Aventurine the Ribbon Witch

> Recently I notice the influence of  David Hockney  on my collage/painting. More specifically, seeing his  cut-up photograph collages  are what in part led to me wanting to include all of the photos of my biome I had into the collage in some way. > Part of me was also considering joining up the rose hand to the upside down biome picture, a leaf or even the toungue of the bottom frog. Upon refelction, however I realised it was better to leave the connection upto the imagination of the viewer, then there are much more options. People will be able to make connections like one would when trying to interpret the disparet parts of a poem as described by  Jo Ann Callis on the Modern Arts Notes Podcast with Tyler Green  (Callis 2014) .   Left as it is, I also like the way it looks like someone passing a rose to the melting moth man. In many ways,  I find myself rather relating to the melting moth man on hot days, as I also find my brain and/or my b...

> I'm debating whether or not I should paint over the pattern of the lizard or not. In this same vein, I am also debating whether or not I should add eyelids and eyelashes to the big moth eyes. > I've decided it would be best to invest in super thin paintbrushes, so that I can paint the red balls and ladybirds as precisely as possible, just as  Zeuxis did with painted grapes that tempted a bird and Parrhasius who tempted Zeuxis with a painted curtai n ( S haw 2019) . I n essence, I would be making the ladybirds look like I am animating them to crawl off the wrapping paper. > Daler - Rowney is the best superior and most opaque brand for white acrylic paint. Pablo branded paint was too transparent, I could have been painting uneven layers for all of eternity with it. > White glittery appli glue is amazing. It looks like a galaxy with the bluish tinge it has, but it also becomes really transparent when spread thin- allowing it to be used as a glittery glaze. Bibliogra...

My middle sister mentioned something interesting in my conversation with her, which has changed the way I look at the collage / painting I am working on. It is worth noting that my sister has a good understanding of plants, since not only does she look after house plants as a hobby, she also works at a plant nursery as part of her job. Crucially my collage features the words "The Garden" on it from the front cover of the RHS Wisely magazine, and my sister mentioned an essay theorizing that all gardening is tyranny, as you are controlling the plants to do your bidding. This essay was part of the book:  You should have been here last week by Tim Richardson.  Following this, we discussed how especially in the case of house plants, it may be more a case of mutualism: we provide the plants with shelter and care, they give us oxugen and happiness. Incidentally, such is the prevalence of the "The Garden" words in the collage, I am thinking of titling the painting/collage ...

Currently,  I'm planning on submitting some artwork to the Zimmerman Art Competition. I'm allowed to submit a maximum of 5 paintings/ artworks. I knew I was limited to a depth of 5cm, with a minimum dimensions of 60 x 70cm upto maximum dimensions of around 150 x 100 cm. Hearing these guidelines, initially I thought I would submit 5 collages, as I was really enjoying the process of collaging- especially with access to my collage wall. (side note: I am finding it very satisfying clearing out the paper reserves I have in the corners of my room, to fill the gaps in my collage walls.) It was only when I measured out 60 x 70 cm, that I soon realized these dimensions were far bigger than I realized- around A1 in size! I calculated that trying to carry A1 paper back crease-free from my nearest town, to our higgledy-piggledy household, and then to the gallery was a simply unrealistic goal.  I also didn't like this option from an environmental perspective, as I would be doing the opp...

As an ardent collager and poet, I find myself often contemplating  Ugo Carrega's words from his manifesto on concrete poetry "Everthing is language [...] Language is everything" . I often imagine that everything in my bedroom and studio is language, and following this what kind of poem could be read from it.  The most prominant feature of my room are the walls. They are painted in a titanium white; this serves a dual purpose of allowing me to use my room as a flexible exhibtion space, whilst also serving as a neutral background for all of the collaging and art materials I store on it. In essence, these walls and my room are similtaneously my biggest collage and a womb from which new artworks are created. To clarify, the interior of my room are constantly changing and in flux, as myself, my youngest sister and one of her friends remove items from the wall to make their own artworks. In the spaces that are left behind, I put up new materials I (and sometimes others) have ma...