Layout - from sketch to digital

 

INITIAL PHASE

I had some pieces of a rosewood room divider in my garage from years past. We had no use for the divider, so it was taken apart with decorative pieces saved. The sketches were made considering parts of the divider, and scrap wood available to me. 

The shape of the middle sketch seemed the most iconic. From there, a digital sketch in Illustrator was made.

 

A digital layout was done in Illustrator.

Printed in full scale tiles, I taped the pieces together, and hung it up to get a feel for how the final might look.

 

LAYOUT REDESIGN
The panel design has gone through several reiterations, and currently looks like this. I've added some historical context to the panel by including symbols. The blue bird was the Massachusetts symbol for suffrage in 1915. The scales (upper right) represent the unbalanced justice system. Etchings depict how women were often painted and represented Western culture. The women's portraits will be hand-painted and fired in a kiln.

The arched window on top with a mirror is still part of the design (not shown). On it, I will paint a scene from The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan. This story, written in the 1300's during the Middle Ages, was an educational tool for woman, which advocated for them as valuable members of society.

current redesign of first panel