Béatrice Coron

I found Béatrice Coron last year whilst researching paper cutting. Her website is a hub for links to other artists. Prolific and poetic, but what looks at first whimsical, reveals a harder edge with a bit more scrutiny.

This is how she begins her TED lecture...

"I cut stories. So my process is very straightforward. I take a piece of paper, I visualize my story, sometimes I sketch, sometimes I don't. And as my image is already inside the paper, I just have to remove what's not from that story." 

You experience a sheet of paper as a surface on which to put a drawing or painting. Its the place that the work of art inhabits, a surface which must be added to to become more than itself.

By removing material piece by piece to reveal the work of art, the paper becomes a 3 dimensional thing. More than a surface, it is the artwork.

I describe my pictures as "things", not work or pieces.

She too, uses Tyvek paper, but she paints it black. Unlike many silhouettes, hers are "a wash of black", varying in density and depth.

Splendid isolation

I'm back on Jan 2 after a break from the blog.  Since last time, we bought a house and moved to the countryside from the city. Big change for me, I'm too used to having cafes and shops on the doorstep. The main issue has been that I failed my driving test

...... twice.

So I'm here in splendid isolation until I can drive. Thank God the view is good.

There's an orchard across the road. Its owned by the community so we ate a lot of apples in the autumn - mostly in crumble! You can see Blagdon Lake beyond.

Its a gorgeous old house but its very cold! It needs some work, by which I mean new bathroom (haven't had a shower since August), insulation and the removal of carpets/curtains/wallpaper - oh and a dishwasher too!  It's going to take a long time, but after renting, and only hanging pictures where the hooks in the wall happen to be, it will be a pleasure! No fear of this turning into a "house blog" though!

I have found the blog a bit intimidating at the risk of just sharing the humdrum. And having not done any artwork since we moved in, I'm a bit stuck for what to say. So until I get my finger out, and make some new things, it'll be a bit random.

I've got a space to work now, so watch this space...