In this past week I have found myself in several conversations that revolve around simplicity.

I heard nobody disparage simplicity. I heard a number of people long for simplicity.

A group of artmakers shared their working methods and their hopes for where their art might go. Several expressed a desire for working more simply — less material choices, less supplies, working with a limited palette. In conversations about the holidays, I’ve heard people with deep frustrations about gift-buying and gift-giving and guilt-induced over-the-top holiday expectations.

Enough! Less!

I’m not a scrooge. I enjoy the pleasure of giving and sharing. And I never intend to judge any artmaker who chooses ways of working that are different from mine. (There are, after all, LOTS of choices!)

I just find deep pleasure and artistic satisfaction in making work that is interesting, and (I hope!) compelling and with something to communicate and to do that by using simple methods and materials.

(I grew up in a family with constant financial pressures. Even as a kid I learned an aversion and fear of spending money unnecessarily. Perhaps I am now drawn to working methods that are simple and inexpensive as the positive lesson from that negative experience.)

So here’s a bit of simplicity: a cardboard shape

I cut out a simplified leaf shape of heavy cardboard, then wrapped it with a thin piece of chipboard (thin cardboard, like a paper towel tube) to serve as the printing edge. It is all held together with masking tape. This tool will not last forever. But it will last long enough to create some interesting work.

My first project this week using the cardboard printing tool is a wheat paste resist. (Wheat paste is just flour + water stirred to make a batter. Simple.)

Here I’ve got my yardage taped down to a working board. (I was creating several different kinds of fabric in compatible colors. And in this picture, they are side-by-side on the board.) What appears white is the paste. It will serve to block out the underneath fabric when it is over-painted. Whatever is the underneath fabric color will show through.

After the wheat paste is completely dry (generally overnight) I over-paint the fabric with a contrasting color. The background is light, so the over-paint should be dark. (This foam roller is a favorite tool in my studio. Find them in any hardware paint department – rollers for painting trim.)

Here’s some of the finished fabric:

I’ve used it in a sewing project for a Christmas gift. I’ve contrasted the wheat paste section with a color complement – the apricot color – made into a pattern using strips of masking tape as a resist.

Amazingly, my little cardboard shape held up to the stamping of wheat paste and being cleaned off in the garden hose. So I decided to use it more to do some relief printing. (Used together, the fabrics will speak to one annother. Same shape. One positive. One negative.)

I dip the cardboard edge in the paint and then stamp, creating a thin linear outline.

Here’s a bit of the finished yardage, also in the process of being stitched into a Christmas sewing project.

Positive and negative shapes.

Strong contrasts in values.

Using the power of complementary colors.

Simple strategies, put into use with simple methods.

I find this way of working joyful.

I hope you also find pleasing ways of working, in artmaking or whatever your life work is. Maybe there are opportunities to simplify and eliminate what you don’t need. And maybe these choices will be pleasing.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating 

Thank you for reading.
I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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