Friday, May 27, 2011

Cutting things up

At our last High Fiber Diet meeting Mary, one of our members, showed some small pieces that she had created by cutting up a larger piece of work that never really thrilled her. The resulting small pieces were very nice. I have been thinking about this since then. This is not the kind of "cutting up" where you take an old disappointing piece and whack it into placemats or drink coasters. Rather, it is an exercise in isolating the best parts and pulling them out.

I decided to start small. I had this 12" square piece that was vaguely architectural, but it never really quite worked for me.

I made a little posterboard frame to move around and see if I could identify several small compositions that I liked.

In the end I came up with four tiny compositions. Each is 3.5" square. I like them mounted on a piece of black mat board.










I like the resulting pieces better than the original. Less is more. Very often I think work is made bigger than it should be and the composition becomes much stronger when the artist focuses in on details.

Now I am considering taking my scissors to a larger piece.
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12 comments:

  1. Jeannie11:21 AM

    These are wonderful. They remind me of Frank Stella's work. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. Gerrie1:26 PM

    Way cool. I love these. Reminds me of an exercise we did in a Caryl Bryer Fallert class.

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  3. Joanne S1:29 PM

    Original! LOVE THEM. I see buildings, landscapes, still life etc. Each is open to interpretation. And they are good because the design and fabric selection of the larger piece was excellent. It just didn't have focus.

    I think it helps a great deal that you back the pieces with that darker plain fabric. Gives them an edge--in more ways than one.

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  4. Barbara Strobel Lardon1:56 PM

    Such an interesting excercise. I have to try this.

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  5. Jeri9:50 PM

    You GO GIRL. I have always felt that if it does not work, either hit it with the heat gun or bring on the rotary cutter. I learned that in our small group (preSTASH) when we did the poetry challenge. A little slice and dice and you have a fabulous grouping of related works. The black mat is very effective way to present them.

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  6. Frances Arnold4:40 PM

    I am sitting at SEATAC (on a 6 hour layover) and enjoying your episodes of QATV!!!!

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  7. JB5:46 PM

    Line, form and splashes of color are all needed for a great composition. It is so interesting to see how cropping can change the whole feeling of a piece. Your desire to rework a completed piece is admirable. I have never had the courage to take this step.

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  8. Lisa Flowers Ross6:38 PM

    I need to do this with some old pieces, too.

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  9. Anonymous9:44 AM

    So if you mount them on black mat board, will you frame them? They look terrific as a grouping, and the cutting worked well. Did you wind up cutting in four equal size pieces with no waste?

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  10. RHONDA4:43 PM

    You've inspired me! I'm about to delve into my discard box to see what I can find.

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  11. Kristin L2:41 PM

    Is it that the work is too large, or perhaps that we try to say too much at one time? What I really love about these and you subsequent four, is that each l
    Composition hints at something larger and exciting, rather than plop the whole scene in front of the viewer like the original compositions.

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  12. Hilde Morin11:06 PM

    Very elegant set Terry, and an amazing transformation.

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