Thursday, July 23, 2009

Digging Deeper into the walls-Buried Treasure Round 2

So welcome back dear blog readers. Did you enjoy Seth's Buried Treasure? I know I certainly did, although I'm not sure about my butt, LOL! After serious remedial therapy, the butt's good to go for a second round, so on to, Buried Treasure Round 2! Seth has put out the call for another round of willing participants to join in and repost another of their Buried Treasure posts. But what to post??? In the words of a famous WWII poster, Keep Calm and Carry On. (Read this as...Now panic and freak out!!!) Well, the navels already clean from the last lot of contemplation, so... a snap decision. I have only been a participant in blogland for a small amount of time (since christmas last) so not a large vault of goodies to choose from really, but being the ever resourceful soul I am, I have found something for you. Although only posted initially a short time ago, I so enjoyed creating this piece that it's back for another round. And so.... drum roll please...
here's the repost for you

If Walls Could Talk.
(I'll let it speak for itself now folks. Stop clapping so loudly, I already know I talk too much, LOL)


Rolling back about 8 weeks or so...




Confessions of a bloghopper.
I am always jumping from one blog to another, sometimes I admit, I get lost and can't find my way back to where I was, or worse see something I love, close a page then can't find my way back there again! Do you do this too? Terribly frustrating! I am slowly becoming more disciplined about my blog hopping and bookmarking pages and sites I love so I can refind my way there again, but I still madly bloghop, driving my family nuts as they ask, "Are you downloading pages again?", all the time! :) Umm, yup, that's me, sorry to all the obsessive online gamers at my house, but raspberries to you I say!!! In my mad dash from place to place I often find myself returning to Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien (if you haven't caught this wonderful blog, then do. It's full of the most incredible fragments of interesting things!) So while there in recent weeks, an amazing piece of texture caught my eye. Paper and resin, brittle from the passage of time. Okay I'm hooked just from this alone. LOVE texture! But vintage texture!!! Ooooo! The piece was all about this fantastic house built from paper. Okay, a quick bloghop over to Rockport, Massachusetts (don't you just love the spelling challenges presented by some words!!!), and it's a quick spin through the paper house. Walls, furniture all made from paper and resin, how interesting. (Read that as brain ticking starting up). Alright, so now I'm thinking about the paper house and remembering a news article I saw sometime ago about how many years ago (that's centuries past), folks in the U.K. would bury sentimental items from loved ones who had passed away, in the walls of their homes. Baby shoes, clothes etc, and now workmen called in to do repairs are turning up all manner of strange items in the walls. Now, I have been watching with interest Seth Apter's Disintegration Collaboration where artists are making up bundles and leaving them out to the ravages of the elements for a period of time, only to reclaim them and produce something using their altered pieces in an artwork. Great stuff too Seth, can't wait to see more of this one! (If you have been under a rock somewhere and haven't caught this one, then jump to it and check it out, it's a must see!) So with all of this churning around in the noggin, the beginnings of an idea. Keep with me here, we are going somewhere, albeit slowly. The birth of a creative idea. What would your walls reveal about you? What would you imagine someone putting in there, preserving for all time? What could be hidden from view, secreted away in those spaces? Precious things, posessions, secrets waiting in time. Ahh, so here is the idea. Following along with the disintegration line, what would happen if there had been a fire? What would be lost or revealed?








And so...






the layers peeled away...










Under the wallpaper, inside the walls, what was hidden is now revealed.






A secret love...






a choice made...











a love lost.


Under the wallpaper, inside the walls the fire reveals, pictures of a love forsaken. Love letters hidden within the walls, kept close in the secret heart of the home.



The piece in its entirety.






Layers of paper, glued and colourwashed, then covered in dimensional magic. Now for the fun part, burned. Yes that's right, bubbled and blistered to form the texture of the piece. I had so much fun with this, burning the paper and dimensional magic to my hearts content. The family constantly checking to see I wasn't personally alight, (or at least the house!). I think I must be some sort of closet arsonist, LOL! Anyway, after the burning, lots of embossing in black, red and gold. More burning!!! (said with glee and maniacal laughing). I seem to be on some sort of upswing lately, everything rolling along so well. I am pretty pleased with this one (just in case you were in any doubt. LOL) Here's another glimpse of the textures, click away for a closer look.

