Exhibition Text
Or Forever Hold Your Peace is a laser-engraving on wood depicting the homophobia that LGBT+ people still face even after equal marriage rights legislation. It was inspired by the works of Virginia Frances Sterrett, a fairy tale illustrator in the 1920s.
- fairy tale endings, happily ever after
Or Forever Hold Your Peace is a laser-engraving on wood depicting the homophobia that LGBT+ people still face even after equal marriage rights legislation. It was inspired by the works of Virginia Frances Sterrett, a fairy tale illustrator in the 1920s.
- fairy tale endings, happily ever after
Planning
Inspiration
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Virginia Frances Sterrett
Sterrett was an American illustrator in the 1920s who was commissioned for multiple fairy tale books by Penn Publishing. Her style is reminiscent of 20th century French illustrators, as her first commission was for a book of French fairy tales. The illustrations are incredibly intricate with fine detail packed onto every page. For example, in Cadmus Slays the Dragon and Medea Flew High over the City, one can see each individual scale on the dragon's back. Additionally, in Blondine and the Tortoise, the bushes in the background have tiny overlapping leaves with lines light enough to avoid making the background too dense or messy. Sterrett makes heavy use of lines that curve in on themselves, such as the curling pose of the dragon and the trees with branches that overlap. The tall trees in Blondine and the Tortoise draw the viewer's eye downwards towards the central figures of the piece for which the piece is named. There are lots of soft color gradations in the backgrounds of each piece, showing the subtle changes in the color of the sky. Each is blue with a slightly purple hue, reminiscent of either dusk or dawn. To contrast, the figures have fairly flat colors with little to not gradation, making them stand out further with their lighter colors. Also, to contrast the soft blues and greens of the background, Sterrett uses dark purples for the dragon in the first two works, and saturated reds for various detailing in the second two. |
Planning Sketches
I began with examining the specific nature elements in each piece. Sterrett's style involves lots of curving lines and swirls. The lines are thin, creating intricate bundles of flora that decorate the scene. I designed the background around the background seen in Bondine and the Tortoise (1919-1920) with the tall trees and bushes with overlapping, almost scale-like leaves.
The original sketch for the two women is shown here, along with the sketches for the individual layers of the piece. Originally, the fourth layer was to include a large frame with twisting trees similar to the ones seen in The Forest. The snake was originally a dragon; however, I revised this and turned it into a large green snake to represent hatefulness and jealousy.
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Experimentation
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At first, I shrunk the piece to be 11.5 x 15cm to test the material and time elapsed for the cut and engraving. It took approximately 3 hours, give or take. Afterwards, I experimented with painting gouache over it. The pink in the snake scales was originally a mistake, but contrasted nicely with the green and broke up the monotony of the scales.
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Process
The illustration was drawn on a 21.6 x 28 cm file at a resolution of 300 pixels per inch. First I lined the background layer with a solid black brush, detailing each leaf. Using a sketch for the middle layer, I erased or didn't draw in the areas that would be covered so it wouldn't waste time engraving things that weren't necessary. I repeated this for each of the layers, but used a different color for each: black for the background, blue for the middle, green for the snake, and purple for the two women.
Each layer separately:
Each layer building on the next:
Each layer was then converted to Adobe Illustrator, which was then converted to an svg file for use with the Glowforge laser cutter. I used 1/8 inch baltic birch plywood as the material, and smoothed masking tape over the top so the laser wouldn't scorch the wood as much.
The laser process took approximately 5 hours, at which point I spent around another hour peeling off all of the masking tape so I could paint it. I painted the layers individually with transparent gouache, slowly building up the color and letting it dry. Lastly, I glued the layers together using wood glue and let it set. |
Note: This video has no sound.
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Reflection
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork.
I emulated Sterrett's style through the use of curving lines that looped over themselves, intricate plants with minute detail, and was directly inspired by her illustrations of a dragon and used that as reference to create my snake of jealousy.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The approach was sympathetic to Sterrett's short yet productive life, and praises her work for its delicate detail and whimsical style.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Sterrett was able to persevere through her illness to continue creating an intricate style created with love and care.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was to juxtapose the fantastical style and fairy tale ending with the real world issues of homophobia and transphobia.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I was able to infer that Sterrett's work made an impression on the art of the era and became a huge success even after her death.
I emulated Sterrett's style through the use of curving lines that looped over themselves, intricate plants with minute detail, and was directly inspired by her illustrations of a dragon and used that as reference to create my snake of jealousy.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The approach was sympathetic to Sterrett's short yet productive life, and praises her work for its delicate detail and whimsical style.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Sterrett was able to persevere through her illness to continue creating an intricate style created with love and care.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was to juxtapose the fantastical style and fairy tale ending with the real world issues of homophobia and transphobia.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I was able to infer that Sterrett's work made an impression on the art of the era and became a huge success even after her death.
Bibliography
"Virginia Frances Sterrett | Biography and Illustrations." Pook Press. Accessed November 27, 2017.
http://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/virginia-frances-sterrett-biography/.
"Virginia Frances Sterrett, Complete Color Illustrations." Art Passions Fairy Tales. Accessed December 02, 2017.
http://www.artpassions.net/sterrett/.
"Virginia Frances Sterrett | Biography and Illustrations." Pook Press. Accessed November 27, 2017.
http://www.pookpress.co.uk/project/virginia-frances-sterrett-biography/.
"Virginia Frances Sterrett, Complete Color Illustrations." Art Passions Fairy Tales. Accessed December 02, 2017.
http://www.artpassions.net/sterrett/.