DRAWING MATERIALITY – TAPE SHIFT

The two drawings on this page, and the drawing a few pages ago, employ what I call Tape Shift (TS).  TS is when you shift the location of pieces of tape around on your paper as you apply your various layers of line and tone.  We will add this to our Drawing Materialities, some of which include Ink Stick, Saran Wrap, etc.

What works best is painter’s tape.  We first used painter’s tape some months ago.  Since that time, I have found various ways to enjoy using it.  Some of these assemblies have gone unremarked.  

The amazing visual property of painter’s tape is that it is 1) semi-transparent and 2) it holds the ink, dye and line tones that you draw onto it.  As you move the tape segments around, you are moving around parts of your drawing.  When you re-apply your prepared tape segments, you can still see thru to the layers below.  You can use thin tape bands.  Or they can be very wide.  This is completely open for interpretation and improvisation.  Tape Shift, like Transparent Drawing, is open source.

As the layers are assembled, the you might want to try to keep the tape over some of the white areas.  In this way, the ever darkening layers are contrasted with the paper.  But don’t follow my direction: listen to the little voices in your own head. The tape bands are moved around in a state of semi consciousness.  You can’t predict the outcome.  Yet because it retains transparency, the outcome will be good.  

And as these two examples demonstrate, holistic form generated and analyzed.