Small worlds

small_worlds_concertinaweb

One of the monotypes that I made back in May has moved into its next stage of development. It started as an abstract image in cool, soft colours. Then I started to work into it with coloured pencils, developing some areas, adding form and tone, creating depth and texture. This stage was quite pleasing, but I knew it couldn’t stand alone as a framed image, so I put it aside till inspiration struck for its further development, which it did last week.

mono05web
The monotype in its original state
UnderworldCloudsWeb
After coloured pencil was added, and turned 90 degrees

One form of social media I am very fond of is Instagram, I only follow artists and find it endlessly inspiring, sometimes scrolling through images something will stop me, and an idea will come from it. One thing I saw recently was work from artists in the Middle East and a small image of a mass of circles joined in a curtain-like arrangement gave me the ‘Ah ha’ moment I needed. I knew the answer to the future of this particular image was circles. I have a small tool that can be set to cut circles of different sizes, so I set it to a diameter of 6 cm and started cutting, completely randomly, deliberately not choosing what fell within each circle. Eventually I ended up with 25 circles. One of the friends that I create art with every Friday offered me some concertina-folded paper, just to see how the circles looked on either grey or white. Serendipity again – I think they look beautiful just on these concertinas! However, there are still 15 left, and these may be joined together with jump rings to make a hanging artwork, or perhaps arranged in a panel like small portholes, or they may stay solitary – the next stage will answer that question!

I have  called them Small Worlds, as that seems to me to be what they are.

Author: anna warren portfolio

I draw, I paint, I am a printmaker. Always searching for the interesting detail in the world around me.

22 thoughts

    1. Thank you so much Rebecca – no, its not a circular punch, but a tool that has a pin on one end of a bar, on the other end is a blade, so it works like a compass. It mostly cuts nice clean circles, but if I move the pin, not so much! There are one or two that have a little uneven edge …

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      1. Ah, thank you very much for explaining. It looks like it’s made a grand job, judging by the photos. I’m saying that a little uneven edge just proves it’s handmade. 😉 I will have to investigate…you’ve given me inspiration this morning – thank you! 🙂

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  2. Your monotype with pencils has that fantastical feel that a lot of your work has. I mean other-worldly like underwater caves or the land of faery from Grimms fairy tales. So often – slightly menacing too – as if that world could totally swallow you up. Entice you in but no way out again.
    The works become far less scary when contained in small circles. Then jewellery comes to my mind. I could certainly imagine wearing these as brooches – perhaps enamelled. (Maybe an idea for the left-over ones.)

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    1. Someone who saw these said they were like porcelain, which I can see … I think they would be good for jewellery, quite large brooches could work. I like the thoughts of underwater, and other fantastical worlds. I have just completed a pencil drawing which, although very different from this, has that feel too. I’m glad the menacing feeling is still there!

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    1. Thank you Margaret, I’m delighted you enjoyed this! I’m having a lot of fun with these, and more ideas are springing up all the time. I hadn’t heard the word ‘leporello’ before, so looked it up, and of course that is exactly what I have made, its a lovely word. I’m always attracted to the concertina form. (There are others that I have made on my Hand-made books page, if you would like to see some of the others.)

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