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Nihonga Day 15

Sadly, this was our last day.  After spending an average of 8 hours in the studio every day (and days like yesterday, 15!) I am looking forward to a break from working and trying to articulate my thoughts better in writing.

Today

some people purchased more pigments (to experiment with later).

They all looked so beautiful.

I was tempted to buy some, but resisted.  :)

Mako showed us how to gild with gold and silver!  What a fantastic way to end the class!!

(and he sprinkled gold onto one of my little practice pieces.  How cool – my own little Mako collaboration!)

And I showed him my final pieces.

Thanks Mako for such a great class!!  For those of you interested in learning more of the specifics about our class, you can visit the class’s blog.  And you can buy your very own pocket microscope here (the best way to experience the light refractions)!

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Nihonga Day 14

Today, I pushed myself hard.  And by hard, I mean I spent 15 hours in the studio – only taking an hour break for coffee.  [on days like this, I question my sanity!]  But I’m so glad I did it– I knew it was one of my last chances to work in this space and I was feeling like the work was close to being done.  So, I apologize in advance for the massive amount of pictures today!

First on my list: finish my book sculpture.  I put the finishing touches on it, and then placed it on the wall the way I would want it hung.

Detail shot.

I’m happy with the result.  This is a part of my “By Its Cover” series.

Next on my list was to finish this triptych.  (a much bigger beast to tackle!)

I added white azurite streaks to the top

and added more blue pastel to the rock piles.

Next, I burnt some book pages

and ground up the ashes and mixed it with nikawa glue and water in order to make a fresh batch of ash gray.  (one of my new favorite colors!)

Then I began to add some to the bottom – the effect of water based media on top of the wax is quite subtle and beautiful.  It doesn’t always work (since water based materials resist), but when it dries in place, it’s quite beautiful.

Then I scratched into the wax with a nail, to help make the rock piles pop even more.

Next, I built up some layers of various colors rotating between encaustic and nihonga materials (oyster shell white, encaustic medium, blue pastel, ash gray)

and began layering some ash gray as a shadow to each rock pile.

Then,trusting my intuition, I began to scrape it all off.

and revealed this fantastic worn, peeled paint look underneath.  Finally, I was starting to make some real progress and getting much closer to being done!

Then I worked on the transition between the top and bottom portions of the pieces, and carved a stylized plant with roots in each of the pieces.

I took off the artist tape (to reveal the gorgeous bamboo underneath!), hung them up, stood back and decided they were done.  Whew.

(Detail shot of third piece)

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Nihonga Day 13

Sadly, there are only 2 more days left!  So we’ve all been working extra hard to try to take full advantage of Mako’s expertise and input, as well as the beautiful studio space on UBC’s campus.

Today,

I pushed myself hard on these 3 pieces again.  (My goal is to have them done by Friday evening!)

I added a few layers of wax to each,

and built up some brown layers so that the bottoms of each piece would be the darkest and thickest.

Then I added more oyster shell white, letting some of it overlap with the wax (to create an interesting resist)

then I went back in to give the rock piles some blue pastel highlights.

Stepping back, I decided that the blue should be subtly extended to the top portions of the pieces as well.

Next – right before making a big decision (which would have altered the piece drastically), I hung it up and invited 2 friends to help me critique the work.  [there's nothing quite like having friends to help you look more objectively at your work!!]

They forbid me to make that decision [thanks guys!] and helped me pinpoint the weak areas that still needed work.

I hated to leave the studio this afternoon – knowing that the work is getting closer and closer to being done, but I also knew that if I continued  without first stepping back to do some writing and reflecting on where the work is headed, I would definitely be tempted again to make quick rash decisions (and perhaps at a time when no one else was there to stop me!)  Ah, to learn to navigate between patience and intuition!

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Nihonga Day 12

Today

we showed the class one piece we’ve been working on,

and we had a mini critique session.  These are always so helpful and I wish I had one every week!

