Below the Surface ♥ Carolyn Saxby

For the Brooklyn Sketchbook Project 2011 I chose the theme of "below the surface"

My initial thoughts were that this theme lent itself to textiles very well and I had visions of creating lots of layered pieces with cutting and burning through the surface designs to reveal layers below ... but then I changed my mind

I found myself exploring the subject of blood cells, platelets and discovering more about my father's illness. Myelodysplasia is a pre-leukaemia condition that affects bone marrow and the production of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets

• red blood cells carry oxygen to all cells in the body
• white blood cells are essential for fighting infections
• platelets help the blood to clot and prevent bleeding

I read a lot about stem cells, the heart, shapes and textures of blood cells and thought about how these textures could be recreated with textiles and how I could use my art to convey my feelings below the surface

NOTE - no actual blood was used in this project (it's all paint) but if the subject matter is likely to be upsetting to you, if you are hemophobic (like Doc Martin) or just don't like red very much ... you are best to go and look at something else. I must also remind you that this is not a medical blog but an art blog!

As you will see my project is very red!

my paint palettes were pretty

primary reds, rose madder, burgundy, copper and burnt umber

I got messy!

spreading out with my materials and my thoughts

piles of fabrics, lace, photographs, cellophane
heated pieces of Tyvek, threads and papers

piles of plasters, bandages and blood collecting tubes were all new and
unused but discarded items that came from Cornwall scrap store
... perfect for my art project

more mess on my desk

piles of painted papers, painted plastic, painted foil, melted carrier bags
paints, gel medium, metallic powders, shellac and walnut ink

working in two sketchbooks, doing everything in duplicate
because I wanted to keep a copy for myself

I painted my book cover
with gesso, rose madder, burnt umber and copper

collaged with painted, melted, varnished tyvek and

blood collecting tubes with collaged lettering,
the tube was glued and wired to the cover

BELOW THE SURFACE

while I had the paints out I made some mixed media painted collages

collage incorporating medical text and drawings, an old photograph,
layers of acrylic paint, metallic powder, nail varnish, silk paint and shellac

pools of paint

blood cell collage of paper, paint, varnish and metallic bronzing powder

large collage cut into six pieces
each piece is approximately 10 x 20 cm

collage detail - medical drawing and realistic paint blobs

skeleton hand and bronzing powder detail
from a bone marrow drawing

the inside page introducing my project - painted paper
scrim and bandage with collaged letters and paint blobs

another collage - a magazine image of blood collection,
medical text about blood cells, melted plastic carrier bag
that looks like veins and paint

blood cell doodles and thoughts

stitched collage on calico, old photograph, cellophane and words

medical text on blood cells and doodles - oil pastel and artist pen

mosaic

1. Test tube s+s 2. Tortured Soul 3. Blood spatter 4. Red blood cells
5. Blood cells 6. Blood bag 7. Truth 8. Blood cells

printed onto vellum

painted bondaweb transferred to handmade paper
with a little black free motion machine stitching

machine stitched bondaweb detail

another collage of gesso, paint, hand made paper,
old photo, text and leaf embedded silk paper

I try to block it out, but too late ...

photo of painted bondaweb printed onto vellum,
stitched into on khadi paper

a mixed media stitched collage

mixed media stitched collage incorporating various cotton fabrics,
painted masking tape, heated plastic carrier bags, lace,
heated chiffons, leaf embedded silk paper and text
all hand stitched

underneath I used papers from my erosion bundle
dyed with madder root

a red plastic carrier bag manipulated with heat
resembles veins and blood vessels

bloodstream

[platelets] ... had dropped below normal

blood splatter ... red paint ... blown with a straw

more collage
medical drawing of the structure of bone, paint and shellac

I like how the shellac and paint react

stitched fabric collage on hand dyed silk with an old photo,
lace, vintage buttons, painted tyvek, stitch and beads

marbled paper - blood streams

another stitched collage on calico
photo, stitch and heated plastic resembling veins

painted gesso with stamped words

a heavy heart

painted bondaweb and felt tops transferred to hand made paper
with machine stitching ... random patterns

photo of actual blood cells affected by myelodysplasia
playing with paint and oil pastel

paper and vintage lace collage

blood roaring

a reference to low platelets and blood
that doesn't clot but just runs and runs

wax samples - paint and varnish

paint, salt and varnish on paper
dipped in waxpaint, salt and varnish - patterns

what red blood cells and platelets actually look like

image courtesy: getwellnatural.com

discovering that little earphone covers look just like blood cells

using earphone covers to show blood cells

mosaic

1. Fresh blood 2. Blood cells 3. OMG 4. Blood splatter

vintage image of the workings of the heart
from a vintage copy I have of Grey's Anatomy
on heated tyvek with distressed chiffons and machine stitching

the heart

collage - paint, paper and shellac

blood cell patterns on collage

structure of blood stem cells with paint blobs and runs

stem cell detail

cutting up and rearranging an old photo into little mosaics
with red varnish added

collage with blood runs (not real blood)

old photo with blood splatter texture and text
a symptom of myelodysplasia is extreme tiredness

this one didn't exactly go right - not everything does!

I thought I was using fibretex which can be manipulated by heat
I painted it red and stitched into it then discovered it didn't react to heat at all

I realised I'd used stiff interfacing (used for shirt collars) ... silly me!
... but I stuck it in my book anyway

painted bondaweb ironed into my moleskine

bondaweb details - patterns/colours

texture samples - blood cells/veins

little squares of fabric, painted paper dipped in wax, heated distressed chiffons, tyvek, painted bondaweb, silk painting with salt, paint splatter, red plastic melted to look like veins, painted paper and cellophane, blobs of nail varnish

a tiny machine embroidery sample

experimenting drawing with red pen held very loosely
feeling the lines ... with the sewing machine in mind

focusing in on an area of my drawing - stem cells

photocopy of a drawing
adding water and allowing printer ink colours to run

painted backgrounds with text
thoughts and feelings below the surface

[blood] frenzied paint splatter and runs
unclotted blood running uncontrolled ... in a frenzy

it's just paint ... with collage

acrylic paint on absorbant bandage

a bloody mess
uncontrolled bleeding

it's paint ... but quite realistic ... I think

yes ... my friends find this one a little spooky

painted calico with image transferred using white emulsion paint
machine stitching, painted tyvek pieces, beads and buttons

more tyvek ... heated before painting to accentuate the creases
painted with acrylics and oil pastels, red foil ironed on top
and the word "blood"

melted tyvek painted with acrylics and oil pastels

red foil ironed on top

mosaic with blood splatter

1. Blood cells 2. Blood spatter 3. Blood cells 4. Red blood cells

a cut through piece

a felt fabric base with lots of glitzy bits on top

a layer of chiffon over the glitzy bits

the layers machine stitched together

then cutting through below the surface
and adding little stitches and beads

cut through sample stuck in my book

closer

painted bondaweb

another of the collage pieces with blood cell patterns, paint and shellac

bronze metallic powder in acrylic paint

collage and bondaweb ironed to fabric with free motion stitching

stitching through painted bondaweb on fabric

free motion machine stitched patterns

blood bag collage with text and red cellophane

almost at the end ...

a bio

and finally the back cover with my label

# 21574
CAROLYN SAXBY
THE BROOKLYN SKETCHBOOK PROJECT 2011

MY PROFILE PAGE AT
THE BROOKLYN SKETCHBOOK PROJECT

Thank you so much
for taking the time to look at my sketchbook