I finished study VII of the Generative paintings. With this one, the acrylic was once again applied directly to the gesso’d surface without a base layer of paint underneath. The tooth of the gesso definitely improves the application of the linework. This painting, for some reason, gave me anxiety while painting it. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was the colors. I was thinking about modernist Italian graphic designers when I chose these colors, but while painting them I couldn’t help but note they’re German Axis/Nazi colors too. Ugh. Sometimes I look at the the Amsterdamse style all around my neighborhood: it’s laden with art deco graphics and early 20th century design styling, and it pains me to note that the Nazis took the same deco styles of the era for their imagery and propaganda and ruined the aesthetic forever with the association. It’s no wonder modernism was such a departure from art deco and at the forefront in postwar American art and design.
But I digress… I changed my line pattern, deciding to shift colors using a fibonacci series. It’s got a nice weight to the transitions. I also began my eighth generative study during the week using a loose fibonacci series for the transitions. VIII will be quite a departure from the others. I gave it complications. I like it so far. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish it this week, thought that’s complicated too: Fred broke his foot over the weekend and can’t go to school. If I don’t want him on a screen constantly, it will require constant effort on my part. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to volunteer and silversmith at the Buurtwerkplaats this week because I’m homebound with him. I need to resolve the next design for silver in any case, which is something I can do on paper at home. I may finally also go back to the Protoa series.
Speaking of silver, I finished the March Blossom Earring pair over the last week too. It was great to complete a piece of jewelry again. I was able to use most of the tools at the Buurtwerkplaats, which was a good opportunity to see how they are and whether I’d like any of them for home use. The little butane hand torch, while harder to control than the propane-ox torches I’m used to, was a nice item and fairly safe. I’d much prefer to have a glorified creme brulée torch at home than giant propane and oxygen tanks that need maintenance and oversight. The hanging flexshaft tool, while considerably cheaper than the Fordham I’d been using, felt like you got what you paid for: chintsy and hard to control. For professional work, it seems worthwhile to pay for the higher quality. I plan to make a silver Bloom collection and then see where that leads before fully outfitting my home studio.
March Blossom Earrings, polished 20210601 ©2021