Then the rest of the day was spent working hard on these 3 panels.

[prepare yourself for a lot of process pictures]

At first, I wasn’t quite sure where the pieces were going and there were certainly a few times today that I wondered if the work would go anywhere.  In a moment of quick decision-making, I applied dress pattern paper to all 3 panels.

to build up texture and depth.  I began to be intrigued with what remained hidden and what was revealed underneath.

I added ash gray to each of the pieces, and right about this time I began scribbling notes like crazy in my notebook.  Finally, I was getting direction (and even a title!) for this triptych.

I found the perfect worn-out-and-written-on pieces of paper to add,

and added wax over top to embed them in.  Next came a tearing of the dress pattern paper on the tops of each piece, to reveal more of the beautiful oyster shell white underneath.

Then I needed to soften the edges, so I began dripping mica from the top,

and began to add ochre pastel drawings of rock piles,

and went back in to fill them in with titatium white

and beginning to define their shape even more with burnt umber.

Using oyster shell white, mica and burnt umber I kept making drip lines at the top.

There’s still a lot more work to do on the pieces, but finally having some clarity and direction pushed me through the long hours today in the studio.  All in a hard day’s work!

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Nihonga Day 11

Today

I sized the inside of a book cover

to prep the surface for working on it later!

And spent some time working on these 3 panels:

adding mica,

and burnt umber,

then spraying water on top to get more texture.

There are plenty of more layers to put down on these pieces, but for the rest of the afternoon I worked on other things – in hopes of coming back tomorrow with more inspiration and clear direction!

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Nihonga Day 10

We have reached a point in the class where Mako is doing less teaching and we are doing more independent work.  So today I spent most of the class time (and much of the afternoon)

mounting these little guys on canvas boards,

and adding layer

after layer

after layer of oyster shell white to these 3 cradled boards.

And finally some azurite blue.

Meanwhile, I prepped a small box for my recent waxed book piece.

I poured encaustic medium into the box and let my piece set.

I’ll come back to it on Monday (after it’s completely cooled), make some touch-ups and probably finish it!

Last on my list for the afternoon was to try to finish this piece.  I added oyster shell white (top), and more ash gray (bottom).

Then I added some encaustic medium to the middle section, propping it up while I fused in order to get a drip effect.

Then I went back in to put on last touches with titanium white (a brighter / opaque white) and scraped back some of the wax.

Then I turned it every which way to see which direction this piece should be read.  This is what I decided on.  For now, I’ll say the piece is done and I’m pleased with it, but I may change my mind after the weekend and I’ve had time to be away from it!  :)

Happy weekending!

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Nihonga Day 9

Today

Mako demonstrated how to mount the Japanese paper onto our substrate.

And then we all asked lots of questions and took lots of notes.  [When you have a unique opportunity to learn from someone like Mako, you try to ask as many questions as possible!]

I wasn’t able to spend a full afternoon in the studio, so my time was cut short today.  My goal, though, was to keep hammering away at this piece.

So I tried azurite blue and burnt umber mixed with clear shellac.

The azurite blue was very subtle and didn’t mix well with the shellac (not surprising).  But I managed to rub some of the mixture over top of ash gray from yesterday.

Then I took it outside to torch it!

The azurite mixture did practically nothing as the torch burned down straight to the wood,

and the burnt umber mixture blossomed and pulled apart (as expected).

Then I realized in order to get the desired effect, I would probably have to apply the shellac mixture more liberally.

Then the flames roared [and I felt exhilaration and terror at the same time].

And I marveled at the destructive beauty happening right before my eyes.

I maybe overdid it a bit much [I always burn the marshmallows when making s'mores.  I guess I get too entranced by the flames and have no spatial awareness of roaring flames and poofy 'mallows].

But I will say I’m a lot happier with these results.

More to be done tomorrow!

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Nihonga Day 8

Today

We all experimented more with our newfound knowledge of Nihonga materials.

