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Friday, 5 June 2020


 ART DECO Sampling

Allison Moorcroft



 I really enjoyed this challenge. I have always been interested in the many Art Deco buildings of Durban, South Africa, where I live, so it was exciting finding and creating 3 of our buildings.

Quadrant House, in blue, is an example of the Spanish Revival Architecture.
After making sketches from the images I had in hand, I found 3 different base fabrics. Machined guide lines helped me keep the perspective of the pieces correct. The shading was very important to get a 3-D effect.

My husband Lawrence, cut out a stencil of the lettering Art Deco into an old X-ray photo so that I could step and repeat a pattern at an angle across the background of the piece. 


 

 
The buildings were built up with cottons, net, organza, ribbon and cord and then finished off with oil pastels and Japanese pens and brushes.










11 comments:

  1. Worth the wait,Alison. Love the 3 buildings you have chosen and how you have interpreted them. Clever background cloth.

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  2. A very lovely piece Alison. Congratulations to you and Lawrence.

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  3. I love the way you have interpreted the buildings, and the colours you have used. It’s really effective.

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  4. The buildings are beautifully recreated and the background with the stencil was a great way to set them off.

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  5. I like the combination of the buildings, and then when I expanded up the picture I could see all the details - brilliant.

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  6. Thank you for the challenge - it was enjoyable. I haven't interpreted so many buildings as I have this last year - being part of this group!

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  7. You and me, Allison, I also forgot the remit and actually looked at all those buildings in Durban. I love what you have done and the way you use printed fabrics in your work. You have a very good eye for tone and scale. Lots of lovely attention to detail. Hilary

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  8. Stunning representation of the theme. Love the background, also recognize the buildings! Well done.

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  9. Thanks for all the encouraging comments; I really appreciate your 'words of wisdom'. Often during the process I get an 'artists block' and don't know how to carry on, then I just have to leave it and go on with something completely different!Sometimes it's a battle!

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  10. That all sounds awfully familiar. A break is most times exactly what I need. Coming back sometime later with 'new eyes' I can often see what the sticking point was and which way to turn. I believe you are not alone, Allison. Hilary

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  11. Me too. When I'm stuck I have to walk away, and it's often when I'm doing something totally unrelated, often when I'm going for a walk, that I have an idea of how to take it further.

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