Granary Art Class - Brilliant day

I'm definitely an artist not an author. Having struggled for ages with my essay, yesterday I had the most fantastic day in art class.

On Monday, in drawing class, we were looking at sketchbook formats, debating when the sketchbook moves from being an place to explore an idea, to an object in its own right.  We looked at concertinas, clipped with bulldog clips, envelopes,   I got out my little A5 envelope of collage papers (which we'd been given advice to collect at the start of term).  I realised they were all about my life (doh!, obviously) - tax letters, flyers for exhibitions, crosswords, envelopes, knitting yarn wrappers.  I drew on them with carbon paper, was told to simplify them to one drawing on each one, so cut them up Then reassembled into a concertina book.  I happened to trace certain words from a magazine cover - and the word "essential" came up twice.   As all the things in this sketchbook are important concepts to me (art, communication, bits from current art projects, exhibition flyers, crosswords, paying one's tax, knitting) it has been named The Essential Sketchbook.

Collage - Essential sketchbook

Then in Studio Group (Wed/Thurs), we repeated the exercise creating raw materials for sketchbook compilation the next day.  I spent time drawing various manual tools on a variety of papers using a restricted range of media (fine line marker; white Posca pen; dressmaking tracing paper, blue carbon paper.  We all created our own versions of sketchbooks as an object in their own right, but Lori created an amazing small sketchbook, long and narrow, held together with a bulldog clip.  Bulldog clips have been in my mind for some time as they will be used to display my art work at my exhibition in September.  I'd also been thinking about the pattern pieces used to make a car seat, and the side panel is long and narrow.  I'd also seen an image at Gaydon Motor Museum where car seat templates were hanging on a wall.

At Thursday class I cut lots of side panels from utilitarian brown paper, and drew and stitched images onto them.  I tore some images from my sketchbook, drawn over the last 6 months and incorporated these.  Then stacked the side panels, clipped with the bulldog, and hung on the wall.  I was very pleased with it.

Side panel sketchbook, staged

Charcoal sewing machine foot

Car seat print, blue collar fabric, stitch

Sewing machine foot - ink, water soluble pencil, silver acrylic paint, 

Sewing machine foot - ink, fine line marker, blue masking tape,

Ford logo - blue carbon paper

Car seat - print, fabric

Car seat - print

Ford Logo, carbon paper

Hammer - dressmakers carbon paper

Machine foot - fine line marker, pencil.

Class feedback was to make 3 more bulldog sketchbooks using the left side panel, top and main panels.  I have lots of ideas to include:  drawings of the cording and welting feet for the machine, drawing with the sewing machine ...

Making art is so much more appealing than writing!