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 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
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