jenn jones - studio update, thought dump

i realized a lot of my seminar work has been revolving around symbolism. i think this is because i, like many, have never been good at putting complex thoughts into words. so putting the spirit of complex thoughts into real life objects is easier, and makes the thought real. so i started to make a list of symbols that express my concepts, and hung up said symbols. i'm not done with the list yet though.

having a visual list and collage of what has been rummaging around my head will definitely help with my process.

i'm furthering my interest into using light as a medium. i'd love to make something resembling stained glass. churches, for hundreds of years, have had stained glass windows to tell stories about scripture, in addition to letting in a comforting light that resembles the presence of God. so i wondered to myself, what story am i trying to tell? and painted four panels of moon phases, which symbolize the story of the natural ebb and flow of life, how it gives and takes, comes and goes. i have been thinking about how the light and dark phases of the moon mimic the light and dark moments of our lives. the rise and fall is natural, and the darkness brings us into a period of reflection. i found the verse 2 corinthians 12:9 which says, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." i am relating this weakness to the emptiness of a new moon, thinking about how at that point when we are feeling so low, we are actually closer to God than ever.





i imagined the phases of the moon leading up to the front of a church, with the new moon closest to the alter, and took some time to paint the phases on paper with acrylic paint, just to see it. i plan to continue working out a stained glass design and potentially paint or screen print on top of plexi, or embroider a thin fabric, so that when hung by a window the light shines through.



i've also been thinking about putting symbols onto flags. i made a small prototype with ink and paper of a new moon on a flag, with a sliver of the moon showing. i'd love to make a few designs for flags/penants/banners to see what they look like.

i also painted this for fun because i realize when thinking about the darkness in your life you really have to be careful. a lot of my ideas involve becoming okay with your bad sides and bad times, because they are natural. but in doing so you have to be careful. so i made this box, because the simple message of handling a box with care can be said the same about our hearts and minds, which are pretty important boxes.



(also, that blank piece of paper has been hanging on my wall for months and i needed to defeat it.)

i feel a lot more mindful about my thesis and expect to find a lot more answers to my ideas as i progress and spend more time in my studio. i will settle on just one or two pieces about a new moon/moon phases because i don't want my thesis to revolve around the moon/overdo it. i just really like the metaphors i'm discovering that deal with the moon, and want to pinpoint and perfect it. in addition to the symbolism behind the moon i also have olive branches, fig trees, and a candle (so far). not all of these deal directly with light, which is something else i'm thinking about. basically, i'm just thinking about EVERYTHING. but, that's just what you need to do to narrow down your thoughts.