Jess Wrobel: Textiles and Decor

This project is a departure for me.  I’m still not quite sure how it happened.  I mean, I meant to make a cow–but I thought it would simplistic or cartoonish.  I can’t draw.  I can’t shade.  But something about this seems to be working.  It’s funny.  I worked more than half my life as a floral designer for special events—mostly weddings.  I always found that even though I was designing a bouquet in my hand, right in front of my face,  I had to look in a mirror to see what it really looked like.  It’s shape.  It’s color balance.  With this project, for some reason, I started taking pictures at various stages.  I was having a devil of a time figuring out the shading of the lower snout and mouth.  I couldn’t even tell you how many times I ripped it out and tried again.  The camera shots helped.  Even if I looked at the shots immediately after having taken them, still in the camera, not even downloaded, it gave me perspective.  A perspective that was separated from me. It’s a curious and useful tool.  It could also demonstrate how I tend to get in my own way when I design.  The mirror or camera image seems to separate my id from my ego and just shows me the truth.  Or so I hope.