Poem: "Every Touch Reflects the Artist"
Jun. 22nd, 2022 03:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the June 7, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Touch" square in my 6-1-22 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the Shiv and Mercedes threads of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"Every Touch Reflects the Artist"
[Saturday, February 27, 2016]
Mrs. Wu loved tactile art.
What she could not see,
she could still feel.
Sometimes she made
things for herself, adding
interesting textures at home.
Other times she made gifts
for friends and neighbors.
She enjoyed making
things, whether from
official artistic materials or
junk from the Recycling Bin.
That store usually had things
like sea glass or melted marbles.
They took old chipped plates and
cut them down into mosaic tiles,
carefully grinding the edges smooth.
It was fun to make mosaics with
the different shapes and textures.
Paletta was nice, thick media
that could be mixed with paint
or texture additives, and would
hold anything pressed into them.
Mrs. Wu enjoyed adding fiber
for clouds and tiny glass balls
for rain. The stuff itself could
be sculpted with a palette knife
into grass or trees or buildings.
She had been a huge fan of
the Feel and See Art Movement
ever since it started around 2000.
It was fun both as a consumer
and as a creator of artwork.
Colors could be indicated with
textures as well as pigments,
so the grass was combed
while leaves were ragged.
She made mosaics with tiles
for ColorADD and Feelipa symbols,
as well as her own designs that
used old coins or bottlecaps.
ColorADD was convenient
since it fit well on square tiles,
while Feelipa had more diversity.
Mrs. Wu felt that art should be
touched as well as seen, so
everyone could enjoy it.
Some materials like glass
didn't hold dirt easily, could
be cleaned without damage,
and didn't wear down fast.
Other things got more dirty
and wore down faster.
Some media were even
intended to break down,
like cardboard or fibercrafts,
changing over time as they
interacted with the audience.
The latter was most popular with
Asian artists into wabi-sabi aesthetics.
Mrs. Wu wasn't a fan of that approach,
since she preferred art media that
stood up well, but she detested
people who called it "Fall Apart Art."
Besides, the government subsidized
inclusive art media, so it was largely
a matter of taste if people wanted
to work in robust or flimsy materials.
One of her favorite approaches
was making pin art sculptures,
based on the old pinscreen toys,
but fixed into a permanent sculpture.
Some people liked to trim the pins
themselves, so they could have
any length that they wanted;
the wider range of lengths did
make for more refined sculptures.
Mrs. Wu preferred to buy hers
in a divided box with all the pins
precut to various standard lengths.
There was a even a type of board
for it that had a thin layer of foam,
a layer of glue to hold the pins steady,
and a solid back so they would all
sink to the same depth and thus
preserve the length difference.
This was her favorite medium
when making things for Shiv.
Of course she made things
for him, skittish though he was;
he was always bringing her
bits of this or that from
his crochet or knitting.
Shiv liked metal and he
touched things all the time.
He wasn't given to collecting
knickknacks but he adored
fidgets of almost every kind.
Pin art was a perfect choice
for him, its tangible images
so crisp and concise.
Today Mrs. Wu put in
the last row of pins
for her current project,
a picture frame showing
knotwork around the edge.
Then she went over to
the Finn house in hopes
of finding Shiv there.
From the sound of
the voices, he was
working in the kitchen
again, but the creak and
thump of the oven door
told her that he probably
had a minute to spare.
"Good morning, Shiv, it's
nice to see you," said Mrs. Wu.
"Hi, Mrs. Wu," piped Edison.
"We're making rye bread."
"Hi," said Shiv, "Edison and I
just put the bread in to bake.
Can I do anything for you?"
"I brought you something,"
she said, holding it out.
"Oh, a picture frame!"
Shiv said, delighted.
"The knotwork is nice,"
Edison said. "I like
geometric things."
"Mrs. Wu, this is just
beautiful," said Shiv. "I
like how you made the lines
in the knotwork really go
over and under each other."
Mrs. Wu chuckled. "That's
one advantage of precut pins,
better definition. If you cut
your own, then you run the risk
of making the curves too smooth
and then it's hard to feel where
one thing ends and another begins."
"Or where one goes over or under
another, yeah, I've felt that in
some other pieces," said Shiv.
