A THOUSAND PAPER CRANES #6

Session 1
So here we are - Ward 6 dining room come art studio come launching space for the fabulous mythical bird - the phoenix!This is the last leg of three years worth of workshops that Artlink has organised on Ward 6. The Journey of A Thousand Paper Cranes is arriving at the feet of the phoenix!The dining room is empty. While Rozi and I are setting up, some participants arrive, a little bit excited, a little bit shy, a little bit curious ....- what are we doing today?Today we will try marbling - a magical process involving oil colour, water, washing up liquid and salt, unpredictable and uncontrollable....

Nobody has done this technique before. Soon we are all mixing the colours we like, diluting them with oil and pouring them into trays (baths) of water. The oil smells; some like it, some don't and some can't smell it at all.

 

We pour the paint into the water without any idea what to expect, then rather reluctantly, the paper is lowered into the bath. We want to see the patterns sit on the surface of the water, but everything is happening at the bottom of the bath and none of us know what to expect.

 

What a surprise - how different it all looks when we pull out the paper. What seemed like a huge mess in the water, appears quite different on the paper - and EVERY sheet of paper is unique, the colours glisten and shine.
‘The colours are so much more vibrant on paper than in the tray’
‘Yaayyy, that’s a lighter one. THAT’s what I wanted!’

The patterns are organic and extreme. They remind us of images of galaxies or microbiology. Meanwhile, the scene is photographed using the iPad and special effects. It adds another dimension, a kaleidoscope of colours.

As each sheet is pulled out of the water there is a transformation on our faces - joy, wander, puzzlement, recognition... delight!

 This is not a process which we can easily control, this is like learning to surf on the wave of creativity."Thank you so much for this", is accompanied with a gesture encompassing the work, the room, us and herself. It’s such a heartfelt statement that I feel a lump in my throat. It is one of those moments.
Today we have started to make the feathers for our phoenix. Next week we will construct the body, with a wire frame!