...when things come together. A creativity prompt from
Myfanwy Hart's 'Be Creative' project on Facebook and Wordpress, a piece of fabric I didn't know what to do with and a software package.
Myfanwy's prompt was to draw a self portrait with your non dominant hand. Not being terribly good with other peoples' suggestions, I thought I'd take it a stage further, and draw with my sewing machine (look, mom, no hands!...or should that be, both hands?). I took a piece of Evolon I'd transfer dyed in layers, which has heavy diagonals, which I felt interrupted the piece. I cut a section off, and started stitching.
I've never drawn a face with a sewing machine, before, just out of my head, no . I showed Robin the reverse, and his first comment was, your face, on a bit of fabric...so it can't be all that bad...he did say he wasn't sure if anyone else would see a likeness, however. You can always rely on your relatives to tell it like it is...
As with everything, i see all the flaws... but it's okay, I guess... looks better with colour. And so, I played a little with it in PSP, to see what was possible...
Now, this has potential. Years ago, when I started working with Bertha the large scale printer, I wondered about working digitally into images of my own work, but never actually did anything with the idea. I think this piece suggests that it's definitely working.
I had been working with photographs of myself, exploring depression and what it means, what it might look like if you could see it. I wasn't happy with the results of that, and stopped, because the images felt static, somehow, like these images;
The one on the top is early depression, the stage where you are sad, but not yet immobilised; the lower image is late depression, when you are frozen in place, and pain is almost unbearable. I think perhaps that some combination of images, photographs and stitch, might be the way forward.
Back to the sewing machine...
5 comments:
Marion, I think the second picture is a good representation of that stage of depression (perhaps with a little less colour). That's certainly how it feels to me.
I love it when a chance remark sends one in a new direction. So glad the prompt worked. You responded and that was all that was needed. So looking forward to seeing where you go now. A prompt is a prompt is a prompt - not a definite instruction. Well done for responding!
Everyone's image would be totally different wouldn't it? Like BossyMamma mine would have a lot less colour. Intriguing work Marion, I've used writing as therapy with clients but never art.
Gilly
I think it's the crack in the last picture that makes it represent depression for me, but I also like the FME face, too. Perhaps combining the two would make it more graphic?
My home town went through a disaster several years ago and that made us all look at life. Art as therapy has been really important for me.
Thank you all for your comments. I think every single person's 'picture' of depression would be different. I'd love to do some workshops to prove it, and a book out of that, to try to explain to people who don't suffer, what it's really like. Words aren't really enough, in my experience.
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