Comfort and Joy, Sid and Nancy Reborn
Sonia and I had another great play session today, involving two plump tartan cushions Sonia salvaged from a skip yesterday. We experimented with putting them inside a box so they looked like the inside of a 'ring-box' which was quite fun but unresolved. We then decided just to go for it with the paint. Having discussed whether to take out the stuffing from inside the cushions we realised this would take from them, the very thing that was so attractive about them and made them what they were....plump cushions. We did not want to rid them of their very essence;their identity! The painting process was fun, natural and quite relaxed. We continued our conversation whilst painting, talking about the way painting is often dismissed as being merely decorative. Is this true? If it is, does it matter? What is wrong with being merely decorative? We discussed as we often do, the necessity for playtime. Ideas are born through playing, wandering and experimenting.
With their tartan origins the cushions now began to look quite 'punk'. They had started life as providers of comfort, the process or transforming them was full of joy. Now they reminded us of Vivienne Westwood. We put safety pins on them and called them Sid and Nancy, reborn.