Projections

So this past week was really just a continuation of drawing, I spent about 6 hours or so working on those, in addition to several hours of browsing and subsequent reading that stemmed from our visit to the Fine Arts library (foolishly I forgot to take pictures of my progress, they will be added to this blog when I am up at my studio tomorrow!)

I have to say I really enjoyed our visit to the library, if only because the artist I was suggested on my notecard led me to some fascinating discoveries. First off, the work of Lee Bontecou has been a favorite of mine since I saw the Frankel's personal collection of some of her work for a field trip in my freshman year drawing class. She's is most well known for her sculpture, which is incredible, but while I was at the Frankel's I saw some abstract drawings of hers that simply enchanted me. It was strange for me at the time, because her work is so abstract and that experience gave me an appreciation for that type of artwork that I didn't really have before. Now, I don't know how, but somehow these drawings fell away from the forefront of my mind, only to surface again this past week as I looked through books of her work as suggested. What I found amazed me. The similarities of her work to mine were uncanny, and I found one drawing in particular, one that I had never seen, that resembled one of my drawings so much my jaw dropped! A few years back I may have been irked by this, probably taking it as a cue that my work is unoriginal and therefore no good. This time around though, I felt amazed and inspired and connected to an artistic mindset that I want to be a part of, that I am becoming a part of. I can't help but think it is an indicator of my progress as an artist, thinker, and citizen of the art community.

I adore these. Lee Bontecou, you amaze me.

Julie Mehretu's work is wonderful on a number of levels. It is lively and complicated and reminds me a lot of my own drawings, but she intersects drawing and painting in a way that truly intrigues me. In addition, her work has me thinking about the possible use of color in my drawings, and its something I'd like to explore as soon as I finish the pieces I am currently working on (which will be this week, if I have anything to say about it!)

piece by Julie Mehretu

As for this coming week, I have a visit to Hollander's penciled in for this Tuesday evening. It was suggested that I talk to them about getting large rolls of paper, and I am sure they have better resources than the ones I managed to rustle up on Google, so fingers crossed! My fingers are really itching to get something large scale out, and after a suggestion from Collin I'd really like to try projecting my smaller drawings onto some larger paper and use the projection to start a loose compositional skeleton. I like the idea of having a starting place and then letting the greater details of the drawing. So getting a hold of a projector in addition to the paper will be another assignment for this coming week. Lastly, I'd like to experiment with some color. It's an avenue I haven't explored in these drawings much yet, and I'd like to see if the road might lead to anything interesting. You never know!

Large-Scale Thoughts

So this week, in addition to continuing work on my current drawing (for about an hour or so), I decided to start two more (that was another four hours or so, in addition to doing some reading and research for another two hours or so, you'd think I would have gotten more done with fall break and all but alas, my entire family was sick. You know how that goes. Thanks a lot, Cleveland!). I figure with multiple drawings happening, whenever one gets a bit frustrating or tense, whenever the flow is just off, or when I just get a little ADD (which happens way more often than I like to admit), I can switch over to the next project and voila! More productivity.

new drawings

The bit on the right looks a bit like a dragon wing. Totally unintentional.

I'm continuing to work on the lokta paper that I used for the first drawing. I like where it comes from and how its made, it has such a great, sustainable story behind it, but also the texture is fantastic. When I draw on it, it feels like, I'm pulling up the fibers from its depth and showing all the layers of complexity beneath its surface.

I've also been contemplating how, if I want a surface such as this, I will be able to make my drawings large-scale. I keep envisioning them at a grand size; I suppose I want them to be as overwhelming as the topics that inspire them are to me, but how I can go about this and use materials that I prefer will be an experiment. I did a couple hours of research this week on the topic of paper. Large scale rolls are available, but I'm not quite sure if its the type of paper I want to use. Though I did find rolls of paper 10 yards long, that would be daunting, but fun enough that it is hard to resist. A drawing 10 yards long, I think I'd have to call it 'First Down'...

