I’ve been thinking about this since I started working in beads again. Beads have a lovely Pointillist ability and I really like that but I miss the layering of oil paint. Also, the human brain really likes to “find” figures (especially faces) in what can be random distributions of just about anything so I want to play more with that. Lastly, I want to build more meaning into my work through both medium and method. So I decided to carve up a tiny block and experiment with how I felt about it.
Edmond Dupuis, grandfather
Detail of Edmond
Initial experiment to prove concept
Study using 1/2″ buffalo stamp in primary and secondary ink colors
Study using 1/2″ buffalo stamp with burnt sienna, raw umber, and dairylide yellow with Speedball transparent base.
I really liked this one. Tube Golden acrylic and Akua transparent base. The base keeps the acrylic from drying too quickly but I can still retain transparency. The red-brown figures are 1?2 mix of acrylic paint to base. Which tacked up better than any of the other experiments.
High Flow acrylic and Akua transparent base. Not flawless but certainly better handling and better tack than the Speedball. Figures. Akua is twice as expensive as Speedball.
Tube Golden acrylic and speedball extender base. I didn’t like how this behaved at all. It started drying rapidly and wouldn’t tack up.
High flow transparent acrylic paint and Speedball extender/base, also transparent. I liked this the least. The ink wouldn’t tack up so I ended up with ink blobs.
Built up proof-of-concept using buffalo stamp and alizarin crimson on paper, 17×14 inches
I wasn’t crazy about how the High Flow behaved when inking this tiny block/stamp.
EZ-carve stamp, 1.125 x 2 inches
Quillwork and Lashing using laminated copies of treaties
Experimenting with formatting to get as much text on the front of the work as possible.
Clothing from Treaties, Treaty Maps, Reservation Maps
