Australian Aboriginal Rock Art - Part IIArt EssayMarie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts on Australian aboriginal textiles and artwork.
Untitled Artworks (Exhibition - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions) Tjariya (Nungalka) Stanley and Tjunkaya Tapaya, Ernabella Arts (Australia)
ArtCloth from the Tiwi Islands
Aboriginal Batik From Central Australia
ArtCloth from Utopia
Aboriginal Art Appropriated by Non-Aboriginal Artists
ArtCloth from the Women of Ernabella
ArtCloth From Kaltjiti (Fregon)
Australian Aboriginal Silk Paintings
Contemporary Aboriginal Prints
Batiks from Kintore
Batiks From Warlpiri (Yuendumu)
Aboriginal Batiks From Northern Queensland
Artworks From Remote Aboriginal Communities
Urban Aboriginal ArtCloths
Western Australian Aboriginal Fabric Lengths
Northern Editions - Aboriginal Prints
Aboriginal Bark Paintings
Contemporary Aboriginal Posters (1984) - (1993)
The Art of Arthur Pambegan Jr
Aboriginal Art - Colour Power
Aboriginal Art - Part I
Aboriginal Art - Part II
The Art of Ngarra
The Paintings of Patrick Tjungurrayi
Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri
Australian Aboriginal Rock Art - Part I
Australian Aboriginal Rock Art - Part II

Australian Aboriginal Rock Art - Part II
Rock art is an extremely important part of First Nations cultures in Australia. There are estimated to be over 100,000 rock art sites in Australia. First Nations peoples consider many rock art locations to be sacred sites. Viewing and studying rock art helps us understand how people lived in Australia since our First Nations people arrived on the continent between 65,000 and 80,000 years ago.

Images created by the First Nation people on rock.

Rock art is the oldest human art form that survives today. The First Nations peoples arrived in Australia between 65,000 and 80,000 years ago. Australian rock art has been dated to around 30,000 years ago. But there might be much older rock art sites on the continent. For First Nations peoples in Australia, rock art sites are records of their ongoing history since time immemorial.

Aboriginal rock art at the Ubirr in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory (Australia).

First Nations peoples created and continue to create different kinds of rock art. Petroglyph and pictograph rock art are the two main forms. To create a petroglyph, people engrave rock by pecking, hammering or chipping away at a surface to make an image. These images have shapes like circles, arcs, dots or animal tracks.

A petrogyyph illustrating a hunt for an Emu.

To create a pictograph, people paint minerals like charcoal, clay, chalk and ochre on a rock surface. People can use dry or wet colors to create pictographs, by using their fingers or brushes (made from chewed sticks or hair) to paint with. In pictographs, you see images you can recognise more easily, like humans or animals. Petroglyphs can be found around Australia, but pictographs survive only in sheltered areas like caves.

A pictograph illustrating the head of a kangaroo.

Rock art can be simple or very complex. The type of artwork used depends on the individual artist and their cultural group.

Complex image of an aboriginal and dingo.

Simple image of a Wallaby.

Rock art is an important part of First Nations life and culture, and needs to be protected.

Image of a hunter.

There are seven rock art sites on Australia’s National Heritage List. These are the Dampier Archipelago, Grampians National Park, Kakadu National Park, Koonalda Cave, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, the Tasmanian Wilderness and the West Kimberley. All of these sites are protected under Australian laws.

Rock art image.

If we protect and care for rock art, all Australians can appreciate it for generations to come.

Image of animals and human forms.

Rock art image of hunters.

Reference:
[1] W. Caruana, Aboriginal Art, Third Edition, Thames & Hudson, London (1993).

Fabric Swatches - Part IIArtClothMarie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
For you convenience I have listed below other posts in this series which were sourced from the book - The Pattern Base[1]:
The Pattern Base by Kristi O'Meara - Book Review
The Art of Lorenzo Nanni
The Geometric Abstract Designs of Kristi O'Meara
Representational Designs of Kristi O'Meara
Geometric Patterns Designed by Patrick Morissey and Jasmin Elisa Guerrero
Fabric Swatches - Part I
Hannah Truran
Fabric Swatches - Part II
Fabric Swatches - Part III

Fabric Swatches - Part II

Creator: Senyor Pablo (2012).
Comment: Cones Jacquard (Detail).

Creators: Della Reams, co-designed with AlDana Al Khater, Aldana Fabric (2011).
Comment: The motif spells AlDana in Arabic.

Creators: Della Reams, co-designed with Nada Hammada, Nada Fabric (2011).
Comment: The motif spells Nada in Arabic.

Creators: Della Reams, co-designed with Basra Bashir, Basra Fabric (2011).
Comment: The motif spells Basra in Arabic.

Creator: Senyor Pablo (2013).
Comment: Cones Jacquard (Detail).

Creator: Amy Jo Lewis (2011).
Comment: Degraded shirting.

Creator: Amy Jo Lewis (2011).
Comment: Degraded Coverlet.

Creators: Michelle Manolov (Pattern and Co.) (2012).
Comment: Gilded Stags.

Creator: Amy Jo Lewis (2011).
Comment: Houndstooth Coverlet.

Creator: Della Reams (2009).
Comment: Houndstooth Hound Fabric.

Creator: Della Reams (2009).
Comment: The Smoker Fabric.

Reference:
[1] The Pattern Base, Kristi O'Meara (Ed. A. Keiffer) Thames & Hudson (2015).

Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part IV [1]Art QuiltsMarie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
Art Quilts have featured on this blogspot and so for your convenience I have listed below previous posts in this series:
Art Quilts - Part I
Art Quilts - Part II
Art Quilts - Part III
Art Quilts - Part IV
Art Quilts - Part V
Art Quilts - Part VI
Art Quilts - Part VII
Art Quilters of the Netherlands - Part I
Art Quilters of the Netherlands - Part II
Art Quilters of the Netherlands - Part III
Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part I
Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part II
Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part III
Art Quilts of Jane Sassaman
Art Quilts of Michael A. Cummings
Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part IV

Introduction
The European Art Quilt Foundation from the Netherlands organizes an exhibition of quilts from Europe every two years.

Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part IV [1]

Cecilia González (Barcelona, Spain)

Full View
Title: Butter Blocks (2013).
Materials: Noil silk and hand dyed hankies.
Technique: Personal technique with hankies and free motion quilting.
Size: 98 x 98 cm.
Comment[1]: Color netblocks that melt, mix, overlap and create a new fabric of colors. With the warmth of love, they are no longer isolated units but instead a complex network of fine, new and delicate connextions.

Detailed View.

Detailed View.

Wille Groenewolt (Elst, the Netherlands)

Full View
Title: Time Capsule (2014).
Materials: Layers of tulle, organza, fibers, lace and very thin paper.
Technique: Fabric construction using water soluble fabric, and sewing. This work is three-dimensional. It consists of three separate pieces.
Size: 150 x 150 cm.
Comment[1]: A moment in time, caught in here and now in a time capsule. Due to these capsules, you can preserve precious moments and connect to a moment from the past.

Detailed View.

Detailed View.

Renate Guetlein (Warthausen, Germany)

Full View
Title: See You in the Tracks (2014).
Materials: Fifty ski marathon bibs made of various materials (e.g., carbon, Tyvek, paper, polyester etc.)
Technique: Machine appliqué on cotton, hand quilted.
Size: 160 x 160 cm.
Comment[1]: Cross country skiing is regarded as a sport that brings together people from different countries. The quilt is composed from pieces of bibs from various popular cross country ski races all over Europe. Thanks to my husband who kindly allowed himself to be separated from his precious memories.

Detailed View.

Detailed View.

Claudia Helmer (Bad Soden, Germany)

Full View
Title: Luminale 3 (2014).
Materials: Cotton, cotton wadding, cotton sateen, photocopies of my own photographs, sheer polyester, matte medium, quilting threads.
Technique: Fabric dyeing, paper lamination, screen printing, and machine quilting.
Size: 100 x 184 cm.
Comment[1]: Luminale is a biennial festival of light in the city of Frankfurt. The sober business surface of the buildings is transformed into a colorful and sometimes playful pattern.
The top layer of the piece is a paper lamination of photographs that I took at the festival, using a screen of my own handwriting for the patterning. Using the words 'Schatten' and 'Licht' (shadow and light) have two different meanings to me: the play of shadow and light during the festival and the two faces of the city.

Detailed View.

Detailed View.

Reference:
[1] European Art Quilt Foundation, Molenschat, Netherlands (2014).

Properties of Pigments in Common UseArt ResourceMarie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
This is the thirty-sixth post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
Blue Pigments - Part III

There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Durable press and wash-and-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.

To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.

If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.

The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!

Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Pigments are generally arranged by color. Artist's colors are better placed in context using a color wheel. The matching color wheel below positions thirty-six artist colors around a circle so you can easily see color relationships. Complements are two colors on the opposite side of the color wheel. When you place complements together the result is a high contrast, high impact color combination. Analogous color schemes are typically comprised of three colors that fall next to each other on the color wheel resulting in soft contrast, harmonious effects.

Simply put, light appears to us in a series of different wavelengths that our eyes interpret as different colors.

White light being diffracted by a prism, gives light of varying wavelengths. This is what causes a rainbow to be visible in our skies.

If a pigment looks bright red, it means that the pigments have absorbed all the colors of the rainbow except for the color red etc. So when we are matching a color, we are actually mixing in pigments (colorants).

Pigments are not necessarily pure or chemically identical. They appear as a perfect match under one light, but not as perfect under another. The phenomenon is known as 'metamerism,' and it can cause some seemingly exact color materials to vary slightly when compared under different lights. Similar to when you think you have two dark blue socks on when you are in the bedroom light, but when you go outside to a brighter light, you notice you have one blue and black sock on. In architectural coatings, the difference is not so dramatic, but slight color variations do often appear if you are indoors compared to when you are outdoors.

Whilst in most cases, an approximate match for a specific color may be made by using a mixture, if a composition is different from that of the original paint, and while such mixtures may be entirely adequate for the actual application that is in view, a study of color theory reveals the difficulty of securing precise, accurate effects, unless the proper pigment is employed. The variation in physical and optical properties of pigments of varying chemical or physical structure, will result in differences, even if a general similarly of color, shade, or tone seems apparent.

In general, mixtures of two colors are invariably duller or less clear than single pigments of good quality; the addition of a third color is accompanied by a further reduction in clarity. However, we do not ordinarily paint with pure or raw color, but usually depend upon mixed or broken tones for our effects; control of their effectiveness can be obtained only by experience and a knowledge of the behavior of the various individual pigments in mixtures. The statement that the presence of fillers or inert materials as in students' grade or other cheap colors, does not alter their properties for pictorial or decorative effects, is not quite accurate; a pure color has more clarity of tone and will give superior effects all around.

The exact matches necessary in careful restorations, in alterations, and in additions to finished works, require careful, precise mixing and sometimes a viewing in bright, direct sunlight - procedures seldom called for in practice of creative painting.

Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).