Saturday, May 31, 2014

May letters

Here are this month's letters. Still having trouble controlling the intensity of the ink, but when they are all together there is lots of texture going on.

I haven't done much on the box for them yet - so much going on at present.

Wonder husband and I have a group exhibition opening this week - we are collaborating on some sculptures and prints. I'm adding the letters! Altogether there are 14 of us and we have only seen a couple of the other works that will be in it. A great surprise is in store!






that's it for now,
confuzed

Friday, May 30, 2014

A race to the finish-line...

I am getting through my letters now - almost there and then onto the making.

U - with Ultramarine


V - with Violet


W - with Wheat


X - with Xanthic


I was pleased that somebody somewhere had come up with a colour that started with X - a yellowish one.

Almost there and I even think I know what I might do for the final product!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Alphabet of Tricks - Carol DuBosch


These are the first four letters of my second Alphabet. My plan is to write Fraktur capitals using 26 techniques I like to share with students. I will mount the squares into an accordian book so that it is easy to carry to classes. For the embossed "A", I cut a stencil and pressed the paper into the stencil using a light table. I wrote the colorful "B" with a wide pen and water, then dropped watercolor into the wet letter and let it blend and sort of marble. The "C" was made by tracing the letter onto the back of the paper in reverse, and poking a needle along the line of the letter. The "D" was written with bleach. Only 22 letters to go.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Tamil English Slang

My second set of letters in the alphabet are going to be about Tamil English slang.

Tamil is a Dravidian language and one of the oldest surviving classical languages. Tamil is the official language of the state of Tamil nadu, Puducherry and the Andamans and Nicobar islands in India besides being an official language in Sri Lanka and Singapore.

The Tamil I am familiar with and conversant in, is peppered with words from the English language. Language is greatly influenced by the booming Tamil movie industry and vice versa. Like in the movies, everything is over the top - bright contrasting colours, incongruous mix of modern and ancient or eastern and western, larger than life superstars who have a cult following.
You might recognise the English words but they don't always have the same meaning that they have in English . It's slang which is unique.  The first four alphabets.
The first four alphabets.
I've cut out 5cm x 5cm peces of paper from Tamil magazines and stuck them on cartridge paper. It's a visual representation of the mix of Tamil and English.
I've then stitched sequins onto the paper squares in the shape of the lower case of the alphabet and used a marker to give the alphabet a bit more 'presence'.

a - is for assaulta
definition - casually.... without a care. Nothing to do with actually assaulting or bashing someone.

b - is for blade.
definition - used widely to refer to anything that causes a combination of boredom and pain.

c - is for colour.
definition - soft drinks, Fanta, Pepsi etc.

d - dress.
definition - 'outfit' including men's apparel!  

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

April plus May

Oh boy, time is getting away from me again and I see everybody finishing alphabets and go eeeeek!

Still, I seem to be almost holding together; just forgetting to post.

Here are the next 8 letters in my alphabet.

M and Maroon

N and Navy

O and o-surprise me - Orange!

P and another surprise - Purple

Q and Quartz Grey

R and another really original choice - Red

S and Sky Blue

T and Tan

I have been daydreaming a bit about the finished product; and hopefully have an idea or two.

It looks like I have 6 more letters to do in about 6 weeks, so I shall try to do some early and then get on with the finished item.

Funnily enough my head keeps turning to my place alphabet; and what I might do, when what I really need to do is focus on this one!

My Finished Alphabet

All the letters completed and the book structure decided on, I added some little collaged scenes as fillers, since the book is square.  It's variously called a snake book or meander book and I think has other names.  It spreads out flat like a picture but folds up like a book.  I made a little box to contain it, with a label on the outside with the title, and an explanation on the inside of the lid.

 Complete alphabet with fillers.

 Alphabet in its box.  The title sheet has a little hand drawn pic of the area.


The box showing the explanation inside the lid.


Alphabet and the box.

I had great fun with this project and am busily thinking of what to do next...

JGR MAY

Hi everyone, here are my letters for May. 
                                                       As I mentioned in an earlier post,
                              I'm working randomly this time instead of my usual A, B, C, D etc.
                                   I've just realized these letters actually spell out a word:
                                                       "zero". Haha. Thanks for visiting!

Monday, May 19, 2014

There you are

Last steps to march in are :




and there you are, in the Labyrinth of the Chartres Cathedrale
 
 
and to bring it with me everywhere, I folded it this way :


adding the extra Z at the rear, and made a little box to pack it


 
that's it !
and now, let's think of the next alphabet !!!
 

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Final pieces of jigsaw

One month early due to being away....did push the boundaries to make it fit creatively....done and dusted....oops forgot a few!!!!!collected the wrong ones......oh dear!