Three Surfaces

These are three surfaces that I have rehabilitated (they have now recovered from the shitty art that they once were, though still in danger of relapse-I pray for them), made of Sintra. The plastic surfaces are 4' by 4', or 8 square feet each, and I plan to revisit some of my grid drawings on them. The sanded surface that has resulted from my erasure of previous imagery is buttery soft and much more accepting of pigment and light than the original plastic veneer (why didn't I think of this sooner?!). I would like to work mainly in graphite for its unique color and line, as well as for its endless malleability. I bought three gallons of System Three Mirror Coat resin to seal them, enough for 75 square feet of coverage, or three layers per panel, and am grappling with the proper use of this new technique. My original idea was to utilize layers of resin as I have used glass panels in my 'Chaos Drawings' ( Chaos Drawings #1 and #2 are small hanging pieces of 2 panels each, and 'Introspection Table' has an inlaid Chaos Drawing using 3 panels of glass); however, I am now doubtful that this will work. What I want to somehow emphasize with these pieces is an evident process--to this end, I plan to write the 'rules of artistic engagement' directly on the surfaces, as I used to do with my grid drawings on paper. I feel that displaying these rules within the boundary of the object itself will inspire greater curiosity and consideration of the process.

I want the process not only to be evident, but also take place during the creation of these new pieces; they would be dead if finished before begun, and also a lie. Then again, they are the result of a process that was begun long ago; each image is inspired by a group of drawings, made anytime in the last five years. Using these drawings as muses, I would like to revisit and refine the thought from which they arose. So really, these new images are a refinement of what is already there, and a deeper exploration of past works; they are living because they are an active engagement with the process rather than a mechanical deconstruction. One layer of resin is probably enough, just to seal them.

I will write about "Glass Chaos Drawings" soon, and further explain why the layering that worked with them will not work with this new series.