Mark Making - Origami Frottage

Frottage: A technique that involves rubbing pencil, graphite, chalk, crayon, or another medium onto a sheet of paper that has been placed on top of a textured object or surface. The process causes the raised portions of the surface below to be translated to the sheet. The term is derived from the French frotter, which means ‘to rub’. - MoMA

I recently discovered Sydney based printmaker Annarie Hildebrand and her gorgeous collography prints. She uses everyday objects to create her beautifully composed still life artworks. They are stunning and have intimate textures and depth. It inspired me to find new ways of creating texture and depth, from materials in everyday life.

I started playing around with pencil rubbings, using my graphite pencil over textured things around me. There were some lemon tree leaves, a fern, some other leaves and origami that my little one made. The leaves left a simple natural imprint that was beautiful, but it was the origami that was really interesting for me. The lines of the folds, the play of smooth and rough, the architectural feel of the imprints was more beautiful than I expected.

After scanning the rubbings onto my computer, it seemed appropriate to use them for digital collaging. With some initial ideas like the three below, it felt that a minimal aesthetic could be achieved while maintaining some warmth from the graphite.

To explore further, I thought how would these look as ‘paper houses’ . Continuing with the collaging effect, using simple elements, the above two were created. And to explore further, using color, concepts of homes and pet architecture (the inbetween buildings on unusually shaped lots of land, especially in Tokyo) the geometric digital collage below came out of this process.

Inbetween buildings - ‘Pet Architecture’

Thank you for reading my last art blog post for 2022. I’d like to wish you a joyful Christmas and a happy, healthy and creative New Year! Take good care of yourself and see you in 2023!