Week Nine

This week I experimented with glue and possible surface materials for my final piece. I used unprimed birch ply and a combination of PVA and Yes Paste (thanks, Amanda!). The Yes Paste was really great for large areas because it goes on really smoothly, doesn't dry by the time I am done applying it and allows me to sort of nudge the paper around a bit if I don't place it down in the exact location. I like, too, that when it is dry I can wash away the excess paste. The thing I have to keep in mind when "cleaning" the surface is that certain papers might get ruined if I try to wipe it away. Another thing I encountered with the Yes paste is that while it is great for large areas--and holds!--the edges of the support surface need extra reinforcement of PVA glue, as the Yes paste doesn't quite hold as well at the edges. I still think that for the smaller pieces PVA will be my best option, though.

Sorry for that excruciatingly boring paragraph about paste. I included it more for my own purposes so that I can refer to my "notes" to see what worked/didn't work when it comes time to work with my final surface.

Below is my pictorially-irrelevant experiment. The wood I used for this was the birch ply. I did also purchase a one-foot square of particle board and will experiment with that, too.

I was pretty swamped this past weekend and the beginning of the week with my painting (see previous post) so I didn't make as many people as I would have liked. I did, however, give the woman who no one--including myself--liked a makeover. I think she looks much better now. I also made another building because I was kind of going stir-crazy with the little itty-bittyness of the people's paper components and needed a diversion. The building I made was Kino Babylon.

I think I am going to go back and remake Konditorei Krautzig. I just don't like it. It's too small, bland, and there's nothing visually interesting about it. I posted it several weeks ago but here it is again:

That said, if any of you have time to sort of skim over my previous buildings and let me know if there are glaring (or subtle) things that aren't working/that you don't like, I am open to making amendments!

Utilization of Time:

Collaging: 10 hours

Material-buying: 30 minutes

Library Research: 2 hours

*Note: The library trip was REALLY worthwhile. I checked out a fantastic folk art book and have another one on reserve, which I am going to pick up tomorrow. Additionally, there is a room in the graduate library that contains maps by Jo Mora. I am very excited about the recommendation made to me to look at his work because I find his maps utterly delightful. I had never heard of this artist before and it's always exciting to find new inspiration! His work has me really reconsidering the format of my piece. I am now asking myself if I want a character key to describe the individuals present in my painting (think Where's Waldo). I really like the idea of a frame/border, too, which is something I've been considering all along but I don't know yet if that is to constraining for a city I find to be so grandiose...

Here is my updated composite, by the way. It doesn't have Kino Babylon yet but it will by next week!

P.S. To answer Amanda and Erica's questions, I have been doing these faces from memory. In a couple exceptional instances I will have a really specific facial emotion in mind that I need a visual source to which I can refer. This is when I will type a phrase into Google Image, where I will then scroll through image results to get an overall idea as to how I should represent the eyebrow shapes and placement relative to eyes as well as the eyes, themselves. These are the most crucial (I think) to conveying my intended emotion because even a subtle shift in placement or in how I cut them can ruin the look I am going for. I make up the mouths, for the most part.