Now I think I might have to contemplate the issue of water and how to apply it. (Just to put out all the fires you know)!
So there you have it dear blog readers, a wordy post from the vault but I wanted you to understand the piece, and how it evolved. I do hope you enjoyed it! Now to initiate another round of butt therapy by watching all of your posts. See you at the therapists. I think I will recognise you all as you'll all be bent over double like me! This therapist is sitting on a fortune, LOL!
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21 comments:

notmassproduced said...

yes, it's amazing how much time you can spend blog-hopping!

Lovely artwork.

Caterina Giglio said...

blog hopping is just AADD! just another symptom!!! LOL!! this post was when I first visited your blog and loved it!! your work is so wonderful and evokes for me an earthy timelessness. Love it! xo

Joanna Olson said...

Ohh! You are good.....I enjoyed your writing and your work.

MrCachet said...

You're on to something here. You know that, right? Simply eye-candy, and I'm hooked. Do you do this every day? LOL. You had me blog-hopping in the post, and I ended up full-circle - right back at Seth's DisCo!

I tell ya, I look for textual hooks to hang my visual fish on, and you just create the hooks and hang your fish on them outright. I'm glad I played!

Kim Mailhot said...

Your post was worth the butt aches ! Another wonderful treasure here, Kim ! Thanks for uncovering it for us and especially thanks for the giggles from your great writing !
Cheers !

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

You have NO idea how many times I've done the same thing: gone to a blog, then couldn't find it again. Your words brought many memories to mind.

Your art piece is stunning. I love all the layers and I can tell how much time you put into it. It is stunning. I hope I can remember your blog again (just kidding, since I will definitely be back).

The Weaver of Grass said...

This got me thinking Kim! I remember in the old days people just put layer after layer of wall paper on the walls, year after year as fashion changed. I remember once my mother papered our kitchen with wallpaper covered in holly leaves and berries! Every now and then she would decide to strip the paper back to the plaster - paper would be revealed in the process and we would reminisce about it. Rather like digging up shard of broken pottery and trying to remember what they were part of.

Anonymous said...

Your post is so true in so many ways! Thanks for sharing!

Kelly Jeanette Swift said...

I love your art and your writing. I enjoyed the laugh I got over the burning.

Mary S. Hunt said...

i am a layer fan myself
great post!
checked out the other cool blog too!

~*~Patty S said...

I resemble the how did I get here remark on some of my blog hopping. I have Seth to thank for finding you today!
Thank you for sharing what all went into your most creative art pieces! They are really fab!!!

Anonymous said...

oooh, i remember this post! i loved it! it was actually one of the first i read of yours if not THE first. go figure. ;)

treasure is soooo much fun, isn't it!!

femminismo said...

Merlin, I hope you never set yourself alight! This project is too fascinating and already I'm trying to think of a proper place, in our dry hot summer with burning restricted, where I might do something along these lines and not have firetrucks responding! Love the look of your art. The woman holding the photo is too precious. Who were they? Stories come to mind! What would we be without our imaginations? (I love the spelling challenge of the "word verifications." Mine is arymbon, which unjumbled could be May born, but I was born in April. Close!) - Jeanne in Oregon

reagan said...

Your artwork is so lovely, the layers and texture stunning. I too can relate to the blog hopping syndrome. Thank you for visiting my blog, Seth created a wonderful challenge!

Anonymous said...

What a treat my visit to your blog has been!

3rdEyeMuse said...

I love that piece and how it came about and the humor you have in the telling! thank you. :)

Caterina Giglio said...

cannot wait to see journal # 4! any hints about what it will be like? cannot wait to see your sketch journal too!
let's see that would be 5 journals right??? LOL!!!! xxoo cat

Rosie said...

I think this is gorgeous! What a great post... and you're not alone! If I can melt it, burn it, fuse it, colour and then stamp into it, I'm happy. Love what you created and the way you explained it!! =)

Unknown said...

Glad that I finally stopped by! My butt hurts too! But well worth the browsing! Thanks for stopping by my blog!!! Love this piece!

Jill Zaheer said...

Just love the concept and the design. The hidden thoughts and images are amazing. So glad to look through your blog through Seth's collaborations. He should get a universal kinship award!

donna said...

lol@u funny girl, enjoying your blog and sense of humor...the piece is magical