Please note that this is a work in progress post created for the Mixed Media and Digital Processes class, taken at Singapore American School during the academic year 2020-2021 in the first semester (Aug 2020-Dec 2020).
9 November 2020
Finding Images
I already had an idea of what I wanted my final project to be about, and what it should look like. Since quarantine, my favorite pass time has been embroidery and painting, so I eventually found a way to combine the two. It became something like a signature, I would always find myself making art work with acrylic paint or watercolor and then over it, I would sew on a drawing that I found on the internet. The first step for this project was to find drawing that I would use for my embroidery component of my project. They are below.
10-23 November 2020
Printmaking
After I found the images that I wanted to use for embroidery, I wanted to use the techniques I learned from our printmaking unit to incorporate more designs and styles. I found some line drawing of women who inspire me (AOC, Frida Kahlo, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg) as well as a drawing of a vulnerable woman whose hair is in a bun and her hand is on her back. I transferred RBG and the random woman onto linoleum and began to carve them out there. It took me a couple of days to do because the design was intricate and required a lot of attention to details. I then stamped them on paper.
After I completed the linoleum print, I started carving out the dry print. On the plexiglass, I carved out Frida Kahlo and AOC and then proceeded to print them on the dry print paper. After they dried, I scanned them and transferred them into photoshop where I edited them to make their lines darker and more prominent. I then printed this out onto canvas where I began experimenting with different styles. I printed my linoleum board onto the canvas as well.
I thought of the idea of printing my hands onto the canvas, so I painted my left hand three different times (red, pink, and dark blue) and proceeded to stamp them onto the canvas.
Time in class was running out, so I took the images I saved for the embroidery and began laying them out so I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like as a final result.
After I laid this out, I stretched the canvas with the help of my art teacher. I then brought it home and... proceeded to destroy it. I did not know that the watercolors would cause the linoleum print to leak, so it just looked like a whole mess. I was inspired though, and ended up leaving to Art Friend and buying a canvas. Even though they did not have a 12x18 inch canvas, they had a 12x16 inch which wasn't much of a difference, I just had to adjust my design a little bit.
24-26 November 2020
Watercolor, Acrylic, Sewing, Printing
After I bought a new canvas, I began with a watercolor base of three different colors. I had a dark blue on top and a light blue on the bottom, with a pink-ish purple in the center. I blended them into each other the best I could and blotted it to give it the faded feeling. I then printed out the image of RBG and the girl onto printer paper and then stuck them on using Mod Podge (I don't think I should have used it, but it was stickier than a glue stick) on the corner of the canvas. I then printed out the images of Frida and AOC, and painted them with a light watercolor shade to bring some color into their features (similar to the style in the rejected concept). I then took the concept I had before with the hands and made probably 15 prints with different colors all over the canvas. Then, I began my first embroidery.
After that, I started my second embroidery and then I then stuck on the images of Frida and AOC (yes, using Mod Podge again).
Then I did my third embroidery...
And then the final two. In the time it took me to complete this project, I managed to finish Arrow (4 episodes), Unsolved Mysteries (2 seasons), Evil Genius (4 episodes), and Nappily Ever After (full movie).
I felt that there was a lot of empty space so I wanted to fill it up with some doodles.
What you see below is my final product! I made it to symbolize feminine strength, incorporating women who have exhibited great strength throughout the years, and my role models. I also included the embroidery of simple line drawing of women to show that we are multidimensional, we have flaws and imperfections, but we also manage to get by in this huge world.
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