I found a rather timely little message in my fortune cookie this week:
Perhaps I find it so timely because I am not letting a little matter such as a size limitation get in my way: the current drawing in progress needed to be big, so it is big. I will deal with the problem of framing a 4 x 6 foot drawing later…
Plus there is my upcoming project, the beginning of which is simultaneously in progress with the big drawing (well past the planning and sketching into the gathering and preparing materials stage). This new project revolves around creating artwork with subject matter illicit enough that it gave me a momentary pause over whether or not I could post the completed artworks on my website (I will - with a little disclaimer, of course).
I have had this new project on the backburner for nearly four years and then along came an exhibition opportunity that gloriously lifted my own self-imposed limitations, leaving me to wonder why I had set the idea aside in the first place. Perhaps it is one of those curious things having to do with timing and waiting for the perfect moment for all of the separate parts to fall into place; regardless I could not be more energized about the new endeavor. I know that I am being cryptic, but this little embryo of inspiration has moved out of the freezer and matured into the toddler stage, and yet it is still too delicate to discuss outside the studio.
And, speaking of limitations – in this case the limitations of media - I am still beading paper. This paper is black Stonehenge - a gorgeous printmaking paper which has a surface that is ideal for pastel and colored pencil (for this drawing I have used graphite and silver colored pencil). I reinforced the back of the paper with archival black linen tape (usually sold with the bookbinding materials) so the paper is tear-proof (hopefully) and I am currently beading away….here are some close up shots:
