Saturday, December 1, 2012
Week 10
What I did:
I fixed my hand drawing to
be more proportional and have better perspective. I started to do my
first “re-drawing” of the hand that will create the moving
sensation. It was a lot of work for little pay off, so I went into a
new direction. I focused on a simple sphere form and conducted 10
small experiments working with highlight, shadows, transparency,
moralization, looping effects, single moving entities, and a
compilations of each. I started my powerpoint for the presentation
and have written and rewritten explanations and descriptions of what
I will say during the presentation.
What
I accomplished/ discovered/ encountered:
I have learned that I have a really
hard time staying on task and staying motivated though this process.
My academic classes are taking a lot of my energy and time and I find
that I don't have much left over for my art and for exploration. I
just can't wait until my creative writing class is over. It is all
busy work- I send 7 hours having to critique other peoples writing,
not focusing on my own growth and practice. I am really irritated by
it. ---back to IP--- I really enjoyed dissecting my process and doing
experiments with my drawings through simple forms. It has given me a
way to find solutions to move forward with out much commitment. I
think the commitment part of this process has been the most
debilitating of them all. I wish I started doing this experiments a
lot sooner so that I could be on my way to producing actual stuff
that will go into the show. But as I continue, my thoughts and
experiences change with every new thing I do.
What is next:
I am going to continue doing
experiments with my drawings with a focus on light, and movement.
I am looking forward to a new semester.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Week 7-9
What
I did:
I
finished my large drawing that I mentioned in my last post and also
added some movement to the image. I started my next drawing and got
the structure down, now I need to complete the movement. I wrote a
proposal for my IP project and my Grant proposal that included images
I developed of how I imagine the installation to look. I did a lot of
research on bacteria and observed how it moves and grows. I made a
map of my thoughts in my studio. I also met with my sociology
professor to share my work with her and get any incite on how to make
my work go from an individual “concern” to a social “issue.”
I met with my poetry teacher to talk to him about my work and get
some references that deal with “looping” of time, unsettling
content, and ambiguity in visual and written art. I met with two
lovely women in the Development of Language & Literacy
department to talk about dyslexia relating to my art and as a
personal endeavor. I also met with a psychology grad student in
charge of a research campaign for children and adolescents with
depression. By meeting with these various people I am beginning to
grow and find my own type of audience and network for my work.
What
I accomplished/ discovered/ encountered:
While
trying to finish my last drawing with the girl on the island, I got
very discouraged. I hated what I was doing and I didn't find any
meaning in it at all. This concerned me because this drawing was one
that I have wanted to do for the last couple of years. I thought it
would be a cathartic experience; I thought that catharsis was the
main drive for my work. But I was wrong. The drawing was very
personal and had a lot of elements that I was juggling with. In
addition to that, I was trying to express something that I just could
not see in this piece, making me even more discouraged to finish it.
I eventually got, what I felt I need to do to, done so that I could
move on to the next thing. I learned that I needed to simplify my
idea and focus on the subtitles that I am most interested in. I
started my next drawing and it was of a small section of the body,
the wrist. I pushed the wrist and hand in a strained position and
framed it thoughtfully. From there I fell back in love with my
drawing technique because I was much more apart of this drawing then
the last one. Choosing a smaller section of the body and simplifying
my approach allowed me to think about what was important. It make me
think more about what I am trying to communicate, how I want the
viewer to experience my work, and how I am going to accomplish it. I
am in a much better place now.
What
is next:
I
am going to continue drawing and experimenting with ways of
incorporating motion within drawings. I am going to experiment with
lighting, value shifts, and perspective/positioning of my drawings. I
am also going to experiment with ways to display my work, whether it
me with projectors or monitors or other materials.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Week 6
What
I did:
I feel like I just wrote a blog post. This week has gone by fast and not a lot has changed sense last week. I did not get to spend a much time in the studio this week because I was ill and have been feel a bit down on myself. But I am here now drawing. I will finish my drawing by Monday and then start a new one. My proposal is complete as well.
