Part I
One of the features of this project is that I adopted a very different way of working at the start.
Typically, I begin with an idea (often only the glimmer of an idea) and then, with a mix of curiosity and experimentation, I set off on a ‘journey of exploration’, without any preconception of my ‘destination’. And this is particularly true when an idea starts with a ‘happy accident’ in Photoshop –– I normally continue to develop it in Photoshop, working enjoyably (but often randomly) with my back-catalogue of existing images.
But this was different in two ways; firstly, although its genesis lay in Photoshop, unusually I stepped away from that medium on this occasion into the non-digital world. And secondly, more significantly, I had a very clear, singular vision for the ‘journey’s destination’ – there would be no meandering journey of exploration this time! Even before I put ‘pen to paper’, I could picture the outcome in my mind’s eye, clearly in its finished state – a new piece of artwork, entitled ‘The Other Side’ – envisaging it as a diptych, comprising handprints and stencils.
The 4-year-old version of myself would have all the fun and excitement of a pre-school project but using leaves and cyanotype-solution, rather than poster paints and messy hands!!
‘The Other Side’
the ‘handprint’ (left) and the stencil (right)
One version of ‘The Other Side’, with the sycamore leaf, worked reasonably well (above). It did need a lot of work in Photoshop to create a clear outline, and also ‘tidying’ to remove random spots and smudges – though undoubtedly far less than cleaning up and hosing down my 4-year-old self!! But with other smaller, less robust leaves – the oaks and the maples, particularly – only the handprints were successful (below).
Many of these pressed and dried leaves were flimsy and fragile, allowing the cyanotype-solution to seep underneath them when I was doing the stencils, and turning the elegantly outlined-shapes that I envisaged into a blobby mess! So I paired these handprints with traditional cyanotype prints instead.
Sucessful 'handprints'
'Handprints' paired with traditional cyanotype prints