I think I've managed to come out the other side of my artist's fever. I can actually get space from my brain now, time to think about other things in life and to make some note of what's been going on.
I've been immersed in a strange world- a kind of 1970s/early 80s Science Fiction film set with emphasis on New Age colour schemes and philosophy, but balanced with a tribal sort of elegance and heavily influenced by 1920s futurism. It's hard to explain and so remotely distant from my usual Dickensian derelict- in fact trying to think about my usual style at this point literally gives me a headache, so I haven't been able to give myself a break in discovery work at all, I've just had to wade in up to the knees and forget about coming ashore.
As you saw by the images in the last post, I started to organise my new found frenzy by first going through every box and jar I have, pulling together a big pile of trinkets in the middle of the worktable, each piece having the elements in it that have been fuelling me this week- the top five of which are crystals, hexagons/pentagons, bone, rounded corners and high-gloss surfaces.
I gathered in such seemingly unconnected elements such as clear quartz points, rat bones, bubblewrap, plastic door bead strings, Czech beads, tribal drops, sea glass, vintage lingerie fittings and art deco jewellery. I also made a list of things I wanted to have on hand but as yet did not- white chain, obsolete computer components, square beads and a home enamelling kit - the kind used for bathtub repair. Even the things I'd bought from Etsy that arrived that day fit perfectly into the scheme, even though when I bought them it was with Faginpunk very clearly in mind.
Once I had all the objects amassed, things started to come together, and I built a few 'roughs' of the kind of work I see myself producing over the coming period of time, however long that is. Days? Weeks? Years? I don't know. I know I haven't finished with the Dickensian derelict, though I can't yet be certain it will come away untarnished (pardon the pun). Honestly- I can even envision a time where they will become one thing and I'll be surfing a sort of 'Dickens in Space' wave. Imagine if a young Oliver Twist joined Starfleet!
I went to the thrift (accompanied by my house mates to ensure I didn't get lost or run over while my brain sat on auto) and bought some experimental fabrics- bags made of silver PVC (which breaks down quite easily, lending itself to the Dickens side of the tracks already), mesh embedded in clear plastic and some heavy acrylic canvas blends with little rubber dots.
I don't know how far I'm going with all this but I've started with necklaces and brooches. Familiar territory must set a foothold- I think it would capsize my mind to explore both new construction methods and new aesthetics at the same time!
One thing has become clear though- with my usual style I often feel the path is rather muddy and hard to see; I need to constantly refer to my notes or inspirational images to keep 'aligned'. On this path however I feel a genuine and certain direction.
I also feel an odd kind of compulsion; it's as if I have to do this, as if some other sentient force is requesting it from me. I know that sounds very Close Encounters and all that; the whole pile up in my brain didn't really come on suddenly, it sort of phased in over a period of days, and even then you can see an element of these works in pieces produced less than a month ago. But the things that have sparked this- the colours and shapes and themes- have snowballed in my mind as they never have, the crescendo was a fever so bad that I couldn't even dream properly, I was just seeing visions of crystals and hexagons! This is more than just artistic thought process.
I've noted a few times in my bedside journal that this is something beyond the terrestrial realm, in fact my bedside journal itself is a testament to the journey so far- it's usual neat handwriting dissolving into disjointed lists scrawling over pages and pages. This is something that is coming from another source beyond me. Some say that's where the artistic process comes from anyway, but this feels more outward than anything else ever has.
There is definitely more at work here than simple aesthetics, though I've yet to find out what it is exactly that my higher mind is focused on, what it is interested in learning- or suddenly being offered.
