With Valentine’s Day coming, and shapes on my agenda, I’ve been playing with the heart symbol, an ideograph that’s—endearingly—an anatomically inaccurate shape. ❤️
You’re probably familiar with conversation hearts, those little candies imprinted with messages—BE MINE, KISS ME, FOR EVER. I’m using my blog as an art journal today to capture a different conversation, one my heart and mind had, shining light on today’s CutUp, taking note of what worked and what didn’t.
YES:
• the spontaneity of the colors and linework on the hearts; I totally loved painting the source material six months ago
• the color palette
• the texture
• the free-flow of the linework and the contrast it provides
• the variation in size, shape, and directionality of the collaged hearts
• the inclusion of circles as contrast to the heart shapes
• the variation of size in the two sets of circles
• the way three circles are aligned with each other and three are scattered
• the way two hearts bleed off edges of the card, several points kiss edges, two hearts kiss each other, and others float freely
• the unexpected disruption of a right-angled piece ‘missing’ from the edge of the largest heart
• the asymmetries of the arrangement of the collage pieces
• the amount of quiet space
• the subtle white-on-white asemic writing on the substrate
• the thickness of the collage pieces which provides depth and allows for subtle shadows
• the fact that the composition feels close to but not entirely ‘balanced’
NOT SO MUCH:
• the uniformly clean sharp edges of the collage pieces, i.e. no torn soft edges for contrast
• the orientation of the heart at the top right—a little too straight up and down
• the severe rectilinearity of the piece missing from the largest heart
Wow. Helpful conversation. I feel inspired and informed as I head into my next CutUp.
3.5 x 5″; acrylic, ink, and collage on card stock
CutUp
2024
dottyseiter: now playing 
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