75
Drawing as space?
Yes, here the drawing is composed of the areas of
empty space created by piercing the paper with a
needle. The front side of a paper piercing piece is
supposed to be the back, or, the side where the pin
emerged—the side with the more obvious holes.
But it’s interesting to try both, experiment, and use
whichever side you prefer.
This is such a beautiful and subtle way to draw, and I
frequently use this technique in conjunction with other
methods. I really enjoy piercing words and sentences
into my drawings; it adds texture and acts as a secret
message contained within, often unnoticeable at first
sight. I always make my piercings freehand instead of
lightly sketching them in pencil first, as I feel that this
provides a more organic, wobbly result. I guess that
because I am so drawn to using dots to shade and
texture my drawings, a pierced hole is bound to be
something I’d enjoy!
You’re going to need something to make your
holes—a push pin, safety pin, or ideally some sewing
needles—and it’s nice to have a few of various
thicknesses. It’s best to use a thicker piece of paper or
a thin cardstock for this exercise as thinner papers are
more likely to tear. You also don’t want to bore holes
into your desk, so make sure that you have some
corrugated cardboard, an old mouse pad, or a piece
of foam core behind the paper when piercing a hole.
Finally, you’ll need your soft graphite pencil.
Drawing as
Space
STARSCAPE
For this adventure you’re going to re-create the night sky on the opposite page using
pierced holes for stars. It’s probably best to create this on a separate sheet of paper and
then tape it onto this page (otherwise the next adventure will also be full of holes!).
First, use a dark graphite pencil to shade your page. Smoothly color in the background
to make a dark sky and then you can try adding darker masses in some areas to suggest
clouds. Decide if you’d like to pierce holes through the shaded or white side of the
paper. Then take your needles and pierce through this dark night page to show the
stars. You can add them randomly or in the shape of constellations.
Glue your own version of the night sky on the opposite page. Through the holes we
will see this white page, which will depict the bright stars. Make more of these night
sky pieces to tape up against windows, or use them to create lampshades, as paper
piercing looks incredibly beautiful when light is allowed to stream through the holes.
TIPS
Push straight down with your pin or needle
rather than at an angle to make a neat,
even hole.
Compare the different holes made with a
needle, push pin, or safety pin, then exploit
these different effects in your drawing.
76 > Fearless Drawing
Drawing as Space > 77
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