Saturday, June 8, 2013

Eureka, and a sudden rush of catch-up

I have not posted for many weeks, having bowed out of the challenge.  I have, however, continued to observe all your excellent inspiring progress, and a small part of me regretted my personally sensible decision.
Then, as seems so often to occur, I stumbled across an idea which would enable me to try out an alphabet.  One of my projects for a group of smaller works involves cut paper techniques with which I am not yet practically acquainted.  I need to practise, and what better way to do so with the combination of straights, curves, and angles involved in cutting an alphabet!
The card that I decided to use is a surplus pile of postcards left over from my knitwear design era.
I started by cutting out a square of the required background size, drew the letter on the back and cut from the back also - with a scalpel.  I must admit that I have some experience with using a scalpel from the 70s when I was in publishing, making design layouts and using Letraset (remember Letraset?).  Indeed my scalpel is a Letraset scalpel.
Anyway, it's all far from perfect, but it was good enough to continue - and I was having great fun, especially as the rheumatism in my fingers seems to be in abeyance while the sun is shining.
When I was cutting out the letters I was thinking about the word Peace, and also looking at the two figures fully represented on the card.  I decided to try the tighter curves involved in cutting out those figures, and at the same time to try the much smaller letters of the word Peace cut from the width of the card.
Of course it immediately occurred to me that the figures should be holding the word up as a banner, especially as I had had to have a base to link the letters to anyway.  When I looked at the mass of individual letters on my cutting mat they looked like a forest, a mass, a crowd, ... into which the figures could perhaps be placed.
And there we have it: my Peace alphabet - not done at the pace of one letter per week, I'm afraid.  And not done with any great competence - but done.  


9 comments:

  1. Wonderful! When the ideas come you grab them! This is a keeper for sure!

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    1. Yes, it's a delight when the light strikes in this way.

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  2. How clever and creative. I really like the way that the word peace is coming out of the crowd of letters.

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    1. Thanks Lyndell. I was not sure whether it was 'cheating' to add the elements of the figures and the word Peace to the alphabet, but the crowd of them seemed to demand it.

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  3. Oh wow - how fabulous Olga! I am so glad you have been able to unwithdraw so to speak! What a great exploration, discovery and resolution. I imagine you an have lots of fun with photos and shadows and movement with these.

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    1. Well, Fiona, I felt such guilt having signed up - so it was with relief as well as delight that I completed my little letter crowd. You are right about the shadows etc. I can imagine myself being distracted / inspired every time the sun shines through them.

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  4. I love this very much, brilliant idea, sculpture like, would look good in a perspex box. Congratulations.

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  5. That is a very beautiful work, a very interesting work that created a beautiful sculpture!

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  6. mais c'est magnifique! super original...

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Thank you for taking the time to comment - it's always great to hear from folk.