MAZE11
©2013 Craig Ashby
7.75” x 9.375”
Collage

I am back with the second set of ten pieces in the MAZE Series. Did I mention that there are 40 pieces in this series? So only halfway through I have come to many realizations. All old ideas that are reinforced again and again like lessons never learned.

I tried spraying each of the pieces with acrylic spray before cutting as mentioned in the previous MAZE post. A disaster. I lost all of those crops. The cutting blade actually cracked the spray acrylic. Leaving a rougher edge and then a gigantic, unsolvable mess of the crop.

With these first three I then resorted to sheets of double-sided adhesive. This presented a host of problems. No more flipping the piece to the backside because the double-sided adhesive is cloudy and adhesive. So this particular piece is composed of eight or nine crops. It has been a painful process to say the least.

Almost as painful is the response to the pieces themselves. Many people are underwhelmed at the simplicity. I will state again, I am learning to create using a machine. It’s difficult because it’s so simple. But I must learn the basics before I tackle the ideas that are present in my head. Even though I would love to stop mid-stream, I can’t. I must master the process.

One great comment came from dearest Pamela Chae. She noted these would make great quilts. Brilliant idea! And I love quilting! Maybe a home furnishing line?

Overall I like this piece. Tilda Swinton, Naomi Campbell, Liz Hurley and Lichtenstein. All work wonderfully together. Too bad the double-sided adhesive caused such a disaster. More about that later.