My current book at bedtime is a beginner’s guide to abstract art. For as long as I can remember, abstract art has left me shrugging my shoulders and frowning in perplexity. I just don’t get it. I rarely see what the artist’s intention was and several chapters into this book I am still in the same state of mind. Perhaps I shouldn’t be reading it just before I’m ready to sleep.
If an abstract piece is made from fabric, is it then classified as a collage instead? Fabric and fibre abstract/collage pieces sometimes perplex me too, especially scrappy quilts and fabric scrapbooks. I frequently read articles which assume that everyone did collage on a regular basis in school. Perhaps I was even more perplexed about collaging back then because no matter how hard I try I can only ever recall two or three instances of collaging in all my years at school. Was the experience so bad each time that I have since stuffed the related memories inside a mental cupboard from which only the occasional draught of a partial memory escapes from under the ill-fitting door? Who knows?
I’ll continue reading the book and perhaps a lightbulb moment will happen but I won’t hold my breath. In the meantime, here’s the little piece I made from the jug and ginger jar scraps. I had no particular intention in mind when I began it but I liked how it turned out so I’ve since framed it.
carvingtimefromlife 