May Sketches
I have wanted to mix writing with my images, initially to put a half dozen or so together as a story. After first wring on or just outside the images, maquettes were suggested as another approach, and then journaling. I tried each in turn, and the journaling just did not catch on. Tried the maquette again, but remained frustrated, I think with the fact that it was always two “boxes,” one with an image and the other with text.
Then had a thought about what might happen if I added a third piece of paper. Soon after: what if I wrote on the image. Or wrote on and off the image. Or added a wash. Or tore the image. And then as the woman said after the demon was exorcised, “There are others.”
The images below - in generally chronological order - use prints that I already had for other reasons. Where there are several of the same I just used what came out of trying to solve a printer problem. I’m thinking my next steps are 1) making some images with these approaches in mind at the outset; 2) seeing what else I can do with ink; 3) looking at size - the cards are 6 x 8, the images on the order of 4x5 or less. In looking at Beard’s work some sheets were on the order of 18x24, which allows the writing to be quite small.
I found out quickly that it is blissful to be making things with my hands, and not just on a screen.
