"Waterproof"

"Waterproof" by Dheborah

The symmetry of the photograph of the face is a result of an early stage in the technique I used- as you can see from the hair on the nape of my neck. This piece, illustrated above, is one of my first attempts and was completed today. The mask was painted with photoshop.

...digital ink...

Having been priviledged to have grown up using pens with nibs and ink-wells, my frequent forays into digital art have taught me one thing.... art is to be soaked in, not drowned in.

Dheborah

Grace in the Face of Thunder...

...this photograph was taken on Anzac Day...

Ceremonies are a vital and  intangible link to the structure of the human that we are. We draw on these memories when we experience devastating life-changing events while they give us  the ability to survive. They help create hope in times where it appears to have deserted us. Christmas is both the simplest and one of the most complex ceremonies in our age. Despite the endless scholarly questions that can be raised, it is indeed based on five basic things: the value of the life of every single child; a reason for the need for a national census; joy; inevitability, and the immense effort and determination that people sometimes take to reach their destinations.

A ceremony can be as dedicated as a regular Friday night walk along a river, up to the pub on the hill; it can be as wonderful as getting up at five o'clock every Christmas morning and listening to the story of "The Giant's Garden" each year. The Christmas stocking left on the end of my bed, filled with apricots and plums, a book  and a toy ring in the toe every year will always be the most magnificent stocking…something that lifts me and inspires me.

Wealth will not bring joy - it  is only a tool that is transparent through the eyes of a child. A small tin filled with cheap plastic cars, a story of a poor Victorian child's Christmas, or  a packet of bright  stickers can create the same impression. 'Waiting' for the right day to open the gifts, hidden inside colourful, crackly paper teaches a little patience. 'Finding and giving'  teaches a reluctant child to share. 'Making' a gift or a special meal teaches the small but worthwhile rewards of any effort, no matter how small the effort. 'Celebrating' a day such as Christmas day (don't forget Hanukkah, for example) in whatever respectful way you chose to celebrate it, allows the act of hope…and hope is something internal that every individual and every child needs and deserves. 

View through the eyes of a duckling...

I am unsure whether I actually like all of my concept cards that I am making around the story "Sky for Dolphins". The  typography, in this case, would be suitable for screen printing and other applications but I don't want to scare my neighbour's  kids. My discomfort leads me to leave it alone so I will go back to this at a later stage...possibly to use it with fabric manipulations or as a print across a pocket. The likelihood of something "atypical" or unexpected is much more fun.

Exploring textile surfaces and shapes for "River Guardians"

*Here, I have used an illustration technique that I have learned recently. While developing a design concept, I will gather clippings, small photos, images, tiny sketches of interesting lines and surfaces. From what often becomes a mass of seemingly disconnected information, I run with one or two small items and then refer back to my gatherings. Later, if I create a handful of items, I will finalise them by connecting them with a single thing... a tiny, subtle little thing that creates an invisable link: a link not unlike the invisable umbulical cord between mother and child.

Dheborah

Exploring new colour palettes for "River Guardians"

River Guardian

From "Sky for Dolphins", I started exploratory concept cards. Within these, the bones, I search for shapes and a palette for a garment or a body of garment pieces.