Learned the meaning of a new word that I’ve seen kicking
around—upcycling. Apparently, it is
taking something that is ready for the rubbish heap and turning it into
something more valuable than it originally was.
Since I starting this blog old sketchbooks have been turning up in my
life and I have been studying my older work.
The most recent sketchbook contains blind contour, vine charcoal
sketches of my garden, which are 9” x 12”. I usually do them as exercises to increase my
hand eye coordination and as a right brain exercise—leaving it at that, hoping
it will prove useful in terms of increasing my skills as I develop on my
journey. I found one of these drawings
that were fleshed out in color and it gave me the idea to turn them all into
mixed media full color abstractions.
This image I am posting today is an upcycled drawing that began as vine
charcoal on paper, in black and white.
It is now done with vine charcoal, pastel pencils and oil pastels. It remains landscape-like in orientation and
overall effect but now it delights in organic shape and expressive line as well
as expressive color. Just as these drawings are in a state of transition so too
is my art generally. I’m going from very
precise renderings for mandala art to much more free-styled, expressive
abstractions. It feels like sweet release!
Looking forward to making these sketches larger and finishing them on
canvas. Meanwhile, I plan to go through
this entire found sketchbook of blind contours and upcycle each one instead of
having them languish in nothingness and dust.
When I first became a blogger it was difficult to know if I had readers and visitors coming to my blog. I’d post and be met by the sounds of crickets. Then, I branched out into the world of the blogosphere, a world I didn't know really existed. From my ventures, I met a lot of interesting bloggers. I've started following and commenting on numerous blogs, for you see, prior to my outings, I too was out among the crickets. Lurking about but seldom saying anything. A fellow blogger I've met through my journeys around the blogosphere is Melissa Maygrove . She had the brilliant idea to have a Follow Fest , where we share about who we are, what we do and most importantly, how you can connect with us further. It is my intention through joining Follow Fest, that I’ll connect with many more readers and people interested enough in what I do to want to learn more by following. So, here goes my entry for the fest. Name: Stephanie Rose Bird Fiction or
love that you are upcycling old sketches! I enjoy revisiting old work and seeing how I can use it to further my work today. Have fun and enjoy the free flowing process. ~ Kristen visiting from CED
ReplyDeleteThank Kristen! Glad we share the adventure of rediscovering old work. You're right, it is free flowing and I'm having fun.
ReplyDelete"Upcycle"... what a great idea! It's always so interesting to look at old work with new eyes. I so love your expressive abstracts Stephanie. Actually i love everything you do. Eye candy. :-) xoxo
ReplyDeletePauline: I think I've found some sustaining power in expressive abstraction so I'll be doing a lot more. I always love hearing your comments as well as visiting your lovely blog!
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