Editing Feminist Ink

Where does the time go? So much for my intentions of consistent blogging, apparently that’s NOT happening. Instead, I’ve been consumed the past few weeks with editing my “Feminist Ink” series. I found my collection of Thesis drawings over the winter break and thought cleaning up the 20 year old concept drawings to make available on AEFraser.com would be a fun little challenge. Challenge, definitely yes, fun, not so much. I scanned in the hefty stack of 32 [11” x 17”] pen and ink drawings, thinking Hey! These are cool, they will add some interesting depth and dimension to my “getting to know your artist series” that I started here on the blog a few months ago. I don’t know if you are realizing this about me or not, but nothing I ever do is fast or easy. The quick clean up that I imagined was going to happen ended up being a major rework on each image, some taking as long as 10-12 hours respectively. What was I thinking? You decide. Here is the before and after example of “Moon Blooming”:
So you can see what I’m talking about? Yeah, I probably should have left the original drawings as they were and called it a day but curiosity (and maybe OCD) got the best of me. I must admit, while I can’t say whether or not the effort is “worth it” (by whatever standards), I am much happier with version 2. And that’s all that matters, uh, right? Anyway, I’ve completed 16 so far but I still have 16 left to edit. That will probably kill another few weeks, the thought of which pretty much leaves me dying. But you know, worth it. There has been some encouragement; I am pleased to say that the first few Feminist Ink drawings have already received a bit of interest on Pinterest. So that’s kind of thrilling…?
As of today, I’ve burnt through all of my tablet nibs and killed the protective screen on my XP-Pen device so I’m being forced to take a break while I wait for the Amazon fairy to deliver the replacements. In the meantime, I went back through the “Dissecting The Western Woman Artist; An Artist's Dialogue” chapters posted last month and added the new completed Feminist Ink images. They weren’t all a perfect match but the chapters look so much more inviting with their snazzy new illustrations! Yes, it’s probably silly for me to be excited about it, but I do feel optimistic about my book being of consequence again. Especially after finding many current bibliography references still linked back to the older version. I feel terrible I broke the links when I had to take it down a few years ago, but it couldn’t be helped when my website was updated.
Hopefully they find the book again here on the Amy E. Fraser Art Blog when they need it. However I kind of hope students don’t start writing to me again in the guise of wanting to interview me, while secretly attempting to manipulate me into writing their papers for them. Back in the day I was so flattered by their sweet requests that I actually fell for it! Not any longer, being a mother has severely jaded me (LOL). I’m sure that will no longer be the case anymore anyway as the content is a bit dated after twenty years. I think a wave or two of Feminism has passed me by while I’ve been hiding up here in my magical fairytale forest. Whatever the case, I think that while opinions, concepts and politics may evolve and change, the art stands alone and remains timelessly relevant because its true meaning is discovered and narrated by each individual viewer.
So anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. I’ll be busy with editing the second half of the Feminist Ink series for a few more weeks but I do already have another new project on the horizon. Remember at the end of my last post, how I joked about the Feminist Ink drawings not being a hit with the puppies and kittens crowd? It got me thinking and drawing in-between edits. You probably won’t believe this but for some reason I was compelled to create a bunch of Cat drawings! Oh my! I have to say I adore them! I liked them so much I’ve decided to turn them into a painting series. Ridiculous right? But I couldn’t help myself; I’ve already named the collection “The Hauz Katz”. But, you know, they will have to wait until I finish this project. And I really shouldn’t be thinking of new paintings, especially because I already have all of those other projects that still need editing… like the Parsons Paintings, the Exalted Beauty portraits, the Sourdough photos and The Legend of Hare Terra… But the muse leads where it leads. Wish me luck!
Here is the official “Moon Blooming” description from the website:
Moon Blooming by Amy E. Fraser. The Feminist Ink collection is a series of dark, surrealistic, female focused, stylized figurative art, depicting Feminist, Womanist and Humanist subject matter from the perspective of the artist in 2000. This body of work explores Western Cultural ideals of gender, female fertility, feminine intellect, and societal constructs of strength and beauty. These black and white works are hand drawn in pen and ink. The original drawings were created in 2000 and digitally enhanced in 2020. This drawing is part of a series of 32 concept sketches created in 2000 for Amy E. Fraser’s Dartmouth College, Master of Arts and Liberal Studies Thesis: “Dissecting The Western Woman Artist; An Artist's Dialogue”.
The final paintings that evolved from these works were published in Amy E. Fraser’s book “Dissecting The Western Woman Artist; An Artist's Dialogue” and featured at Amy E. Fraser’s solo exhibition entitled “Confronting Femininity” Recent Paintings, October 2001, at Gallery Alexie, 529 West 20th Street, New York, NY.
“Dissecting The Western Woman Artist; An Artist's Dialogue” by Amy E. Fraser is conceived as a symbolic autopsy discussing both the societal as well as the personal meaning and intention of the artist’s figurative work from that time period. The entire book is available to read online at the Amy E. Fraser Art Blog. Original Hard Copy Publication by Dartmouth College, Copyright 2000. All versions of related art and text, Copyright Amy E. Fraser. All rights reserved.
Here is a link to the Feminist Ink Gallery
For more Art and Information on Amy E. Fraser go to Aefraser.com