The Don't Let Go Line Dance - large charcoal piece and technique experimentations

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Today was a day of experimentation. I wanted to explore taping charcoal to my feet and drawing as I danced across the floor. I tried multiple ways and placements for taping the charcoal to my feet and ended up settling for the way I have shown in the images below. I enjoyed the freedom of experimentation and played around with different motifs first with my hands and then practiced spinning and drawing curves on the parcel paper. The paper was not the most durable and I was worried that it may not withstand the pressure and friction of dancing a full routine on it but I was going to give it a go.




I hadn't been specifically trying to draw anything on my experimentaly page because I was more focused on the process so it amused me when I displayed the experimental piece on my wall that a vague outline of a naked lady appeared from the marks on the page. I am surrounded by women who use nudity in their work and it must be subconsciously impacting my work. Mad how the human brain works. Glad I took the time to display it properly to photograph it because I wouldn't have noticed the figure otherwise.



Time-lapse of creation: https://youtu.be/pDzvsFfx_d0

The Don't Let Go line dance failed performance video: https://youtu.be/aj7YQ1WPTGM

Once I had mastered the tape contraption that would hold the charcoal to my feet I set about to create the Don't Let Go line dance in full size on a sheet of parcel paper that I had created by taping three widths of rolls together. I ran out of paper on the last strip which is why there is a corner missing but I decided to push through any setback I faced because if I focused on why it wasn't perfect I would never do anything. The charcoal was taped to my foot in a way that required a pointed toe for the charcoal to make a mark on the paper. I didn't manage to do the routine at full speed and rather walked through the steps trying to mark the individual moves. It loses the continuous line quality of the whiteboard drawings but gains a stronger feeling of movement with the choppy charcoal gestural lines.

I like the daintiness of the time-lapse but wish I had recorded it a little slower to have been able to see more steps because it felt a little rushed.

The performance piece was the straw that broke the camels back. The predictions I feared came true when I span too vigorously during the routine and tore the piece of paper. I was really upset that it had torn because it had been going so well up until that point. Tearing the paper compromised the structural integrity of the entire sheet and I decided not to risk ripping it further and cut the routine short after just two walls. I'm trying to embrace failure however so I am documenting it to remind future me that I have failed and gotten back up again because I am not going to give up.

The Don't Let Go line dance pre perforance, March 2021, charcoal on parcel paper, 3m x 3m

The Don't Let Go line dance pre perforance, March 2021, charcoal on parcel paper, 3m x 3m

The Don't Let Go line dance post failed performance, March 2021, charcoal on parcel paper, 3m x 3m










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