The academic course followed me in my head as I wandered around the museum looking for inspiration. Should the object I chose be Victorian? If I copy it will it be plagiarism? Can I even remember how to hold a pencil to draw rather than take notes in the British Library?
I should not have worried, in the expert hands of Elizabeth Harbour the inner child emerged and I chose this horse brass for inspiration. Liking its contained, repetitive pattern, its smallness and solid metallic surface I started to draw.
But as the process continued, I realised just how difficult it is to repeat patterns perfectly and physically I could feel myself relax. The shoulders which had been weighed down with academia began to feel lighter and my drawing began to move outside of the contained space. Perfect hearts wanted to be different from the hearts next to them, they wanted to leave the circle, fly off into their own space, to elongate and kick left and right rather than just tick a box of perfection.
After tracing , I was let loose with a scalpel and my heart truly began to beat.
Using the plastic film, similar to the type normally used for covering my children's school books, the template emerged.
Roller-brushed with acrylic paint and then randomly outlined a few hearts with black fabric pen and my tote bags were hung to dry.
I saved the hearts cut free from the page and popped them into a saucer.
The others in the class were creating amazing items all inspired by different objects from around the museum, butterflies and birds from the Natural History Section being a particular source of reference. So I carried on playing and scattered my hearts as if they were being blown by the wind, the bold blue a visual representation of strong gusts.
Then love in a dark place:
A great way to spend a Saturday.
Thank you to :
Elizabeth Harbour : https://elizabethharbour.co.uk
Tunbridge Wells Museum: http://www.tunbridgewellsmuseum.org
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