Semester's Work

Artist Statement

The figure has always been a main inspiration for artists of all kinds. My work with the figure started early in college. I pulled images of figures from my background in cheer and dance. The capture of dynamic movement not only made for amazing shapes, but also an intensity and vibration in the pattern. The repeated image accounts for this movement and illusion. It also references back to the formations and intricate choreography that is put into an entire team of people creating a dance. When working in a team, everyone needs to work together to create something as a whole.

Much of my work with patterns has to do with this repetition, sequence, and illusion through the images as well as the process.

It is important for me to produce an initial pattern by hand. The repetition of tracing the template, as well as the method of painting the pattern, functions as a meditative space for me.

How I translate that pattern afterward is where I get to explore. When it covers a 2D surface the details and illusion come to the forefront. What you see within the pattern becomes most important. When the pattern covers a 3D surface it becomes something else. It covers, protects, and/or changes the object underneath it.

I am interested in covering the human figure. Whether it is directly onto the skin or through fabric. The pattern image is the body captured in movement and re-contextualized. By putting it back on the body I am returning it to its purest form and inspiration therefore bringing it back to life.

Old and New. Learning from what has been done.

Midpoint in the semester, becomes a time for reflection.

As I have been working on enlarging my patterns, I have also been reflecting on my past media choices.

At one point I decided to work on canvas with acrylic. I enjoyed the canvas because it was a sturdy on the stretcher bars and provided a raised surface to work on. What I did not like was the acrylic because it was thick, and when watered down lost its opacity. The paint showed more of the brushstrokes then I liked.

I did produce two patterns that I was happy with though, which I include below.

Above: Blossom. 18"x 24" Acrylic and Canvas

Above: Blossom (Detail)

Above: Growth. 18"x 24" Acrylic and Canvas.

Above: Growth (Detail).

To move on from this, and learn from it, I decided to stick with the canvas, but use my new found media, watercolor, to fill in the pattern. I have no idea how watercolor would act upon a gessoed canvas. To my surprise it worked really well. The paint was thick enough to produce an even surface, while still remaining liquid enough to easily apply. I could definitely see myself working like this in the future. Check out my result below.

Above: Legs. 18"x 24" Watercolor and Canvas.

Above: Legs (Detail).

I also include another canvas, which is 22" x 28" that I have penciled out a pattern on. I have scanned into the computer a section of this pattern, and my hope is to use photoshop to manipulate colors until I find one I like.

I am taking the color inspiration from my research on Islamic Art

and I'm hoping to incorporate purples, blues, greens and yellows into my pattern in perhaps a stripe like way, similar to the picture next to me on the right.

This provides new opportunities for exploration.

Patterns All Over the World

When creating we must also look to other cultures for inspiration

In looking at different cultures that inspire my artwork, I look to Islamic Art and the patterns created in much of their architecture.

What they create is incredibly intricate, complicated and beautiful.

The colors they use, are vibrant and relate beautifully to each other.

I find myself interested in the simpler patterns as well, where color defines each layer and each shape.

I can see myself using some of these methods within my own artwork. It would be interesting to start defining shapes not only by positive and negative space but also by layers and groupings. Also, this art shows me the power color can have on my patterns, and although I love black and white, color may be something I want to develop more.

I have been working on editing my patterns on the computer, which is something i've never done before. I'm starting to expand the pattern and see what it looks like when it is bigger but also when the image/template itself is smaller- therefore creating a wider view of the pattern.

"Hands"

While I do enjoy enlarging the pattern on the computer, I do not like how it prints out. Perhaps different paper would change my mind, or if I scanned the pattern so that the colors came out better. These are things still to experiment with.

Inspirations

"Life is a gift, that is why it is called the present"

This week was a difficult week for me, in that I lost my focus and my inspiration. As artists we come to this space from time to time, and there is no definite way out of it. My way out, materialized in the Monk Tenzin Yignyen, who has been creating a sand mandala at MassArt for the past week. He creates a beautiful Mandala completely out of sand, using metal instruments that he rubs together to carefully distribute the sand. This richly colored Mandala contains symbolism and spiritual meaning for all who come upon it.

It is then wiped away and the sand is ceremoniously taken to the river, where it disperses. While some are dismayed in the "destroying" of the artwork, the art is really in the process, the creation. We all live life, and we all die. How we are living it is what matters. Our process. Our days and what we make of them are our art.