"Thanks. This is awesome. Half
what I do ain't nothin' special."
"Art is something," said Mrs. Wu.
"Every touch reflects the artist --
your love, ingenuity, curiosity,
imagination, and emotion."
"Yeah," Shiv said, fingernails
clicking over the pins as he
traced the lines of knotwork.
"I feel what you're saying."
That was all any artist could ask.
* * *
Notes:
"Art is something. Every touch reflects the artist love, genuine, curiosity, imagination and emotion."
-- Shaa Zainol
Tactile art is rarely discussed or displayed in local-America. This is largely because modern people have gone from making art to passively consuming it in institutions such as museums where it is held at a distance. Tactile art is actually everywhere -- textured ceramic and silverware on the table, fiber variations in clothes or wall hangings, beaded jewelry, etc. Think about creating tactile art. There are tactile art kits and projects.
In Terramagne, there is Paletta, a set of highly durable art media for making visual-tactile art. It's similar to the sculpture additives for oil or acrylic paints, and the texture gels used in papercrafts. For the paints you mix in something to make it stand off the page, and some of those ingredients are pretty toxic. The craft stuff is much safer, and it works the opposite -- you add pigments to a base gel or paste. Some are available in premixed colors, others meant for you to mix your own. Another method is to use white or clear texture media, then paint over it; while less durable, this uses a lot less pigment. A clear topcoat can be applied to protect to the art further. Most of the stuff on the market, whether professional or hobby grade, is not intended for frequent handling. The Paletta versions are for art that's meant to be touched a lot. That means they also work great for making or modifying game pieces.
The Feel and See Art Movement that began in Terramagne around 2000 is inspired somewhat by this, although people use all kinds of materials in it. Colors are indicated with textures as well as pigments; for example, grass is often combed while leaves are typically ragged. Some people favor additives, like using glass bead gel for blue water and blended fibers for white clouds. Mosaics can be made with ColorADD or Feelipa symbols, or the artist's own system such as pennies for copper and bottlecaps for silver. These are enormously popular among blind artists because they can glue down pieces and feel the art taking shape as they go along. However, some critics mock it as childish and clumsy, which has led to a lot of nasty arguments.
Feel and See Art is meant to be touched as well as seen. Some of it is made from rigid materials like glass that don't hold dirt easily, don't wear down fast, and can be cleaned without damage. Some is made from malleable media that harden, which are somewhat less durable, but still a lot better than things not designed for this purpose. Some is made from ephemeral media, most often the standard art supplies for professional or hobby use, with the intent of it wearing away over time. This is most popular among Asian artists who favor wabi-sabi aesthetics. Regrettably this spawned another appalling argument when critics condemned it as "Fall Apart Art" and Asian people sued them for A) defamatory remarks and B) racism. But it's really a values disagreement: some people think entropy is beautiful while others think it's ugly.
In T-America, the government provides extensive grants, subsidies, and other programs to make inclusive games, toys, and art supplies available to a wide range of people. Emphasis goes to stocking them in schools and for disabled individuals, free or cheap, but ideally they should be available to everyone. It helps that the National Endowment for the Arts has 100 times the budget in T-America that it does in L-America.
Pinscreen is a toy with a frame filled by many metal pins that can move to create three-dimensional images. Pin art works by clipping metal pins at different lengths and attaching them to a base to create a permanent image. One effective way to do this is mount a thin layer of cork or foam over a rigid backboard. The pins may be dipped in glue before pushing them in, or the foam may include a layer of glue backing, to hold them in place. The layering of soft and hard media ensures even sinking of the pins to preserve their proportionate heights. It helps to have pre-clipped pins in multiple standard sizes (typically varying by 1-2 millimeters) held within a divided tray.
mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Touch" square in my 6-1-22 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the Shiv and Mercedes threads of the Polychrome Heroics series."Every Touch Reflects the Artist"
[Saturday, February 27, 2016]
Mrs. Wu loved tactile art.
What she could not see,
she could still feel.
Sometimes she made
things for herself, adding
interesting textures at home.
Other times she made gifts
for friends and neighbors.
She enjoyed making
things, whether from
official artistic materials or
junk from the Recycling Bin.