What
I accomplished/ discovered/ encountered:
After writing my proposal for the second time, after peer discussion, I was able to narrow my interests and see what I want to apply to this project in particular. I think before I was thinking about all my interest as a whole rather than as being in relation to one project. I have to remember that this is one of many project I will do in my life time and I don't have to stuff all my interests into one project. Right now I am just doing a lot of drawing and creating samples of what is possible. Eventually I will have to start getting my narrative set in concrete and write down what I want to communicate.
What
is next:
I am going to keep making sample drawings and animations. By thanksgiving I will see what I have and create a more solid narrative with my drawings.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Week 5
What
I did:
This week I spent a lot of time in the
studio drawing, about 9 hours in total. I messed around with making
animations on photoshop, 6 hours. I started a new drawing that will
be animated which I am taking extra time on because I want it to look
complete, 5 hours. I also started creating a more professional
website for my graphic design work, 6 hours so far.
What
I accomplished/ discovered/ encountered:
I figured out the direction I want to
go for my IP project. It will consist of digital illustrations that
are slightly animated. Like I have said before, I realized that
ambiguity is an important element that I need to incorporate into my
work because I think reveling just a enough will create the poetic
conversation I am looking work. This will also create some distance
between me and my work which is what I was concerned about before. I
have also been getting myself ready for potential work opportunities
by recreating a professional website which has work that is a bit
more commercially marketable. I is hard not to think about the
reality of ending school and needing to find job opportunities.
Although I am not doing graphic design and such for IP, it was nice
collecting work I have done and organizing them for me to actually
see what potential I have out side the studio setting.
What
is next:
I am going to continue drawing and
creating slightly animated images. I am going to the library and
check out poetry books and continue writing myself. I am just going
to make, make, make!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Week 4
What
I did:
This
week I finished my three models of possible final projects and wrote
a proposal for one of them. I went to the figure drawing class on
saturday. I drew a little bit more in my sketchbook. I watched many
videos of William Kentridge. I read about the de-medicalization of
Homosexuality. And, I sat around thinking a lot about my values and
made visual representation of them.
What
I accomplished/ discovered/ encountered:
I
would have never thought that IP would create such a world wind of
emotions inside of me. I mean, at the beginning of the day I feel
wonderful, fully confidant in my direction, and then by the end of
the day I am beaten down, scared and confused all over again. Looking
at my personal values this week has put some things in perspective
for me. I realized that my values are influenced by others in my life
and it put a lot of strain on what I want to create. These values
have made me want to censor my work. It may seem wrong to allow
others to influence/censer what I want to make, but I realized that
this is a challenge for me. Having some censorship in my work is
important because it creates some ambiguity. I realized that
narration is important to me. And, ambiguity can create a sense of
poetry that I am looking for in my work. I realized that saying a
little can say a lot. With my past work, I have been very literal and
“in your face” about my subject and context. I can still create
imagery that is emotionally driven, and powerful without being so
explicit. I want to start focusing on the little things, not the
whole picture.
What
is next:
I
will continue exploring and doing what I have been doing, research
and making. But I am going to start writing a lot more. I am going to
set 1 hour aside each day for me to write.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Week 3
What I did:
This week I spent a lot of time in the studio. On Saturday I spent
five hours drawing. On Sunday I checked out two more books from the
library that pertain to hypochondria and hysteria, as well as
medieval medical illustrations. I spent two hours looking through
these books. Monday I continued to practice my drawing for two and a
half hours. Tuesday, we were assigned to think about three options or
directs we are leaning towards as our final project and make a model
of each. For my first option, I want to create a large panel with
many drawings of memories I had as a child, some are real and some
are made up by my own imagination as a kid, and stories I have heard
from my parents. The drawings will be arranged similarly to a comic
book but with out a forced sequence. This project will highlight my
drawing style and be a cathartic experience for
me. I spend about five hours in total making my first option. My
second option involves a collection of home videos from my childhood
and creating a composition and narrative with small looping clips of
my past. I am still currently work on it, but so far I have spent six
hours in total downloading and converting files to edit. My third
option involves three dimensional form. I spent three hours last
night pouring alginate on my face. None of the pieces came out, so I
have to talk to John in the ceramics department to see what I am
doing wrong.
