a studio journal
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I must admit I’ve been all in a muddle about this bunny. I’m about 80% there. Scribbling (a lot), cutting shapes and rearranging them helps!
An upcoming post will show a stencil in the process of being cut.
bunny conundrum
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I’m beginning new stencil designs this week. To loosen up, I’m playing with paper, scissors and a glue stick, following some intriguing exercises in the book Notan: The Dark-Light principle of design. This goal of the exercise below is to create symmetrical and asymmetrical balance by cutting shapes out of a basic 6×6″ black square and expanding them outside the boundary of the square (with some guidelines). These exercises help develop what the authors call the “dichotomy of attention” to positive and negative space that is necessary to create Notan (think right-brain).
expanding the square symmetrically
Not surprisingly, creating asymmetrical balance is more challenging. Here is one of several iterations I tried combining a rabbit form with a kale/leaf-like form (remembering the rabbits that frequented my garden this winter). It’s easier to start with abstract rather than representational forms and see what emerges.
expanding the square asymmetrically
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I completed carving my new stencil today. I tinkered and tinkered with the design until I was satisfied with the shapes and curves. This is a repeating design along both horizontal and vertical axes, so I had the opportunity to work on registration skills following instructions on John Marshall’s new DVD, Journeys in Katazome: Stencils. It’s so helpful watch these techniques. You can see several samples from the DVD on YouTube, including segments from designing and carving stencils. Here’s the link to John’s introduction.
minnows and mussels
Along the way I also came across a lovely little book called Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design, by Bothwell and Mayfield. According to the text, Notan is a Japanese word meaning dark-light, or more specifically the interaction of positive and negative space. The book features a wide variety of fine examples, and provides exercises that give practical insight into this principle. I have always been fascinated by the play of positive and negative space in art and design — this is one reason I am drawn to katazome.
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I am a textile artist from St. Paul, Minnesota. I make decorative and functional objects, hand-painted in the Japanese tradition of katazome, or stencil-dyeing, using natural dyes on linen, cotton and silk. My work celebrates daily meetings with the wild birds, plants, and lake breezes of my local urban surroundings. Welcome to my blog, where I share notes, images and inspiration.