That store usually had things
like sea glass or melted marbles.
They took old chipped plates and
cut them down into mosaic tiles,
carefully grinding the edges smooth.
It was fun to make mosaics with
the different shapes and textures.
Paletta was nice, thick media
that could be mixed with paint
or texture additives, and would
hold anything pressed into them.
Mrs. Wu enjoyed adding fiber
for clouds and tiny glass balls
for rain. The stuff itself could
be sculpted with a palette knife
into grass or trees or buildings.
She had been a huge fan of
the Feel and See Art Movement
ever since it started around 2000.
It was fun both as a consumer
and as a creator of artwork.
Colors could be indicated with
textures as well as pigments,
so the grass was combed
while leaves were ragged.
She made mosaics with tiles
for ColorADD and Feelipa symbols,
as well as her own designs that
used old coins or bottlecaps.
ColorADD was convenient
since it fit well on square tiles,
while Feelipa had more diversity.
Mrs. Wu felt that art should be
touched as well as seen, so
everyone could enjoy it.
Some materials like glass
didn't hold dirt easily, could
be cleaned without damage,
and didn't wear down fast.
Other things got more dirty
and wore down faster.
Some media were even
intended to break down,
like cardboard or fibercrafts,
changing over time as they
interacted with the audience.
The latter was most popular with
Asian artists into wabi-sabi aesthetics.
Mrs. Wu wasn't a fan of that approach,
since she preferred art media that
stood up well, but she detested
people who called it "Fall Apart Art."
Besides, the government subsidized
inclusive art media, so it was largely
a matter of taste if people wanted
to work in robust or flimsy materials.
One of her favorite approaches
was making pin art sculptures,
based on the old pinscreen toys,
but fixed into a permanent sculpture.
Some people liked to trim the pins
themselves, so they could have
any length that they wanted;
the wider range of lengths did
make for more refined sculptures.
Mrs. Wu preferred to buy hers
in a divided box with all the pins
precut to various standard lengths.
There was a even a type of board
for it that had a thin layer of foam,
a layer of glue to hold the pins steady,
and a solid back so they would all
sink to the same depth and thus
preserve the length difference.
This was her favorite medium
when making things for Shiv.
Of course she made things
for him, skittish though he was;
he was always bringing her
bits of this or that from
his crochet or knitting.
Shiv liked metal and he
touched things all the time.
He wasn't given to collecting
knickknacks but he adored
fidgets of almost every kind.
Pin art was a perfect choice
for him, its tangible images
so crisp and concise.
Today Mrs. Wu put in
the last row of pins
for her current project,
a picture frame showing
knotwork around the edge.
Then she went over to
the Finn house in hopes
of finding Shiv there.
From the sound of
the voices, he was
working in the kitchen
again, but the creak and
thump of the oven door
told her that he probably
had a minute to spare.
"Good morning, Shiv, it's
nice to see you," said Mrs. Wu.
"Hi, Mrs. Wu," piped Edison.
"We're making rye bread."
"Hi," said Shiv, "Edison and I
just put the bread in to bake.
Can I do anything for you?"
"I brought you something,"
she said, holding it out.
"Oh, a picture frame!"
Shiv said, delighted.
"The knotwork is nice,"
Edison said. "I like
geometric things."
"Mrs. Wu, this is just
beautiful," said Shiv. "I
like how you made the lines
in the knotwork really go
over and under each other."
Mrs. Wu chuckled. "That's
one advantage of precut pins,
better definition. If you cut
your own, then you run the risk
of making the curves too smooth
and then it's hard to feel where
one thing ends and another begins."
"Or where one goes over or under
another, yeah, I've felt that in
some other pieces," said Shiv.
"Thanks. This is awesome. Half
what I do ain't nothin' special."
"Art is something," said Mrs. Wu.
"Every touch reflects the artist --
your love, ingenuity, curiosity,
imagination, and emotion."
"Yeah," Shiv said, fingernails
clicking over the pins as he
traced the lines of knotwork.
"I feel what you're saying."
That was all any artist could ask.
* * *
Notes:
"Art is something. Every touch reflects the artist love, genuine, curiosity, imagination and emotion."
