Tuesday, 8 June 2010

Waves

I grew up next to the ocean with all its moods, textures and colors. I’m sure its restless energy is in all my work somewhere, so I decided to cut a piece about it.

This silk paper cut, called Wave, is the fourth in a series of large circular works. It started from a tiny sketch in my sketchbook and I instantly liked its movement and the flow of the lines.

Here are some pictures of the work in process.

Referencing Japanese wave imagery I created two large drawings (this is the second, more refined one).

Once happy I traced the finished design onto the back of two layers of silk and cut it. Here's the work half cut.

Then I played around with the lighting. Here the work is lit from the front creating shadows.

Here's a detail showing the two layers of silk

I haven’t decided on how or if to colour the piece.

Lit from the back the different layers of silk and the luminescence create interesting effects.

When I’ve decided how to colour, mount and light the work it’ll be exhibited in my upcoming show in September.