Roughly 14 years ago, I made my first dragonfly artwork (pictured). It was an edition of 25, and in the colour palette of red-orange-yellow. I instantly knew that I wanted to make many more and all different colours.
However, as the photo suggests, I hit a brick wall when trying to decide if I wanted to start an edition for each new colour palette or do a variable edition (VE) where the colour varies per piece within the set. Plus, since I had struggled to find papers that provided a satisfying visual gradient from red to orange to yellow, I knew what I was up against. What might be a blip on the radar for some, can be a mid-air stall for others. I don’t know if it’s ‘artist brain’ or simply my brain, but I’m particularly susceptible. In the midst of a lovely moment of celebrating this colourful creature, the recesses of my brain were already whispering, ‘mayday, mayday’. I had other projects that needed my full attention, and I couldn’t afford to lose altitude. Before the whisper turned into a shout, I told myself to shut that down. ‘Roger-Wilco,’ I replied. (M.A.S.H. came to mind, and forced a cathartic smile. 😉 ) I set aside the idea for another day when I had the time to find more paper sources, or think through a solution.
Last month, that day finally came.
Completely unrelated, I needed to reproduce a watercolour gradient that I had made for the sky in one of my Sackville Iris mosaics. So, I looked through my bag of scraps with the hope that I kept a piece of it that I could use for reference. This bag is the repository for little bits of colourful paper that are so beautiful that I do not have the heart to throw them out. Happily, I found what I needed. Also happily, it triggered my memory of wishing to make more dragonflies but not knowing how to produce gradients from pre-dyed paper. Now I knew. Watercolour wings!
Not only did a solution suddenly present itself (is 14 years sudden?), but I finally had a use for some of these tiny pieces of paper. They were a good size for the small cells (the open parts between the wing veins) of a dragonfly.
Buzzing with excitement, I did an immediate experiment to see if the idea would fly. It was love at first flight.
Two problems solved. And, two questions answered: I chose variable edition and recycled watercolour gradients. With the variable edition underway, here is my progress so far:
I hope that this little tail helps other artists know that a set-aside idea is not a fail. It’s a wise decision to stay cool and gain time to consider things. Tell your fears to take off, catch your second wind, and climb to a cruising speed that allows your projects to soar!
