Faith and Belief: Three Pillars

From exploring the themes of Faith and Belief I produced three long, thin pieces. These were mainly to test colours and to try out the new lino blocks that I had cut. I knew that I needed to finish them some how but I didnt know, at the time when I printed them, exactly how I would do this. The long paper strips hung around the studio for a few months until, after visiting and taking inspiration from the London Original Print Fair last year, and looking at how religious establishments communicated with their followers, it came to me. Inspired by banners, scrolls and pillars I decided to create this 3D piece; 'Faith and Belief: Three Pillars', it measures 45cm (w) x 150cm (h).

'Faith and Belief: Three Pillars'

Growth and Process x Faith and Belief

During the Private View at our show, Portable: Affordable, at Williams Art way back in February a friend was complimenting my work in the exhibition. We chatted and by the end of the evening we decided that he would let me know the measurements of a wall in his house and I would design a piece to fit! I was really excited to get started as ideas for the piece started springing in to my mind very quickly. I planned to combine the Faith and Belief lino tiles, together with the Growth and Process pattern. The opportunity to work on such a large scale filled me with motive, which I used as fuel to drive the project and got straight to work as soon as possible.

Getting Started

I took photographs of the work throughout the process. The whole album of the piece coming together can be seen on my Facebook page. As I worked on the panel, during the process, my plan started to develop... it got bigger and bigger. I quickly scribbled down the fantasy idea of what it could potentially turn in to.

The fantasy plan

After meeting for a tutorial with one of my lecturers I showed him this plan just at the end as an after thought. He really pushed me to do it asking me, "What have you got to lose?" and telling me "If you try it and it doesn't work out then at least you've tried it. If you don't try it, you'll always be thinking; What if? Why not?"

My main worry was the time I had to produce this piece. I put my social life on hold and spent long days in the studio. This made me realize how much I love the Print Room! I have formed amazing friendships in there and driven quite a lot of people mad with my huge long scrolls of brown parcel paper, taking up loads of room! But I saw this as all part of the challenge.

Due to the size of the pieces being made I was unable to use the press to print them. Instead I planned where each tile was to go on the paper then inked them and printed each one individually under foot!

When working to this size things that seemed simple through your plan have the possibility of going wrong. Although creating test pieces may seem time consuming, it is always worth the effort so you can be sure and confident when it comes to making the final piece.

I cut holes in the piece and attached it with wheat paste I had made on to white MDF boards in 3 sections. I then took the framed piece Growth and Process (Specimen Collection I) and hung it in the middle section.

I have always been interested in the placement of artwork and how this affects the viewer and their opinions of the work. If a framed piece is hung in a swanky gallery space it is seen mainly by people specifically interested in 'Art'. If a piece is placed outside in the environment it is accessible for everyone, whether they possess vast knowledge in the subject or not, the work is set free. Yet this placement may effect the opinion of the viewer who would look at the same piece of art in the gallery in a totally different way. I made this piece to challenge and question the positioning of an art piece and how it affects different people's opinions.

Growth and Process x Faith and Belief

I just had to throw in this one with me in the middle so the true scale of the piece can be shown!

Faith and Belief: The Scarves

After it's display at The Assembly House Art Show 2013, I traveled through to Norwich to pick up Growth and Process (Specimen Collection I). While I was there I took the opportunity to visit a friend who lives in Norwich... and got her to model my 2 scarves from the Faith and Belief collection!

A big thank you to Lizzie! Here are the best photos from our shoot!