Cutting

This week is officially the week if cutting books.  Although that is not all I did this week it felt like it was one of the main things I did.  I began by cutting the books in my studio on the band saw, but after two trips the wood shop closed for an orientation.  I wasn't quite sure what to do at that point so I pulled out my trusty Japanese pull saw and started cutting my paper back books as they are much easier to cut.  I ended up being able to cut all of the paperback books in my studio and today I cut all of the paperbacks at my house. So, I have just a little left to cut on the band saw next week.  I must say that my hands are quite blistered and sore.

Here is a photo of my spare bedroom in my house after I cut most of the books today.  I made quite a mess.

I think I cut about 30ish books.  

So, I have also been working on some new things to help me explore my concept further.  I am making polyurethane molds, but I forgot to get a picture of them.  So, I'll give you one next time.  But, they are very interesting and have an intriguing affect with the light.  So, I am planning on buying some clear liquid resin so it has a similar affect but it will dry faster.  I'm going to buy some tomorrow so we will see how it goes.  

In addition to that I have been painting gouache on wood squares and playing with caulking over top of them.  I feel that the watercolor is similar to an idea of memory and the caulking is covering it up.  It is as though it is a struggle to remember the past.  I have also realized that stacking and grids and units to a whole are very important in my artwork.  I feel that our past and our memories are very important to us and they are all dependent on one another.  Its as though each person comes with a memory based on a memory that relies on some other memory.  Everything is all interconnected and related.  That is why the stacking on the books is so important, and the grids in the caulking pieces I have are important.  Here are some of the ones I have done recently:

The bottom one has a very faint image transfer on it.  I'm working on trying to incorporate more image transfers into other ones.  I'm not sure what else I want to add to them or if I want to place anymore watercolors on it.  We will see.  

I've been thinking about how it might be interesting to not go 8 feet wide with the book wall.  Instead sticking with 4-5' wide and go all the way to the ceiling instead of only 8-9' tall.  I think it may be more interesting and create a very different affect.  Alright...I have many things to think about.  Talk to you soon

Rachel