Where Do You Think We're Going?

set up:

Photos from the show:

Compiling a Second Process Book

As the semester ends and the hype from the thesis exhibition ebbs, I have begun to work on a second process book. Understanding that there is very little time to accomplish this I have chosen to design this book based on the one I created for the first semester.

Here is an example of the cover of last semesters process book followed by the concept for this semesters process book. Making subtle changes to the layout does not distract from the production of a series of books.

Both books will be the same size, but may differ in length.

That's Kind of Dark. show thoughts!

i'm happy with how the show came out. i made a lot of decisions the two weeks before we hung the show, and made a lot of new work as well. it was a hectic two weeks, i felt like all of my thoughts were finally reaching a destination, though, so the work felt good to do.

after realizing i wanted my subject matter to be more uplifting, i made two abstract pieces about light itself. one questioning if light is something you see, or something you feel/believe, referencing to God as light, and how sometimes you don't see God in your life, yet you feel his presence. i imagine closing my eyes after reading this sentence, and thinking about the way light feels on my skin. thats why it is just sun rays in the print, and not the sun itself. even though you can't see the sun you still know its warmth.

my second abstract piece expresses how light, or God's light, is for all of us. the sun shines for everyone. the radiance of the sun covers everything.

i'm happy i pulled through with including some abstract work in my show. it was something i was suggested earlier in the year by jesse, and something i saw evident in corita kent's work. i realize, when talking about a big topic, sometimes expressing the topic abstractly works best, because it lets the viewer do some work in interpreting it. it makes the art reach more people, and lets people spend a bit more time with the piece, instead of the piece speaking for itself literally, which is what i normally tend to do.

i then pulled two prints about the crucifixion, relating one to the new moon and new beginnings. the other shows the lamb of God. they are both embellished with leaves to show that although the crucifixion was a horrible event, it is sacred, and beautiful, because of what it brought; salvation. so i decorated these two symbols with nature. it also reflects how dark times are natural.

i really feel like my show is the end of a funnel. all the pieces express things i've been saying over and over all year. and that's kind of what i wanted; to say everything i wanted to about what i was thinking about.

i also used physical light for some things! i talked about this before too so i was glad to do something about it. i spent a lot of my time in my studio thinking, getting really personal with my thoughts, reading scripture, reading articles, and doing a lot of writing. i had a lot of revelations (i'm glad we called the show that!). so i wanted to include some of my revelations, hand written, so they acted as a kind of personal message/hymn. i used bits of my writing primarily through these two pieces that involved physical light.
the first being this piece of neon i custom ordered, framing vinyl in the middle.

this piece is about how we reflect the light of God, just like how the moon reflects the light of the sun. i love using parallels of nature to our relationship with God. the glow of the neon was the perfect visual for expressing this thought.

my second piece using light was kind of last minute, but i am proud nonetheless. i really broke out of my usual materials and composition with this one.

i'm not exactly sure what drove me to decide on this composition for the banners. part of me was thinking of a tall, grand church, with tall columns and windows, and billowing white banners. my old church had tall windows and banners on the alter. my subconscious was surely at work.

the banners looked brilliant in the light and floated as physical manifestations of some of the revelations i had when in my studio.

i'm so proud of this print. it is 8 layers, and i did an edition of 10. i spent a lot of time on the craftsmanship and integrity of the print, and it is my best silkscreen work to date. the last layer was the black layer, and pulling it was so satisfying. it really made me realize how beautiful and important the darkness is, because it allows our light to be illuminated.

oh, what do you know, ANOTHER last minute print! i actually was not even planning on including this in my show. but, after hanging everything up and realizing i underestimated how small my vinyl title was, i realized there was a big empty space. so i went to my studio to find something to hand. and i found a pencil drawing of this print. so the next day i drew it digitally, burned a screen, printed a bunch, dried one with a hair dryer, and hung it up at like 9pm. this was one of my favorite sketches so i'm glad i made a final piece out of it. its something that references the new moon as a new beginning and not something void of purpose. when we are feeling empty, perhaps we are not empty. perhaps we are just becoming new.

i'm talking about moons again. i just really like the metaphor. this is a small hand sewn pamphlet of compiled scripture i included in my show. i really think that reading the bible one on one, unfiltered through any priest or advocate, is a very sacred, personal, and pure thing. i wanted to include some of that purity in my show for context, relating it all to the new moon and how phases of darkness in our lives are natural and reveal our need for light. it was also nice to include something that could be held, and interacted with.

