Atelierartisanal's Blog

I’ve been working on a life-size (approximately 6 feet by 3.5 feet) raised relief multi-media collage for about four years (not steadily though, it’s more like fits and bursts, often with six months or more in-between). Anyway, I currently have something to show for it, see image to the left, as this level now at least nears completion.

To begin with, this raised relief is the third version of the same image. The image itself is a photograph taken by my husband John, spontaneously, in Casablanca (thus the name for the series) in 2018. The first version I did of this image consisted of cutting up the photograph into 64 equally sized squares and painting each square separately using different techniques. I called it “Pieces of Me”.

The second version of the same image consisted of taking those same 64 image/squares and rendering each in one technique – silverpoint (highlighted with white acrylic paint). That resulted in a large daguerreotype image which I then, in an abstract way, splattered with white paint, I called that version “The Peace of Me”.

But as images and the creative process goes, sometimes, as you create one version, you already begin to envision another. I started dreaming of creating a raised relief of the whole image. No 64 squares this time, but rather a sculptural treatment, lifting, recreating as it were, a three-dimensional reality from a two dimensional photograph. I didn’t know how to do that but thought that it might be possible by using 1/8″ plywood (for setting form and dimensionality), fabric (for texture and shaping) and acrylic products to glue it all together. Thus I began.

What follows is a short documentation of my working method. First, I realized that the photograph itself was actually a landscape, with a foreground, middle ground and background, so theoretically, it should be possible to begin by rendering the background elements directly onto a panel in a collage-type manner. I stabilized a large piece of 3/8″ beech plywood with wooden struts on the back side and began glueing in pieces of paper, cotton, linen and burlap of various thickness, weights and textures, according to the given design. I used GOLDEN products: GAC 100 for sealing the wood, GAC 400 for stiffening and shaping the fabrics, Soft Gel Matte for gluing the fabric to the wood and Light Molding Paste for shaping the forms (as necessary). The background level went relatively quickly. Within a short period of time, I had created the architectural arabesques and figures which peopled the rear of the image. I covered the whole thing with a few coats of (white) gesso so as to better see what I had. So far, so good. Next step.

I had already selected the wall plus the two figures behind the main figure as the middle ground, so I cut out an 1/8″ piece of plywood to include those elements and laminated it onto the background plywood, in the area which I had left blank for it. I used Titebond Ultimate, plus wood screws to insure good adhesion, removing the wood screws after the glue dried. Sculpting the middle level was fun too, and built upon the skills I had already acquired for creating and modeling dimensional shapes. It, too, went relatively quickly. After coating this level with a few coats of gesso I was surprised both at my progress and to see the forms taking shape. However, I was entirely unsure about my ability to sculpt/render the main figure. Time to think about that – now.

I laminated the outline of the main figure in and waited. Perhaps I could just leave it blank and treat it as an abstract shape? But that felt like a cop-out (to me) and since I was already deep into studying figurative anatomy and the graphical tools for rendering the human form effectively at the Watts Atelier in Encinitas, I decided to use this an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding. My first breakthrough was discovering the clavicle notch in the photograph(!). I realized I could build the figure proportionally and skeletally using that as my point of navigation. So I began creating schematic drawings. I knew I was working from a photograph of a clothed figure. This made it difficult to see anatomy. I really needed to exercise a kind of x-ray vision to discern what was where. After I got a skeletal design in that felt relatively accurate, I began laminating in a skeletal pieces according to it. I knew it would provide the form on which I could hang muscles and clothes nevertheless, at this point, the project looked like a Halloween ghost. I began creating similar schematic drawings of muscular groupings. But to create the muscles something different than plywood would be required. I began cutting out shapes from thick cotton according to my muscle schematic. I added Light Molding Paste to the backside of these shapes in order to give them dimensionality. When the forms dried, I glued them onto the skeleton. It was slow work, as I felt my way forward.

At a certain point, perhaps impatient to see what I had, I began glueing in the clothing. In some places that read just fine, in other places it was clear that this skinny little figure would need more softening. Luckily, since I was working in acrylic, I was working with glue, so adhesion of the successive layers was (potentially) not a problem. I used Soft Matte Gel (a strong glue) and a staple gun for pressure during the drying process (I removed the staples when it was dry). As time progressed it became a process of modeling using Light Molding Paste directly onto the figure to round out a form, and then glueing back in the appropriate texture using Soft Matte Gel for the clothing as needed. In some locations it went back and forth. In this way the form filled out without creating too much extra weight (always a concern for a sculpture that I ultimately want to hang on the wall). I covered new additions with gesso so as to “see” what I had.

Of course, the creation of the facial features was and is a challenge but it was a challenge I no longer felt I was incapable of meeting. Working this way with my materials gave me more and more confidence: I knew how to add volume (with fabric and acrylic paste) and delete unnecessary shapes (using that trusty one-sided razor blade). This is what I have come up with for now. I’m gonna let this sit for the summer and do the last adjustments in the fall. Finally, when I am happy with the relief, a glazing/painting is planned. To be continued for sure….