Fenfolio: Artistic Explorations: Assemblage (1)

I'm just back from a very inspiring and creative week at Bridge House Art in Ullapool where I did the Alchemy course with Eleanor White. Last year was my first time (see my blog post here) and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to come back again, this time to do something with Eleanor herself. She is an amazing art tutor with boundless energy and her expertise on any art medium is second to none.

Alchemy is the process of transforming the ordinary into the extra-ordinary. The first three days we mainly experimented with the deconstructing process; altering the surface of various materials like paper, fabric, cardboard and old photo film by using techniques such as dying, frottage (= rubbing), tearing, piercing, folding, stitching and spraying. These samples were then used as reference for our main project we worked on for the last two days of the course.

One of my frottage samples on magazine paper
©Fenfolio2016

Buckets of dye with folded papers ©Fenfolio2016

Eleanor giving a demo blotting the dyed paper ©Fenfolio2016

The studio with our experimentations ©Fenfolio2016

Before we started our personal project we went on our treasure hunt picking up any object that took our interest by beachcombing or walking in the forest along the river at the back of her studio. We then laid out our collection of metal, ceramics, glass, wood, seaweed, shells, leaves etc. on the table. Now the hardest part of the process started; selecting your materials, deconstructing them and constructing them with any other materials to create an extra-ordinary abstract artwork!

A collection of found materials from one of the participants ©Fenfolio2016

Luckily Eleanor also had a collection of found objects we were able to use. My eye fell on one of the old wooden fish boxes, originally from Aberdeen. I had to carefully deconstruct it not to damage the the part I wanted to have and the rest of the wood. I brought some scraps of fabric with me from home and thought the colour and texture of the hessian would work really well with the wooden plank. My piece was too small for what I had in mind but Eleanor had plenty I could use! The cardboard would also fit very well because of the corrugated texture and the ease I could manipulate it.

As my plank read "Aberdeen Inshore" I wanted to compose my piece in such a way that the textures, shapes and lines would reflect the ones found in and along the shore.

The lower part of the plank was sanded and then painted in diluted white acrylics following the grain of the wood to represent the undulating landscape inland. I replaced some of the rusted nails and bended them to make hooks. I cut three strips of hessian and then distressed each panel by pulling, tearing and some cutting. They were then painted in a thin and later a thicker layer of white acrylics.

The cardboard was treated in the same way. Once I decided the composition was right I stitched the cardboard pieces onto the hessian panels with a hessian thread (bigger needle opening needed and waxing the end of the thread was very useful!). The lower part of the hessian was then wrapped around the cardboard, cut to length and stitched too. The second part of the hessian was stitched to the back of the cardboard to create a continuous panel.

Finally I made some rope from a few hessian threads to hang the piece on the plank.

Assemblage "Aberdeen Inshore" ©Fenfolio2016

Close-up wooden plank ©Fenfolio2016

Close-up textures hessian and cardboard ©Fenfolio2016

I'm not sure whether it's finished yet because I feel it's lacking some impact against a white wall. I consider adding a narrow strip in a 3D shape (representing waves) made from cardboard on the top and bottom of the panels but I will decide in the next few weeks. Your feedback is very welcome!

Below is a selection of works created by the other participants, ranging from collages, mixed media paintings and assemblage (= a work of art made by grouping together found or unrelated objects). Some wonderful works have been made and it really inspired me to create some new pieces for NEOS. Better get started now!