I am slowly easing my way back into work trying to find my thread from before the holidays. I had been picking up from a project half started a long time ago back in the days of home school during the lockdowns... A project inspired by a Norse mythology book shared with my son.
One character captured my imagination, a Goddess named Ran (a personification of the ocean) who possessed a net which gathered sailors drowned at sea. She is both the cause and the consequence. I can't find many mentions of her in the texts that I have read and it is that most likely that elusiveness which has intrigued me....
I have so many notes and post-its and scribbles and thumbnails that I think it is time to start collating my thoughts together.
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| Sketchbook Snippet - Ran's Net watercolour and watersoluble pencils ©2024LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Sketchbook Snippet - Ran's Net watercolour and watersoluble pencils ©2024LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Sketchbook Snippet - Ran's Net watercolour and watersoluble pencils ©2024LisaLeQuelenec |
I have been going back through my notes and experiments - firstly a very textured detail from a collagraph plate using tile adhesive and aluminium foil tape. This was just a small part that I kept as I loved the texture and colours so much. It's not much more than a snippet but I couldn't part with it.
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| Collagraph printing plate section ©2024LisaLeQuelenec |
Second, a section of a ghost print ( a second printing of a plate without adding extra ink) that I worked into with collage, watercolour and coloured pencil. I regularly make a ghost print as fodder for experimenting with new ideas. I like the idea of work continuing, evolving and a continuous thread connecting pieces and projects - many tides, one ocean.
Another connection for these details is the strong 'V' composition that I seem to regularly circle back to.
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| Detail from a print worked into with mixed media ©2024LisaLeQuelenec |
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| Piddock shell fragments ©2024LisaLeQuelenec |
Broken but oh so beautiful fragments of piddock shells, inspiring textures and compositions.
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| Colour inspiration from beach finds ©2025LisaLeQuelenec |
4 comments:
Oh, I am looking forward to seeing where you go with this mythical being, Ran, and her story - since you cannot find much about her, perhaps you could really write your own version. I immediately thought she would have something to capture the eyes of the sailors and you then shared that she put crystals in the nets! Love this idea and the small piece you shared - it is gorgeous! This is going to be so much fun.
My problem at the moment is that I can see so many threads to explore and so it may end up being a rather long project. I am trying to condense and focus but new ideas are springing up everywhere as my imagination is taking flight. Busy times ahead...
I'm hoping you are starting to thaw out a little, winter is sounding brutal in your neck of the woods.
Lisa what a wonderful and thoughtful way to work out your inspirations. It is such a delight to see your thought process as well as your preliminary start. I always come back to how you continue to use the colors of blue that brings the ocean into your art. So beautiful.
Thank you Debbie, I'm never quite sure if people would be interested in the sometimes tenuous and strange connections I seem to make between random things in my work. Maybe I should show this more.... Something for me to ponder. Best wishes.
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