My Spinoff Series- The exponential growth of a crazy idea.

Maude. The Jeffersons. Rhoda.

We all remember our favorite spinoff series.

Wikipedia tells me that "A spinoff... is any narrative work derived from an already existing work that focuses on different aspects from the original work."

Leaping Off the Page

Belief is my own small spinoff—a mini-series branching from a single page in my artist book Atlas.

Atlas explores lineage and cultural beliefs, through which I seek to piece together how my beliefs have been shaped.

One day, working toward that larger project, I began experimenting with the word BELIEF itself. I was fooling around with stencils on a 12x18 sheet of pastel paper, with the idea of it as a book page.

Another theme I am toying with is ornate gilt frames. They carry an odd authority. If you place almost anything inside one, and it suddenly feels important, sanctioned.

The original "Belief"

I tried to make my own frame stencil, BY HAND. It was difficult and the results were not great. (“That’s why nobody does it,” said my friend Bridget Benton.)

The last stroke was to actually cut out the word "BELIEF." It was fascinating to watch it as I turned the page in the book. But the pastel paper kept curling, and the image was... getting there, but not great.

x₁ = x₀(1+r)ᵗ

With an upcoming exhibition through the Canopy Program on the horizon (more on this later!) and seeing as I need to have some actual, show-able art, I thought I could take Belief and spruce it up a wee bit, develop the idea a tad more, maybe on some slightly better paper…

The ideas proliferated wildly from there:

I could do it in cyanotype.
I could create a transparency of an ornate gilt frame and use cyanotype to create it.
I could also stencil letters on a piece of glass and expose it.
I could even put different styles of letters on different layers of glass and stagger the UV exposure to create variation and depth.

Yeah, that’s it. So simple!

I ran out to Goodwill and bought four old picture frames, all 16x20, took out the glass and taped the edges.

I started stenciling.

I found an image of an ornate frame online, made it black and white and inverted it. I then printed it out on transparent paper.

So, if you’ve been following me for a while, you may remember that I am easily confused.

I was sure to number each piece of glass and label it with the exact time when I was to remove the glass from cyanotype.

I stacked it all together and gingerly took it outside.

Here, all four sheets of glass are stacked on top of the ornate frame transparency.

Here, I have removed the top most piece of glass, allowing the cyanotype to continue to develop.

The Result

Here is just one of many versions I made.

But I didn't stop there!

Here, I have bleached a couple versions with Sodium Carbonite. (Arm & Hammer No Scent Detergent Booster)I also added gold paint or a coffee stain on each.

In most of them, I also trimmed the paper to echo the frame’s shape.

Instead of using gold acrylic paint, I went for it and used gold leaf (not real!) which is a tricky material to use- but worth it for the way it catches light.

"Belief" work in progress

In many of them I’ve cut out the word “BELIEF” and mounted it so it floats slightly above the surface, casting a faint shadow.

This will be placed in a shadow box frame.

But Wait- There's More!

I tried one version on green-blue paper, and this sent me into another spin off.

I love the way the gold leaf looks suddenly richer, deeper.

"Belief, Green-Blue" work in progress

Then, for some reason, I envisioned additional layers, an oval frame hovering above the rectangular one. I don't know why. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what will be placed in the cut away area... I think I like this unspiraling doily, but I am not certain.

No one knows.

"Belief, Green-Blue with Oval Frame" work in progress

Each layer is separated by a small gap, building dimensionality that only reveals itself as you move around it.

This will also eventually make its way into a shadow box frame.

I must complete a few of these for my upcoming show with the Canopy Program in June. Keep your eyes peeled!