I’ve been working on a couple canvases that are taking me a long time to complete- mostly because they are so much larger than any of the pieces I’ve done in the past, and so require quite a few more elements. I thought I’d share this Work in Progress- hearing how other people see my work and getting feedback really inspires me and helps my visions coalesce.
This piece started from a sketch- I wanted to create a kind of mountain range using my paper clay alone. It took me awhile to build up the height- as this canvas is 2 feet by 4 feet, and this mountain runs almost the entire length, I had to sketch the outline first and then gradually build it up, little by little.
I wanted this part to be dark- black and red, like a volcano or the very deepest part of the earth.
My plan was to have this middle “mountain” and to build a higher cliff surrounding it, so that the black and red is surrounded by other colors and elements and really looks like a crack that opens to heat and blackness- maybe corruption?- underneath. I knew that to build my paper clay any higher on my canvas, I would need an inside support so that it wouldn’t chip and crack and fall off. I found this coiled length of window screen at home depot, cut it, folded a lip, and sewed it to my canvas. It will serve as an anchor for my clay to adhere to- we’ll see how it works!
Before I added any clay, though, I need to finish adding my paper pieces so that I won’t have to reach into the “fissure” and potentially crack the clay with my clumsy big hands. This part has been taking the longest- you can see how many pieces I’ve had to use just on this one side. But every day I do a little more and a little more. I’ll have my pieces adhered and my clay dry before too long.
Don’t forget to let me know your ideas and interpretations. I know it’s hard to see at this point what the finished part will look like, but I’d love to know what you think!
