Horror Vacui

Finally made some progress in the studio today. Trying to resolve at least one of the three projects I set myself this summer. In this case that means working to resolve the relief figures.

This is turning out to be a long process (as my processes usually are). Spent much of last week repairing old guys, pouring new ones, and installing nails. Labor intensive and boring. Spend a couple days the week before that building the 4 x 6 frame that they'll eventually be attached to. Also labor intensive and boring. But! Today I finally got to get started.

Having covered my foam "layout wall" with craft paper, and taped off the interior dimension of my final frame (not pictured here), I was ready to get started. When I've got a composition I'm happy with, my plan is to take the perforated craft paper off the foam wall and use it to transfer the finished design onto the face of the final frame.

My current thinking is to use some of the narrative elements that I started with, but surround them with the random visual clutter that I'm finding so appealing. I'm imaging that when it's done, the narrative will be buried in the composition, like a color-blindness test.

This is an interesting challenge for me, because my general aesthetic tends to be reduced, clean, and clear. Knowing that, in the end, the whole thing will be filled, I have to keep pushing myself to make moves away from the upright orientation, and to avoid getting bogged down in the various narratives.

Here's the progression.



















Assuming I don't run out of pieces (a real possibility), I'm hoping to get it all filled in over the next day or two.