Hello!
Today I’m reflecting on my studio work this term at college… I’ve been asked by my tutors to upload 15 images to demonstrate what I’ve been up to and a 300-word explanation, so I thought I’d share them on here too. But before I do, I just wanted to mention one thing; the images you will see are in reality quite small, roughly postcard size. I’m mentioning it because I understand it is very hard to get a sense of scale when looking at an image online. I’ve chosen to work this way because the creature associated with the Goddess Melissa is also very small, but very important – as you will see.
Here are is my evaluation /reflection – in 300 words
This term I have been researching the Bee Goddess Melissa and investigating ways in which to portray her (in a Fine Art context) as a magical, non-physical being. I have also been considering the decline of the bee population and have incorporated this environmental concern into some of my work. I researched the artists Leah MacDonald and Sara Richardson, and am inspired by their encaustic art, which is semi-abstract. I used the book ‘The Art of Encaustic Painting’ by Joanne Mattera for technical guidance.
I chose to experiment with beeswax to link theme and medium. I felt its translucent and transparent qualities link well with the visible/invisible concepts of ‘Goddess’. It is a layered process, which suggests time, secrets and memories. I enjoyed working with its mysterious properties of concealing/revealing which has great potential for further development. The medium is versatile, the process is organic, sensual and forgiving. Lines, colours and patterns are created/incised or transformed/obscured with the manipulation of heat, but the artist must work quickly and carefully, with an awareness of danger from the heated tools.
I learned how to choose and prepare a substrate and the skills of layering and fusing wax with heat. I also learned some transfer techniques and how to use different types of paint to get different effects. I created some concertina books, chosen for their narrative style as well as their ability to convey movement. I might develop this further next year. The satisfying experience of incising the wax inspired the idea of incorporating more symbols (glyphs and talismans) into my future artworks so I included this in my dissertation proposal. I am pleased to have improved my skills with this medium as it is helping me build a stronger artistic identity which brings me a step closer to my professional goals.
Here are my 15 images with brief explanations:
1) The first page of my sketchbook – the start of my project – mind mapping.
2) Leah MacDonald, an artist that has inspired my work. She is an encaustic artist and photographer who creates beautiful work using her own photographs and melted wax.
3) Background research, about Bees and their myths and legends.
4)Technical methods leading to exploration…
5)Technical methods – applying transfer techniques.
6) Experimental Piece
Using two types of transfer techniques,
preparing the substrate, applying and fusing wax
embedding the transfer, adding oil pastels for colour
polishing and applying a wax sealer to finish.
and more experiments testing out techniques and results,
comparing waterproof paper and plywood bases
trying out different effects from the heat gun
(could be improved by being less literal)
7) Experimental piece
This time embedding a full-page photocopy from a wildflower book,
applying geometric beeswax stencil with oil pastel and
using an iron to apply coloured beeswax to create texture and an organic structure.
(could be improved by being less busy)
8) Experimental Piece
Incised into the wax – provided inspiration for future development. I plan to incorporate signs and symbols with this method into my work next year and have mentioned this in my dissertation proposal.
9) Resolved piece
‘Divine Feminine’
green = nature
purple = royal/spiritual
blue = peaceful
10) Resolved piece
‘Recumbent Goddess’
Pink/magenta – warm, gentle colours
White – purity, innocence
Green – natural, calming
Purple – royalty, spiritual
Underground/overground, Hidden/ revealed,
The subtle figure suggested below ground.
Suggestions of flowers/wings/ foliage above ground.
Triple – for the triple goddess, maiden, mother and crone.
Bees – for Bee Goddess.
11) Further plans and concepts
(Using my primary research photograph)
12)Transferring a photocopy onto my watercolourpainting and home-made artists book.
13) A short film that I made called ‘Bee Story’…
14) Scaling the maquette up to create a concertina book
I kept the goddess landscape idea and introduced a flying bee idea – big to small as the population gets smaller with time.
Time and movement indicated by ‘reading’ the image left to right like a script. (I could improve this by making the bees fainter as you progress left to right).
15) Resolved pieces – Lots of wax added to the structure on the left, the bees and goddess forms are suggested and subtle.
In the centre, however, the images are clearer and therefore more illustrative. This is my favourite because I learned so much from making it and a lot of thought went into solving problems as I encountered them with this piece.
On the right is a small concertina book that I made and created a complete garden on the first panel in wax then used that complete image to print(using an iron) onto each panel in turn until the final panel was empty – referencing the passing of time and diminishing wildflower and bee population.
Printing and transferring are two techniques I will take forward. I liked the concertina book for storytelling too and would use that again if it was appropriate to my purpose. Standing the concertina up with its six panels creates a hexagonal structure and references the beehive. This is something that could be developed further by making many hexagons and glueing them together to create one big beehive shape.
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