Wednesday, May 23, 2012

CAN YOU FEEL THE RHYTHM?



 I am interested in translating movement to cloth.  I take my inspiration from music and dance.  This is a very broad subject so I needed to narrow my focus.   My brush idea sprang to life while watching a Dale Chihuly  video.  He stands over his large paper and uses household brooms to apply his paint.  What a wonderful way to apply movement and physical action to my artwork.  I began using various brush marks that I make while listening to different types of music.  I use commercial, found and hand crafted brushes.  A few of them are shown above.




Here, you can see an example of these marks.  In this piece, Continuum I, I was listening to the Bach Suites for cello.  I placed the brush marks directly on the hand dyed fabric using black textile ink and a small wisk broom.




Another one of my favorite tools is soy wax, brushed on a 24" x 30" silk screen and also directly on the fabric.



                         The results after multiple layers of dye printing.




In my most recent work, I am exploring layering.  One set of brush marks, made on one piece of fabric, inspired by one piece of music, and another set of brush marks, inspired by a different piece of music printed on a sheer fabric.  This gives me the ability to combine multiple layers of brush marks and music.  Like the notes on a music score, the possible combinations are endless.  What is your creative rhythm and how do you get there?

4 comments:

  1. I love the idea of layering. Can't wait to see the results!

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  2. Love the work here xx I do some thing like this with my young artists..2 to 6 year olds. They love painting/making marks with large floor brushes and mops. They still is funny and a little wicked!xLynda

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  3. Thanks for sharing, I love using alternative tools for mark making.

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  4. I really enjoy visiting here, the posts are inspirational with gorgeous works. I decided to stop and comment when the idea of rhythm and music inspired brush work came up. Just yesterday I asked my husband his opinion on the placement of some pieces on something I was working on. His answer was simply "how would you place them in music?". It left me a little puzzled but his answer did lead me to my own solution. Thanks for another inspiring post.

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