Meet Peggy: a superstar Nihonga painter.  :)

I love seeing what everyone comes up with!

First, I returned to my experiments and added white pigment (mixed with glue).

Then I spent some time lightly sanding the top surface (on the left side) on one of my pieces.  Then I took out some of the splinters in the wood, leaving gashes in the surface.  [I've been interested in exploring the idea of beauty and suffering through various processes and materials]

I went back and filled the gashes with white pigment.

Then went outside with my torch and some book pages.  My goal: to create ash and see if it makes for a nice gray/ black color.  I had used ash before – literally embedded into my encaustic work for a solo show I did back in Atlanta.  But this time, I wanted to grind and pulverize the ash to make pigment.

It’s fascinating to me that something can be so beautiful, yet involve destruction at the same time.

Next it was time to pulverize the ash– yet another method of destruction / refining.

The result?  A beautiful ash gray color.  I *love* it!

[insert -about 1.5 hours of playing with the new color and forgetting to take pictures- here]

The bottom left side is the ash gray color [beautiful huh?] and I added some of the burnt book page with ash coming off it.  I sealed it in with wax, then added dark sum-ink on top of that and torched it [process of destruction / refining] to break apart the ink overlaid on the text.

If you look closely, you can see some of the words peeking out from underneath the sumi-ink.  Then I got carried away experimenting with patchwork with the various materials: azurite blue, malachite green, mica, titatium white (powder pigment), and ash gray/ black.

I realized at about this point, that I should take the rest of the afternoon off to think more about what I’d like to do with this piece (and the others) before I rush ahead and ruin them.  :)

But just before I left, I added some ash gray to my mini-experiments to let them dry.

More tomorrow!

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Nihonga Day 7

Today

Mako talked more about minerals [passionately]

like Azurite blue

and he tried out my microscope.

So then we each took our turn, ooohing and ahhhing at the sparkly minerals.  It felt like going on a treasure hunt!

Then it was time to get down to business.  First thing on the list: getting set up in a new space.

It was only a temporary set back.  Within minutes, it felt homey and inspiring again.

Next on my checklist for the day: adding some malachite green to the mini-experiment pieces.

These are not colors I would normally gravitate towards or use on my palette, but I’m enjoying learning more about the process as I try these.

And I set up a few more experiment pieces to try tomorrow.  This time, I tried sizing dress pattern paper.

Next on my to-do list was to get a new panel prepped.  I first started on with a little encaustic medium on the right side.

Then I added some blue wax and a layer of clear shellac (mixed with burnt umber dried pigment).

Then I took it outside to torch it!  [ever since discovering this video, I've been dying to try this!!]

Not too shabby for the first time around, but there’s a lot more to discover I’m sure!

mmmmm…..texture.

Then I did a little pencil drawing of a branch and sized the other side (to prep for Nihonga).  Then I added white pigment in a sort of cellular shape.

Last on my list was to prep 3 more panels (this time, they’re cradled – so they’ll be ready to hang).  I have lots of ideas for these, but like everything in this process, it will require a steady balance of patience and hard and fast discipline.

Laura was prepping her wood panels too

and letting them dry.

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Nihonga Day 6

Today:

We learned how to make rice glue

(which looked a lot like tapioca).

Jess made a batch of oyster shell white on her own

and Laura worked hard on experiment pieces.

It’s a brand new week, which means brand new experiments!  I set up a new batch of 5 4×4″ pieces to work on.

For the first layer on each, I used mica mixed with gofun (the “glue” of Nihonga), and some oyster shell white.

and after it dried, I began adding blue (azurite).

My favorite one so far is this one.

While that was drying, I returned to my wood panel from last week and worked a lot on the right side of the piece.

I used different kinds of pigment (mica and oyster shell white, as well as pastel and titatium white dried).

I like what’s happening so far.

The trick is to keep it simple, so I decided to leave it at that for the day.  It will be good to look at them again with fresh eyes tomorrow morning.