I Am Currently Working On Making A Modrotlac Print, Which Is A Traditional Slovakian Way Of Resist Dyeing

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

This is a mask made from cardboard which I have just finished as part of my art foundation course. It’s a poppy seed head. I made it rattle inside using dried peas and rice.

Observational drawings of a pig’s heart.......

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 :)

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 :)

Sculpture and Patination, Giovanni Strazza

Giovanni Strazza, ‘La Vergine Velata’ (The Veiled Virgin’)- Carrara marble, 1850′s

Believed to have been carved in the 1850’s while Giovanni Strazza was in Rome, this sculpture depicts The Virgin Mary with a light veil over her face. It is made from Carrara marble which derives from Tuscany. This type of marble is white with smokey grey veins that run through the stone regularly. Other sculptures made from Carrara marble include ‘David’ By Michelangelo and The ‘ ‘Lacoon and his two sons Antiphnates and Thymbraeus’ in Rome. This type of marble has an elegant and timeless appearance which is why it was popular in ancient Rome and is still used today.

Marble is a hard material to work with and in ‘The Veiled Virgin’, Strazza has made it look very soft and delicate even though marble is resistant to chisel and cutting, which shows Strazza’s skill. The veil falls intricately across some braids at the top of the head and gently drops to the bottom to the bust. The face of Mary indicates that she is either deep in prayer or grieving. The way that the veil has been carved highlights Mary’s feminine face shape and at the same time blurs some of her features giving a sense of mystery to the piece. Using veils in sculpture however was nothing new in the 1800’s as it was inspired by the ‘wet drapery’ that was used in Greco-Hellenistic sculpture.

The bust ‘The Veiled Virgin’ is now exhibited in a convent in Canada and can be viewed by appointment. Not much is knows about Giovanni Strazza so therefore it is unknown what the true meaning behind the sculpture is. The 19th century was a time of nationalism on the rise in Italy. The image of a vailed Virgin Mary was often the symbol of Italia which ultimately could mean that the sculpture could have been a symbol of the newly united Italy. This makes the use of Carrara marble vital as it was native to Italy. On the other hand, the piece could be a symbol of Strazza’s religious devotion to the Virgin Mary. This is further supported by the attention and care which was given to the sculpture to perfect every single fold of the fabric and to give such a gentle expression of the face which highlights his admiration for her. Traditionally, marble is a material used to give a sense of nobility to the subject which highlights the importance of the Virgin Mary in Strazza’s eyes and the Catholic Church.

The overall finish on the bust is neither extremely shiny and polished however nor is it so soft that features can be barely made out. The patina on the marble of ‘The Veiled Virgin’ is precise and smooth which gives the bust a more realistic effect and in that sense brings the statue closer to the viewer and creates a certain ethereal beauty.

Sources:

https://www.marmirossi.com/en/news/focus-materials/the-carrara-marble-a-white-marble-with-history

https://mymodernmet.com/the-veiled-virgin-sculpture/

https://www.franceculture.fr/sculpture/a-fascinating-transparency-strazzas-veiled-virgin

All of my linocuts from my Final Major Project ‘Reconnection’

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.

Resist dyeing. I decided to try resist dyeing again but this time with some different ingredients. These included, glutinous rice flour, rice bran, salt, water, glycerine and calcium hydroxide. First I mixed together the rice flour and bran and water together to make a dough and I then steamed the dough in dumpling sized balls for about an hour. While these were steaming, I put two table spoons of calcium hydroxide into one cup of water. I had to be careful with this as calcium hydroxide can be very dangerous if it come in contact with skin. I wore goggle, gloves and a mask. Once the balls had steamed I mixed them with glycerine, salt and the water from the calcium hydroxide. The chemical had settled at the bottom leaving me with just the infused water, I mixed it in. This created a smooth paste with which I printed my designs . This paste was a lot stickier than the last one I made so I was hopeful it was going to stay on during the dyeing process. Once it had all dried, I dyed the fabric. After leaving the printed fabric in the dye for an hour, I took it out to find that all of the resist paste had unfortunately dissolved. Even though it didn’t work, I learnt a lot from this process, it was interesting to experiment with all of the new ingredients.