At the End of My Rope!

It seems like I've been "finishing" this final Hawser drawing for weeks now - and actually - I have been! There are inumerable subtle adjustments to make, constantly checking tone against tone, shape against shape, edge against edge. I'm working to adjust shifts of emphasis and finessing shapes until, finally, the whole reads fully balanced. It's a time of great energy and high interest.  

Like most of the other Hawser drawings, this one (titled "Slippage") is heavy on detail. There are large areas near the top though, that in my photo reference lack much detail - i.e. useful visual information. Consequently, I need to infer what I'm seeing (from fuzzy, out of focus areas in my photograph) and invent / create form where there is little to guide me.

That's where the training I received at the Schuler School of Fine Art atelier in Baltimore comes in mighty handy! There I learned how to effectively draw or paint the illusion of forms turning in space - how to transform two parallel lines into a tubular form - or make a flat geometric circle become a firm three dimensional "ball." Fun stuff - and essential knowledge for bringing this particular image home. Sure, I could go over and look for that section on the actual rope model - even take more reference shots of it - but, truly, not necessary! (nor necessarily an easier or better solution.) Having those drawing basics in my back pocket: invaluable! I'm working to bring the right and left upper thirds of the drawing into harmony with each other. The degree of "finish" in each section needs to follow a certain logic for the world of that image. Have I lost you? Pictures of the new drawing coming soon . . . which should help the discussion above make more sense!

Update on Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 6:52PM by Huguette May

Picture above shows "Slippage" completed.

John E. Ruggles, Ropemaker

Back in 2006, I had an exhibiton of my MFA thesis rope drawings for the New Bedford Open Studios at a building on Sawyer St. called the Ropeworks. It had been sold to become beautiful live/work spaces for artists and its conversion from its former use as a ropeworks had just begun. Artists with no studios of their own could exhibit there that year - perfect for me, as I was looking for a studio in New Bedford at the time.

The Ropeworks had been John Ruggle's building and workplace for many years before selling it, and he still retained a workshop area within. During that exhibiion, I found the hawser rope jumbled inside a shopping cart pushed to the far edge of the exhibition space amongst other bulky construction stuff. Wondering what it was, I began disentangling it from other junk - tugging and pulling on it - until this wondrous, heavy python-sized object finally came free. An inquiry or two lead to the comment - "oh, that's probably John's." Someone took me over to the man's workshop and that's how I met John E. Ruggles, Ropemaker.

We chatted for an hour or so. I showed him my giant rope drawings and he gave me a tour of his now scaled- down shop. John showed me rope-making equipment and told me all about the newspaper clipping on the wall describing this gentleman - John - who had made many miles of crowd-cordoning rope for the Pope's visit to Boston back in the 70's. After awhile, I asked if I could borrow the hawser - and John kindly said I could keep it. I promised to show him what I would do with it. I was thrilled! I had a very strong feeling about the potential in that piece of rope. My gut and intuition are rarely wrong . . . Check out pictures of John here.

"Cordage" Exhibition Pictures!

At Last! I have finally gotten these pictures from the opening reception of "Cordage" up for viewing! Enjoy!

Back to Blogging

You may notice that the rest of the blog entries here are from 2006.  I have recently decided to pick this up again, so stay tuned. Currently, I'm focussed on preparing for my upcoming exhibtion at Navio Gallery in New Bedford. It's surprising how many details need attending to make a show like that come together smoothly and on time. After it's up and running, I hope to begin writing here and in a new Members area I will add in the near future. The Members area will feature progress photos and notes on art I'm currently making and other things about me you might be surprised to know. Back soon . . . . .

Satisfaction

The satisfactions I experience while drawing derive from the following:

First, rising to the technical challenge – can I pull this off? More often than not, I’ve found the answer is yes. I try to select projects with enough technical difficulty to force a little growth each time.

Second, the highly tactile pleasure of handling and manipulating the medium. There's a strong connection with the materials themselves.

Third, having a viewer experience some kind of response to the work. Positive or negative is OK – indifference amounts to failure with that viewer. The toughest viewer/critics are the ones who dismiss any stripe of academic drawing as irrelevant to contemporary art. What can one say? In the end, artists must do that for which they are best suited - regardless of the prevailing climate.

Finally - completing something that will leave behind a little bit of how I experienced my life in the world once I’ve gone.