketchbook flows easily from one page to the next, or there is at least a connection that can be seen throughout the pages (something also recognized by my peers). Again, I have drawn, and made little notes in order to keep developing my ideas.

Enough research to work from? Again I have quite a few places I write in, i.e. my notebook, (I also have lots of printouts, exhibition notes, images etc…) which has lots of research on artists, events, general ideas and thoughts, which I sometimes think could be too messy for my sketchbook, but it could be useful to put in my research very simply and subtly. I like to think it is somewhere I can start to translate all my thoughts into a clearer and simpler space, so I don’t want to put lots of distracting things that are other peoples information into where I am thinking – not yet anyway; maybe it could be good to do this.

Artists...

Eva Hesse

I have been looking and thinking about Eva Hesse, an artist who thought about space, structure and materials and created large scale installations...

Here are a few things I have read about her work that I found particularly interesting...

Untitled 1966

'Hesse created art that evoked emotion absense and contingency'

'The uncanny, expressive presence of Hesse's abstract sculpture and drawings suggests the body and emotions.'

'She worked with a minimalist vocabulary of industrial materials and serial repitition'

Contingent

My own ideas have moved into thinking about creating webs and connecting structures, still thinking about that idea of shadows/negative space (and a tangible element?!) and so looking at Hesse's work has made me realise the direction for my work; at the moment, use my workshops for the basis of creating things that could be used as structures out of fabrics and drawing my ideas with lines of the fabrics, so not focusing on the texture side as much.

Right After

However this is just something to think about, it could all change..

Craft?

A few CP seminars ago, we looked at the arts/crafts debate. Interesting, yet obviously tricky subject.

Just recently I have been looking through and reading on of my books 'By Hand- The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art' and I thought there were a few interesting points...

-'Activities historically associated with feminine conventions [STITCH, FABRIC] are stunningly repurposed'

Maybe craftUSED TO=women (why) ? but not today, not in this book.

TUCKER SCHWARZ

-The creators in this book are referred to as artists, who are exploring crafts techniques, not craftspeople, which I think is quite refreshing(or...nice?good?) as crafts usually has negative connotations...

-There are a few things to suggest handmade work is more personal.

Sometimes true, but sometimes not.

KIKI SMITH

-'The emergence of handmade and craft related practices is, in a sense a response to the omnipresence of technology in everyday life and in artistic procedure.'

So, possibly suggesting the handmade craft is equallly important as the digital and technological fine art (like video/installations?) we see today. Therefore, craft should be regarded no less important than art.

Maybe?

These are just a few points that got me thinking about things.

A few images...

A few artists...

I have been thinking of the themes in this project so far, and have started looking at a few artists I know of with similar themes running through their work...

Rachel Whiteread

'signs of living that are left behind in space' (thinking about traces, spaces, memories)

'marks of where an object was after years of use' (could be shadows, memories of objects, toys, materials)

'sculptures are the means of preserving personal memories and the history of objects and spaces' ...

Stacks

Caroline Broadhead

-Plays with scale and shadow

-Uses large spaces, fragile installations

'Visibility and invisibility, space and matter, substance and non substance'

'Interested in the borderline between the self and the rest of the world'...

Double Dress

Sketchbooky things...

Space

One of the hand processes tasks;

French knots.

I really like how they turned out, and I think they can give me some ideas e.g negative space, structures and light...