-- Shaa Zainol
Tactile art is rarely discussed or displayed in local-America. This is largely because modern people have gone from making art to passively consuming it in institutions such as museums where it is held at a distance. Tactile art is actually everywhere -- textured ceramic and silverware on the table, fiber variations in clothes or wall hangings, beaded jewelry, etc. Think about creating tactile art. There are tactile art kits and projects.
In Terramagne, there is Paletta, a set of highly durable art media for making visual-tactile art. It's similar to the sculpture additives for oil or acrylic paints, and the texture gels used in papercrafts. For the paints you mix in something to make it stand off the page, and some of those ingredients are pretty toxic. The craft stuff is much safer, and it works the opposite -- you add pigments to a base gel or paste. Some are available in premixed colors, others meant for you to mix your own. Another method is to use white or clear texture media, then paint over it; while less durable, this uses a lot less pigment. A clear topcoat can be applied to protect to the art further. Most of the stuff on the market, whether professional or hobby grade, is not intended for frequent handling. The Paletta versions are for art that's meant to be touched a lot. That means they also work great for making or modifying game pieces.
The Feel and See Art Movement that began in Terramagne around 2000 is inspired somewhat by this, although people use all kinds of materials in it. Colors are indicated with textures as well as pigments; for example, grass is often combed while leaves are typically ragged. Some people favor additives, like using glass bead gel for blue water and blended fibers for white clouds. Mosaics can be made with ColorADD or Feelipa symbols, or the artist's own system such as pennies for copper and bottlecaps for silver. These are enormously popular among blind artists because they can glue down pieces and feel the art taking shape as they go along. However, some critics mock it as childish and clumsy, which has led to a lot of nasty arguments.
Feel and See Art is meant to be touched as well as seen. Some of it is made from rigid materials like glass that don't hold dirt easily, don't wear down fast, and can be cleaned without damage. Some is made from malleable media that harden, which are somewhat less durable, but still a lot better than things not designed for this purpose. Some is made from ephemeral media, most often the standard art supplies for professional or hobby use, with the intent of it wearing away over time. This is most popular among Asian artists who favor wabi-sabi aesthetics. Regrettably this spawned another appalling argument when critics condemned it as "Fall Apart Art" and Asian people sued them for A) defamatory remarks and B) racism. But it's really a values disagreement: some people think entropy is beautiful while others think it's ugly.
In T-America, the government provides extensive grants, subsidies, and other programs to make inclusive games, toys, and art supplies available to a wide range of people. Emphasis goes to stocking them in schools and for disabled individuals, free or cheap, but ideally they should be available to everyone. It helps that the National Endowment for the Arts has 100 times the budget in T-America that it does in L-America.
Pinscreen is a toy with a frame filled by many metal pins that can move to create three-dimensional images. Pin art works by clipping metal pins at different lengths and attaching them to a base to create a permanent image. One effective way to do this is mount a thin layer of cork or foam over a rigid backboard. The pins may be dipped in glue before pushing them in, or the foam may include a layer of glue backing, to hold them in place. The layering of soft and hard media ensures even sinking of the pins to preserve their proportionate heights. It helps to have pre-clipped pins in multiple standard sizes (typically varying by 1-2 millimeters) held within a divided tray.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-22 09:08 pm (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2022-06-22 09:27 pm (UTC)He really does. Now that people aren't abusing him day in and night out, it's blossoming a lot more.
>> I love that damaged little alleycat! <<
Me too. I'm still impressed that he has the biggest turnaround of any character I've written. Shiv started out with like 2 fans and now his thread is among the biggest.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2022-06-23 09:18 pm (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2022-06-24 09:15 am (UTC)Also ...
Date: 2022-06-22 09:29 pm (UTC)Re: Also ...
Date: 2022-06-23 09:17 pm (UTC)Re: Also ...
Date: 2022-06-24 09:39 am (UTC)And it's up:
https://ysabetwordsmith.dreamwidth.org/13590516.html
>> Shiv always finds interesting ways to get himself into trouble, and either Edison or Lucy has to bail him out.<<
Much to his surprise, he is more interested in art than trouble today.
>> (I"d like to teach him some of my cooking tricks. And I'd like to learn his.) <<
Yeah, me too.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-23 10:26 pm (UTC)