Dead Hawk artwork – starting the process
When Karen asked me if I’d like to make something visual in response to the hawk poem for Open Notebooks I was so excited I danced around the room a few times… when I stopped, I wondered if emptying my head and expending energy this way is actually the start of my creative process? I often find the starting point for my ideas is a little like meditating – or maybe daydreaming…
Before I put anything on paper, I like to let ideas and images float and form before I start to model them in my head. This usually happens when it would be difficult to note anything down; if I’m sitting on the bus, or swimming, or taking a shower – for some reason, being immersed in water often helps to kickstart the process. Once the ideas are clearer, I make written notes, followed by tiny, extremely rough schematic pencil sketches to note the colours, techniques and processes I plan to use.
This is the stage I’m at now. I know that the piece will have three segments, to echo the title of Karen’s film and the form of my own poem, and I know the colours I plan to use, and the broad shape of the piece, but I’m not sure yet if it is one print or a triptych, or whether I will incorporate text in the final work. The next step will be to research some images and build the colours.
Tags: screenprinting