What I
accomplished/ discovered/ encountered:
I have tackled
and learned a lot this week about where I am going in this process. I
learned that this time is the best time to make mistakes and not to
be afraid of making them. So, I should make and make and make, and
then later make decisions. I learned that it is important to do lots
of research on what interests me and what influences my work so that
my work is more credible, which also open up multiple markets for
where my work will fit in the real world.
What is next:
I will continue
doing research, making mistakes, diving into different materials and
mediums, and keep my mind and eyes open for my next “AH-HA”
moment.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Visuals
This is a drawing I did yesterday.
It is one of many drawings I will do that will culminate into my own visual language.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Week 2
What I did:
This week I drew 5 self portraits,
about 4 hours in total. I read an article on hysteria in the 18th
and 19th century and created a collection of interesting
thought from my reading, 1 hour. I read about the history of
vibrators, 1 hour. I went to the library and checked out 8 books.
Some of the books are about artist, drawing technique, graphic
design, drawing the anatomy, and others are about medical
illustrations in medieval time, poetry on anxiety, and the physiology
of hypochondria, totaling my research at 6 hours. I met with Brad
Smith and talked with him for a while, 45 minutes, about my interest
in going to the cadaver lab. He made me think about a lot of things
that I had not thought about. I gessoed 5 panels so I can start
painting, 2 hours. I started a journal and have been writing down
dreams and memories I had as a child which may become content for my
project.
What I accomplished/ discovered/
encountered:
This week was full of worry and
discovery. I can feel myself becoming closer and closer to the thing
that makes me tick. I have realized that although I know what
interests me, I need to start creating a vocabulary for myself in
order to communicated what I truly want. Doing research, reading and
writing has started an internal dialog for myself, and making
connections are the next step that will make my work more profound. I
also discovered that I have to start jumping into making. I have been
very excited to learn so many new things that the making part has
slowed down. The only way I am going to get good at anything is to
keep doing it. After talking with Brad Smith, I had a chance to
communicated my direction and interests to him and how it is related
to the body. I realized that maybe cadavers are not the right
direction because they have little resemblance to a live or fresh
body, and that my true interest lie in our relationship with our
bodies on a physiological and social stand point. This helped put me
into the direction of where my research should continue.
What I should do next:
Next, I am going to start painting,
collecting more of my thoughts, meet with my sociology professor, and
continue reading the books I got from the library.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Week 1
What I did:
This week was move in week! I am
getting settled into my own personal studio and am making my self
right at home. It is also the week that the first project is due. I
worked on preliminary sketches for an hour in small scale and large
scale. I took references photographs for the drawing I was going to
create for 30 minutes. Then I continued onto my final drawing on
18x22 inch paper. The beginning sketch took 2 hours. I worked in
charcoal for 4 hours, then erased it all, 30 minutes. I worked in pen
for 6 hours. I watched Art 21: Paul McCarthy for 30 minutes. Did some
research on Hypochondria for 45 minutes. And I also e-mailed Brian
Smith to hopefully access the cadaver at the anatomy lab.
What I accomplished/ discovered/
encountered:
The first project gave me an
opportunity to think about what I like about my previous work and
what I don't like. I like my style and I like the body. I don't
always like myself to be the subject, but maybe focus on a
sociological stand point. It made me think critically about what I am
trying to accomplish conceptually. I decided that a theme I want to
explore is Hypochondria. I know for a fact I should continue my
exploration evolving the body. This project for me fell flat because
I was repeating elements from past work that I have already explored.
It is time to move on to the deeper reasons for why the body
fascinates me so much.
What I should do next:
Next week I will do 5 self portraits,
research artists who use their body's and the body in art, read up on
Hypochondriac disorder, and continue collecting and researching
things I am interested in.
Monday, September 10, 2012
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