Sumile’s binoculars
すみれの作った双眼鏡
Mixed technique, 140x140mm
One day, my daughter created a toy binocular using pieces from a 3D puzzle.
The combination of colors and structure was so original and fascinating that I felt compelled to preserve it in the form of a personal artwork.
While working on the piece, she became curious about the project and started doodling in my preparatory sketchbook,
so I took the opportunity to involve her in creating the initial design.
As a way to also study color, we used mainly old pigments that are rarely seen today—natural minerals and natural dyes derived from plants and animals.
Pigments used
Lapis lazuli, malachite, minium, copper resinate (resinato di rame), gamboge, dragon’s blood, cochineal, rose madder, weld lake (arzica), stil de grain, Tyrian purple, vine black
Cyan and magenta transparent (Schmincke Mussini)
On the front and back of the toy binoculars made from puzzle pieces, there are transparent parts in four colors — red, blue, yellow, and clear — serving as lenses.
By combining different colors for the eyepiece and objective lenses, it becomes possible to see a wide variety of colorful worlds.
When I look through the red one, “the blue gets a little darker… like kinda navy, and the gold (yellow) turns kinda orange.
And… the white turns pink.”
When I look through the blue one, “the red becomes like red-purple, and the yellow turns like light green, and… the white turns sky blue.”And then…
When I look with the yellow one, “the red… it turns pink! And the blue… it looks like, umm… emerald!
And… and the white gets, like, a little yellow.”
When it’s white, “it’s just… the same color.”