Category Archives: Inspiration
Q: What makes you just want to run back to the studio and start something new?
Untitled chromogenic print, 24″ x24″, edition of 5
A: I work in series, which means that one pastel painting generally leads into the next. Considerable thought goes into it before I ever begin, so it would be rare for me to just start something new out of nowhere. Sometimes after a day in the studio I run home to my apartment to set up a new photograph. I arrange a group of my Mexican and Guatemalan figures on a black cloth, light the scene, and when everything is just right, photograph it. I love the fact that I can come home, shoot a roll of film, and then have 24 new images – more bad than good, but still – the next day! It’s such a departure from the slowness of my work in the studio, considering that in a good year I make 6 pastel paintings.
Q: What did you buy in Bali to use in your work?
Objects from Bali and Taiwan
A: I bought a few small things: a mask, a carved wooden “wedding pair,” and a ceramic monkey (from a Taiwan airport shop) that will most likely be subject matter for future photographs and pastel paintings.
Q: How do you think your time in Bali will affect your work?
Barbara in her favorite sarong; photo by Donna Tang
A: There is always a long gestation period as I reflect on the new experiences, sights, sounds, etc. after a trip. Bali is a fascinating place – the only Hindu outpost in the world’s most populous Muslim country – so I’m reading everything I can find. I’ve finished an historical novel, Love and Death in Bali, about the 1906 mass suicide of the royal family during the Dutch invasion. I’m slowly making my way through Bali: Sekala and Niskala, a densely packed book about the intricacies of Hinduism, rituals, and art, written with the help of our guide, Budi. In the short term I’m using more green pastels in my paintings. Amidst all of the tropical lushness, I must have seen thousands of shades of green. The volcano shapes in “Absence,” a pastel painting completed last week (see post of JUL 20), resulted from this trip. Other, more pronounced effects will probably show up later.
Q: Would you share a few more photos from your trip to Bali?
Temple entrance in a private house compound
Barong dancer in Batabulan Village
Rice paddies
Rinsing dye from double-ikat weavings in Tenganan
Kitchen
Q: I understand that you recently traveled to Bali. What did you see and do there?
A: Bali is such a fascinating place and I have so many great memories! I shot lots of photographs on this trip. Here are a few of my favorites.
A floating Hindu temple
Kecak dance performance under the full moon in Uluwatu
Hotel on the Indian Ocean in Tanah Lot
Boy in traditional Hindu dress at a fifty year festival in Blahbatuh
Ancient rice field terraces in Jatiiluwih
Q: Are you close to finishing any pastel paintings?
“Absence” not quite finished
A: I’m putting finishing touches on a small one, “Absence,” which is 26″ x 20″ unframed. It depicts paper mache figures that I bought some years ago in Oaxaca and Mexico City. I added those two blue and white “volcano” shapes on the left after my recent trip to Bali. Check out the dust (and torn pastel wrappers) on the easel. That’s what inspired the name of my blog.
barbararachkoscoloreddust.com 