Anyways, this coming week I have a lot of work ahead of me (who knew?). I need to have multiple finished drawings to better see where I am heading, to better understand how this will translate into a large, finished body of work. I keep wanting to work large, so I think I should make that leap in the coming week, at least get the material for it, in addition to continuing drawing and thinking/reading/researching as per usual. And to think this coming weekend will be Halloween, this semester is moving way too fast for my liking.

One last side note: this week I am getting a papyrus plant! Experiments with my own handmade papyrus? I think yes!

Productivity

What a busy week! Proposal is finally in, but even more exciting, I feel like I'm starting to carve out a real path in my work.

So I must admit, I spent quite a bit of time writing the proposal for IP, probably over six hours, and of course I couldn't resist spending an hour or two researching and digging up material sources (I might be getting a papyrus plant for free! Can you say paper-making?!), but I spent about 4 hours or so this week on this drawing:

It is an abstract piece, drawing from all of my sources of inspiration, especially organic influences like wood grain and walnuts. The high level of detail in the process is intensely satisfying, and the drawing itself was a process of constant action and reaction; every line paved the way for the next. But it wasn't overly thoughtful, which is what I have been striving to do this entire semester. It only took me until fall break to find that! Oh well, I plan on starting another one or two this weekend in addition to continuing this drawing throughout next week. I don't have any solid goal in mind, just seeing where the process leads me in my exploration of nature and systems. So a little less writing than usual in this blog post means more time to gather materials, more time to draw. I am very excited at the prospect of drawing, drawing and drawing... It's time to get productive!

Cartography

The review of our finished project we had to write for this week, along with some group discussion, really helped define some new thoughts I have about the direction of my work. My focus on networks, and mapping those networks as I see them, is definitely becoming more apparent. I'd like to start illustrating patterns, using drawing to better understand how I view all these systems, how they function, where I feel I fit in them, where my viewers fit in them, etc... I spent about 4 or 5 hours drawing, sketching, making thought maps, and another 3 or so reading and researching (maybe more, sometimes I get lost in internet articles and lose track of time...)

loose sketches and thoughts on my whiteboard...these are also continued on paper in my sketchbook

a photo I took in Madagascar and the beginnings of a drawing, experiments on surface

I'm trying to understand what separates systems we openly recognize and construct, and others that remain underground and work much more silently but are still vastly important, so in this unfinished illustration I flipped a tree on its side, what's that space between the branches and the roots' significance?

This week I read an article written by Francis Moore Lappe, in discussion of the Global Food Movement. This quote really struck a cord with me:

"At its best, this movement ecnourages us to 'think like an ecosystem,' enabling us to see place for ourselves connected to all other, for in ecological systems 'there are no parts, only participants'"...

So even that space in that tree illustration above is participating. How is each aspect of my project participating, what is the significance?

After small group discussions during studio time this week, the idea of maps, especially of thought maps, has been pushed to the forefront of my mind. It was suggested that I make some word illustrations of my own, my own thought systems, and this is what I would like to pursue next week. Artist Simon Evans makes just that, he is a cartographer of his personal universe, and while I am not quite as interested in mapping as personal a singular perspective as he is, I like this idea of thought maps to chart the territories of my incessant inner ramblings.

Creator of the Week
Simon Evans

Simon Evans' version of a world map: all his own thoughts and perceptions

Evans use of his many thoughts to make drawings, incredibly detailed and intricate drawings, eases my own thought-filled mind. They are quite absorbing, even if you cannot fully follow his contemplation. I want to try my own take on this, incorporating my own interests, of course, and see how they are all participating in the world and in the realm of my project. Hopefully I'll chart previously unknown territory, find some connections I wasn't aware of, and make some drawings of my new discoveries like some pencil-and-paper wielding pirate. Funny, I never thought piracy would end up in my senior project...