Blank Canvas

How To Fashion a Face

I had an interesting conversation with Chris today about how I should embellish my five faces.

I had planned to do a literal interpretation of 'Face Value' and embellish them in five different ways, seeing which had more artistic merit:

                      gold leaf - diamente - material - hand-made paper - plaster

However, whilst that would have some interest, seeing how each changed the face and which worked best, he suggested taking it down more of a fine art, less of a crafts path.

He was looking at some of my photos of Cambodian children on my desk and suggested I might want to 'say' something with the materials I used to finish them. I thought this a jolly good idea, and was rather niggled I hadn't thought of extending it further myself.

So, now I'm thinking about doing the following, using the face purely as a blank canvas each time:

1. A face covered in type. Looking at the thoughts behind the face. I might write a random piece,  pulling out key words, experiences in life (although there's rather a lot of negative words looming large in my mind right now...). These I would type onto cartridge paper on a typewriter than chop them up and paste over the face.

2. A face covered in material. I know it's craftsy, but I still want to do it as it's an effect I'd really like to try. I have some vintage fabric of Annie's, making it unique to her face as well.

3. A face covered in rose petals? I'm quite interested to see what it would look like and the play on 'the face of an English rose'. But where to find the petals and how to stick them on?

4. And my genius idea on the way home. (Or very tacky, depending uponl how you look at it). How about painting a human face to look like that of an animal. Say, a cow. Vegetarians always suggested we'd eat less meat if animals had human faces. So let's try it.

And my back up idea is using photos of Jai or Imani as their faces have changed over the years and pasting this over the face. I'm also interested in this piece of work by Nancy Burston I came across recently, saying that racial difference is only to do with pigmentation and that, essentially, we're all exactly the same genetically:

I could use photos of Jai to do this, although I'm not sure whether a boy's photos pasted onto a woman's face will work as well as using female images. But it will be interesting. Or, what about putting a child's image onto a grown up face. Might just experiment with that one.

Photoshop Heaven

I started using it today. How very exciting. It's something I've wanted to know how to use for years, and it's such fun. I've a long way to go, but I did manage to cut out about eight faces, change them into black and white and format a new document. Not bad for a first attempt.

My desk is looking reassuringly busy at the moment. But I need to start finishing some things off. My cut out photos at the front.

Finally, my grumpy little man came out of his latex, mud roc cocoon today. Looking even grumpier, as I squished his nose, an ear fell off and he had a hole in his latex ear. Next, to fill him with plaster and I'll finally have my finished masterpiece. That's Pete's Christmas present sorted.

The original clay man and the floppy latex version.