Magical Neon

Cauldrons are black and skillets are copper, but my representation of them is in bright neon-like colours. 

In old times, the nourishing aspect of cauldrons was mixed up with magic and witchcraft.

Neon lights are magical to me.  They feel like the product of witchcraft or alchemy, even if I know well that there is a scientific explanation for their brightness and sparkle.  They illuminate dark nights and add a touch of magic to city centres.

“The Witching Cauldron” is made with fabrics hand-dyed by myself, using fused appliqué and machine stitching.  42” by 31.5”.

If you slide the photos up and down the page a little, with the cursor on the slider, some of the colours seem to flicker and shine.

Rock Star

This challenge was really fun.  I got off to a late start, thinking and trying several ideas until I came up with this one. "Neon" reminds me of nightclubs, bar signs and sometimes the your-name-in-lights idea of fame.

I ran upstairs and recruited one of my favorite "models" to pose for this portrait. I used a desk light to create a single light source, to resemble a stage spotlight.  He was already playing guitar so he didn't really have to work too hard. LOL

To fulfil the challenge, I used neon-colored fabrics in green, yellow and red-orange, as well as some neon blue and pink threads.  For my overall theme of "reflection", the shiny metal surfaces of the button on the guitar strap and the tuners seem to fit the bill.  Reflection could also refer to the way Graeson turns to music when he wants to chill out alone.  He becomes absorbed in the music as he improvises melodies.  Not having any musical ability myself, I find it fascinating. It seems like a form of meditation or mental escape.

technical details:

finished size 28"W x 42"H

cotton fabric, hand cut and layered and secured using raw-edge applique, quilting with hand-guided free motion stitching, rayon and polyester threads

Neon Memories

When I think of “Neon”, it reminds me of my first car.  A 1995 Dodge Neon in ‘Electric Metallic Blue”. I loved that car! I admit I drove way too fast back then, but it felt like such a shame to drive conservatively in a superhero colored baby like this.

Every day I drove an hour to work and an hour back home, singing along with the radio at the top of my lungs.  Oh yes, I’m a great “car singer” – similar to a “shower singer” but with less water. The year I bought the car, I was a twenty-something girl with a little money in my pocket, good friends and (much underappreciated) free time.  I collected a lot of memories and a few speeding tickets during the Electric Metallic Blue reign.

I put over 100,000 miles on my little Neon before it was time to trade her in for a more “grown up” Honda Civic. By then, I had the same job and same great friends, but I also had a child seat in the back and I obeyed the speed limit.

Drawing with light

The word neon brings out thoughts of big advertising billboards in the centres of big cities. 

I have also seen the work of some artists that have used the neon tubes in their work. This is Bruce Nauman's "Five Marching Men".

Searching for images in the web, some wonderful things have been made with neon tubes.  Really I see it more as drawing with light. This is a piece by Charles McGee.

I ‘drew with light’ in a way, when playing with moving my camera while taking pictures of Christmas tree lights.

This last one feels to me like fireworks.

Alicia