The Cabbage Art & Scarf Invitational
See this Kickstarter Project

The Cabbage Art & Scarf Invitational

For the past couple of years I’ve been taking photos of the amazing colors and patterns in decorative cabbages and using these images as source material for making art – working mainly in pixel-based media but also in pastels and other traditional forms. Now I’ve launched a project on Kickstarter.com that invites you to choose winners, tournament style, from a series of “cabbage contender” sources. I’ll transform the top vote-getters into finished artworks, then ask you to vote again, picking which of these I should turn into limited-edition silk scarves.   
 
    Cabbage Contenders Vote is Concluded

---

The Tournament

Be part of the creative process! First I’ll present our source material – a series of photos I've taken of the gorgeous colors and patterns to be found in decorative cabbages. I will ask you to pick the best images through a series of votes, tournament style, and I’ll transform these winners into gallery-quality works of art.

Then you vote again, picking which of the finished artworks I should develop into designs for limited-edition scarves.

Anyone can vote here on my website, but Kickstarter backers qualify for regular updates plus special rewards such as archival prints, note cards, scarves (of course) or even original paintings.

"Vein Reflections" (digital media)

Why the Collaboration?

With a background in science, I’ve always been fascinated by how the forces of nature produce random and infinite variations based on an underlying structure. By crowd-sourcing the image choices for this project, I’m asking backers to serve as the mighty force of natural selection. The more who participate, the more clearly the winners will stand out.

Vein Fan" (digital media)

How, exactly, does this work?

Elimination Rounds: Every four or five days during the first weeks of the tournament, there will be a new set of Cabbage Contenders to choose from. The Cabbage Vote Pages will appear here on my website, with links on the Kickstarter updates and on Facebook and Google+. Participants will determine two winners from each set, which I’ll then develop into archival-quality artworks – either pixel-based or using traditional media such as pastels.

Final Round: Then you'll vote again, choosing which of the finished Finalists (including the already finished artworks on this page) I should develop into special designs for silk scarves.

The tournament occurs simultaneous with the Kickstarter campaign, and I’ll be posting short videos showing the steps of creative development for some of the artworks.

"Bed Head" (digital media)

Why scarves?

Scarves are works of art in their own right, with their own design challenges. There’s also something very satisfying about the fabric aspect – how a pattern changes depending on how it’s draped or folded. Wearing an artist scarf also makes the art more personal. And, of course, it can still be hung on the wall.

Why Cabbages?

Decorative cabbages, with their ruffles, veins and vibrant hues, offer the artist an amazing array of colors and patterns. I also like the contrast between the cabbage’s humble status and the gorgeous compositions it can inspire. Although I take photos of anything around me that’s visually interesting, cabbages have become my largest image category.

"Sudden Inspiration" (digital media)

Original Source Image

Finished Art ("Purple Lava")

36" X 36" Silk Scarf Design

Wicked Cabbage Queen II (digital media)

How Do I Work?

The starting point for each of the artworks that we'll create for this series will be a digital photograph with an interesting composition or color scheme. Most of these source photos need some initial work just to see what possibilities they might hold and to convince me that they have real potential.

To transform the Elimination Rounds winners into finished art, I’ll use a variety of methods – digital painting, traditional painting, collaging, iPad apps and so on. They’ll be optimized for on-screen viewing, since that’s the form in which you’ll judge them in the Final Round, but I’ll also adjust them for optimal results as wall art.

Why Kickstarter?

Kickstarter offers the ideal venue for my “survival of the fittest” approach to image creation. It lets me reach a lot of people who not only want to support creative efforts but also like to join in the creative process. The more they get involved in the selecting, the more powerful they become as forces of artistic evolution. And importantly, Kickstarter requires a single, specific project, which helps me focus my efforts. (So many paintings to do, so little time.)

Rose Fan in Red & Blue

The Cabbage Art & Scarf Invitational tournament
is running in conjunction with my solo exhibition sponsored by
the Capitol Hill Art League and the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop.

July 7 - July 31

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
545 7th Street SE
Washington, DC 20003

 Please join me in the creative process!

---