For the project this a week I decided to work on the metallic textured openings to the basements of most restaurants and bodegas. It is a texture that is on nearly every block in NYC. I find this underground world interesting – Does anyone know of any secret bars or social clubs using one of these spaces?

While I am basing this weeks texture on the basement openings found all over NYC, the rubbing itself was done in my apartment. If you’ve been outside lately you’ll understand why I decided to stay indoors to get this rubbing done.

I’m still searching for the perfect medium for this project and I’ve been steadily getting closer. This week, I decided to work with crayola crayons based on this article on grave stone rubbings . I will be ordering the special wax cakes and interfacing fabric for my next post so stay tuned for those results.

In my previous post I found that oil pastels capture textures nicely at first, however, when you begin layering them the image and colors become muddy. I expected the waxiness of the crayon to maintain color crispness and separation when layered.

The results of using the crayola were as I expected. They worked nicely to capture the texture, the only drawback is/was that it is difficult to get a really vibrant color from the crayons b/c of their waxiness.

Pre-planning

I’ll be using the landing at the top of my stairs. Which, happens to be the same texture as the basement doors.

Step 1.

Cover area in tracing paper and tape the paper down.

Step 2.

Pick color palette and start adding color.

Step 3.

Maxwell giving me feedback on my work.

Step 4.

Finished! I kind of like the effect that my shadow in the photo has on the image.