Design from ethnic source

For this design work I looked to Australia indigenous art that I had been researching for chapter 1, some examples shown below in 4.1

4.1 from artists (from l to r) Uta Uta Tjangala, Timmy Payungka Tjapangati, and Tjukurrtjanu

From these I drew various simple motifs in coloured pencil / pen / ink.

4.2: sketches from indigenous artwork

Some totems in the National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra really appealed to me and I started to sketch them while I was visiting, when one of the guides came over and allowed me to photograph them.  I had presumed this wasn't permitted, particularly for indigenous artifacts, but it seems the mobile phone has made such policing virtually impossible.

4.3: sculpture by Jeremiah Bonson of the Jinang/Marung peoples from Elcho Is, NT (nga, Canberra) (left) and my sketches (right)

4.4:  by Vincent Namatjira / Nigura (left) and collage torn papers and pen on collaged momigami'd papers (right)

4.5: Tiwi bark basket (left) and thread-wrapped bark fragments on momigami'd paper bag background

I liked the motif in the middle painting in 4.1 and cut out simplified versions of this, from my rusted papers in the last chapter, to design with.  The background black tissue paper (adhered to pelmet vilene) was sprayed with bleach carefully using a toothbrush.  Then an impression of the dotted background was produced using whipstitch with black on top and white in the bobbin.

4.6: shapes cut from rusted papers on bleached paper, additional whipstitch seeding

 A lot of indigenous art and fibrework is obviously coloured using natural eath pigments such as red ochre - a very similar colour to the inside of envelopes used by the National Bank of Australia!

4.7: negative shapes from rust paper on momigami'd bank envelopes

A piece of artwork I have in my own home is an indigenous painting called "Hunting Dreaming" by Dilli which tells the spiritual story of a hunt, featuring the hunters, kangaroos and boomerangs in abstract form.

4.8: "Hunting Dreaming" by Dilli (left) and handwritten annotations on back of painting (right)

I love the kangaroo tracks but in sketching the shapes I tried to develop a new motif to potentially use in my work.  I'm very aware that some motifs found in indigenous art have a spiritual significance that I would not wish to misappropriate in my designs, so I am trying to develop these shapes into something new.

4.9: sketches and design inspired by 4.8

Interesting arrangements were created with shape repeats

4.10: eco printed paper shapes on rust cotton rag

4.11

The 'bird like' negative shapes (in 4.11 and 4.12) might be worth taking further, although 4.12 is just a little too reminiscent of batman.

4.12

4.13 Interlocking of shapes

4.14