 
 
 

i'm proud of the message i conveyed and the work i did. there's always things that can be better but i pulled off a good show and i'm content. the whole experience got me thinking a lot about how to prepare for showing work in the future. you definitely need to consider the intention of your work, and how people will interpret it, and how they will react to it. my intention for my show was to have people consider how bad times can be good, and to see proof of that in religion, and in nature, because they are all very deeply connected. i wanted to give christianity a good rep, because it is a rep that is sadly damaged. one thing i wish i could have done was sell prints or sell the scripture books, or have handouts to give. when there's nothing physical to take away from a show, you only have your thoughts, and people will forget. but, part of me really just wanted to show my work and that was it. i didn't want to try and make a lasting impression on anyone, or celebrate myself by selling prints. i just wanted to say what i had to say, and leave it at that. and that's what i did.

i'm really proud of everyone. the gallery looked so amazing and everybody's topics were so intriguing and so diverse. it was so wonderful seeing everyones thoughts come to fruition.

 

 

WOO

Fibers of Memory

I am so amazed with how fast our show happened all the hard work everyone put into it. I am happy with how my work turned out and got great feedback from people on it. the photos to the right and the jars of fabric/paper pulp were last minute ideas and I am so happy that I decided to do it because I really think it helps show the before and after of making the fabric into paper.

I felt close with my grammies again when making the paper of her clothing and unexceptionally my grampa passed away last week so before this year ends and to add on to my seminar work I want to take his clothing and make paper from it to give to my family because they all already wanted the paper from my grammie. I am thinking of start a small business from this because I think that this is a great way to display a loved ones item.

The show came down in a blink of an eye and I cant believe I will be graduating in less than a mouth. This is something that I would love to continue to do because the meaning behind it is so powerful.

We were never meant to succeed: the show

Day One:



I'm still amazed our show has come and gone. I'm really impressed with the work we all pulled together and happy with how well it came out. With the help of John and his guidance up until then, I felt like we were more prepared than most with our set up. There were some questions I hadn't answered when I set mine up. I had all this vinyl and an idea of where my books and projectors were going to go. I set up the table like I originally envisioned it with the books on it then laid out the vinyl. I was content with the vinyl, but was waiting a day to lay it so i'd be sure about where it was. The table didn't look good to me. It looked cheap and awkward. I left for the day to think about it.


Day Two:





The next day, I laid all the vinyl and pinned down the bottom of the posters. I still wasn't happy with the table but lacked a better solution. I felt pretty okay about it. Still on edge and planning to come back the text day to finalize the upper projector and the others as well.


Day Three:







After having a small freak out about the table, I asked the opinion of Jesse since he hadn't been around for it. He suggested a smaller table and ridding of the white cloth completely. I pulled the desk from my studio and it fit the space so much better. The books ended up on shelves along the wall. The table only held the projectors and my note taking bible. It felt a lot better and gave people more room to move around in the space. I felt a whole lot better about it.



OPENING:

Christ was it exciting but also terrifying. It was happening. It went well. A lot of people came into that little corner I was in and they stayed. It was meant to be a place you have to take in for awhile. Some people say the material and went right in and right out. Others stopped and read the walls and read every book. One person came up to me and told me how deeply they connected with me on the poetry books and we both stood their teary eye'd, talking about our experiences. Others came up to me to share more experiences. I know my target audience wasn't going to be everyone, but being able to talk to all these people who had been through the same things or connected deeply with my work meant a lot to me. I stayed in the corner by my clear book because I felt it needed the most conversation and a little push for people to interact with it. I was really in love with the whole experience and I know thats silly but there was something really great about others getting it. They nodded and smiled and laughed and understood. It helped me feel accomplished in my pursuit with my work. 

Things I wanted if there were no boundaries and I could do this all again:

I'd want to give my projectors more space to project and maybe their own pedestals. I also would have liked the space to be darker. It was a hard thing to ask for making it darker, but it read without darkness. I think less light would have increased the impact of the text. I also wanted more. More text, more questioning. It might not have worked, but I wanted to push a little farther. The lines on the walls and floor repeated and I wish I'd had more phrases for the group. I'd also maybe we work the all as well. It could have been tighter and stronger. Maybe pushing the readability and making it almost painful to get through. I'd like to expand the clear book at one point to include both old and new testaments. Overall though, I'm content with the outcome of the show.

Taking Down:

It was rather easy and I was rushing so I didn't get pictures. I forgot how tedious ripping up vinyl can be but I worked through it and had help. I left getting the nails out of the wall to my boyfriend and his brother and they succeed in that. Then it was over and I looked at the empty space and I missed it. 

and that was that.