Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Break Through

Sometimes you have one. Sometimes you just do it.

A few weeks ago, I was searching for inspiration with both hands, a magnifying glass, a flashlight, and a map. Today, the ideas are flowing so swiftly that even sleeping has become a dicey prospect. Feast or famine- it seems like it's always one or the other.

This new technique I'm developing- a kind of mixed-media applique- will be easier to explain with copious photos, and thankfully throughout this project I took them!

Having become obsessively fascinated with the intersections and negative spaces created by Stacked Journaling, and after completing several engrossing studies (check out my last few blog posts for photos of these experiments), I decided that it was time to launch a much more ambitious project.

I cut two yards of multi-purpose fabric, primed it with white gesso, and then painted it in a white-to-black gradation. I then cut the MPF into two pieces and set one aside to use as the background.


I took the other piece and flipped it over onto my large cutting mat. (Don't ask me why, but one side of the MPF the kind folks at Roc-Lon sent me is green. It gives me a giggle.) Using a thick, black Sharpie marker, and writing directly onto the fabric, I created a block of SJ. Then I began cutting out everything that wasn't Sharpie ink... all the negative spaces. And I mean all the negative spaces.

 
(back)

(front)

Here it is a little further along, turned over onto its future background.


(detail)
 
For the last two weeks, I've been cutting and cutting and cutting away at this poor piece of fabric, dulling and discarding many x-acto knives in the process. This is what it looked like when I was nearly finished cutting, laying face-up on my large (also green) cutting mat.


(gradation detail)

Finally yesterday, I finished cutting out the top layer and mounted it onto the background with gel medium.

("Fury" 24" x 35")

Now, perhaps, you can see my reason for painting one large piece of fabric and then cutting it into two pieces- I wanted to inverse the colors to create a dramatic contrast between the background and the SJ foreground.

I think I might be more proud of this piece than almost any other I've finished.

Now I'm going to take a few days off!

Happy creating!


21 comments:

Unknown said...

I have been enjoying the developement of your Stacked Journaling, but this is AMAZING, its one of those pieces that I say to myself, 'I wish I'd done that' lol

thanks for sharing your progress

Sue Reno said...

This is really awesome, Judi, both in concept and execution. Congrats!

Mom said...

You've done it again, Baby Girl - totally awed your mom. Keep on keepin' on!

jgr said...

This is the COOLEST thing ever!! You have an amazing amount of patience too, thank you for the inspiration-enjoy your time off.

Ruth said...

Wow! That is way cool. I love how you used the gradation effect and what a lot of work all that cutting was.

Kathy said...

This is so much better than anything I was imagining. Wonderful, awesome, beautiful, perfect...worth all the exacto blade tips!!! Question though...was it all done with exacto or was some of it scissors? And if no scissors, is there a reason why not?
Love this piece!

Terri Stegmiller said...

Totally awesome Judi!!! Where did you find the patience to do all that cutting?

Fibra Artysta said...

This is really outstanding - LOVE it!

elle said...

Judi! I was going to ask to feel your head, but now I see everything I wanna take your hand! Wonderful. Why did you name it Fury? BTW How ARE your hands! ;^)

sukey said...

after i got off FB i hit the studio at a run and had come fun with your SJ method. so much fun. look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37008429@N00/6816838812/in/photostream

Cheryl said...

Judi- This is so fabulous. Wonderful!!!!!

Gisela Towner said...

OMG -- that totally ROCKS! I really love it -- am blown away.

Lynda said...

I am truly amazed at this! Can't wait to see what you do next! Thanks for the inspiration.

Deb Prewitt said...

WoW. That is an amazing amount of cutting out! I can see why you used up so many blades. But it turned out beautiful!!!!

Jacqueline Bryant Campbell said...

Wow. Amazing. Fantastic.

Cindy Rippe said...

WOW...can't think of another thing to say. Oh! Love it!

Thelma said...

Wow Judi!! I would definately think your hand would need a much needed rest. Totally awesome!!! I love that the gel medium holds it in place.

Mom said...

I love the new look of your page. It was always attractive, but this change is surprisingly refreshing.

You rock!

Gina said...

Congratulations, you really do deserve a break after completing this masterpiece! Perfect planning with the painting and cutting into two. My hand is cramping thinking about all that exact cutting but what great results!

Unknown said...

This is a totally awesome piece. I love the contrast. It looks like it took days and days to complete. I think that all the work was worth it.

Ronni said...

Judi, I think you might be insane but oooh so brilliant! What a fabulous project. I've really enjoyed observing your SJ experiments. I have a perverse desire to go soak my wrists in ice water now.