For Further Inspiration:

At MassArt right now there is an exhibit on the artist William Kentridge.

William Kentridge is a South African Artist who is best known for his animated films that are based on charcoal drawings. He also works in prints, books, collage, sculpture, drawing and performing arts.

Seeing his work in person is a whole experience in itself. The work up close is masterfully designed, composed and executed. His prints carry a gritty, handworked quality that can only be appreciated in a personal way.

His subject matter revolves around social and political issues while illustrating them in beautiful, graceful and even poetic ways.

Some images that particular struck me were:

Three Shadows in a Landscape, 2003

Sugar Lift and Drypoint

Reeds, 1996

Etching, aquatint, drypoint on handmade paper

General, 1993-1998

Drypoint with hand coloring on handmade paper

Blue Head, 1993-1998

Drypoint and two hand-colored plates

What I appreciate about his work, are all the scratches, the handmade elements that extend over the entire surface. You can see his arm in the work, you can see his hand. I love that the whole surface is worked on, and it is raw, just like his imagery. He is not afraid to cut and to slice. The work is not precious, it represents struggle but also strength through the hard times that we all must go through.

Experiments and Critique

In order to grow as an artist, there is the need to experiment.

Lately i've been exploring watercolor in relation to my pattern work. I've found that watercolor gives a even flat texture, without showing the brush-marks. This is what I aim for, and why I have used Ink in the past. I enjoy watercolor more then using an inkwell because it is easier to mix and manipulate.

I also am able to experiment with color layering and the effects that has on my patterns. Layering my stencils is something I have experimented with in these studies I have recently created. I enjoy the interplay that is created between the hands as well as the effects the colors have on each other.

In this piece, I worked with overlapping colors in my patterns. I enjoyed the layering of colors and the new shapes and colors created by overlapping the yellow and the red, But I feel it would have been more successful if the colors were of the same value. The yellow is less noticeable and less distinguishable. Therefore the red becomes more prominent. I would like to try this again with two colors of equal value, yet different hue. Also I tend to stick to the primary colors, which gives the work a very "Pop art" look. I dislike this and would like to start using mixed colors and/or colors that are more natural.

In this piece I treated the negative shapes as positive ones by filling them in with the black. The shapes created are interesting and unique. By highlighting them, you tend to notice them first, and then focus on the negative shape if the hands. When looking at this piece from afar it is very effective in the tricks it plays on your eyes. The spiney shapes are very distinguishable and give alternate reactions to the work.

This piece for me was not finished. During my critique, my classmates expressed that they liked it this way because it simplified the forms even more and abstracted the image. New shapes are formed and again when looking at it from afar your eye makes different connections.

My critique gave me many things to think about:

In terms of study and process-

It was expressed that although these are beautiful they are time consuming. Because they are just studies for other works of art, xeroxing the pattern in different colors or onto different backgrounds would be a way of experimenting with different colors.

In terms of where to go from here-

Bigger Bigger Bigger. Time to create larger scales of these.

Also experiment with fabric, Try to translate onto fabric. This may be more difficult and take time to figure out, but I think it is worth investigating.

I'm not a Drawer, I'm an Image maker

A lot of artists work out their ideas through drawings in sketchbooks. When I get in front of a sketchbooks, I tend to write out my ideas. If I'm not writing, then I'm just staring.

When I create images, I have to be moving things around, changing, cropping, editing, adding, etc. My mind is more adept to organizing and arranging. This is why creating patterns is so satisfying for me. I create a template (which I do admit I sketch gestures for) and then I take that template and organize, flip, rotate, etc to create and interesting interaction between the positive and negative shapes.

This way of working also lends itself well to working with collage. I enjoy to create shapes and interactions between the different colors and textures that are represented.

Sips. 8.5" x 14". Mixed Media Collage: Pen, Manila folder, Photo paper, Sips juice carton, plastic.

In the past I've worked a lot with memory. Mostly of childhood scenes. The images are seen from an outsiders point of view, even though I've represented myself in the picture. It suggests a memory will always be something in the past. When looking back on it, we are no longer inside that memory, but are now spectators.

1442 After. 11" x 14". Tracing paper, Pen, Magazine Collage.

1442 Before. 11" x 14". Magazine Collage.

Rudy and Sita's Tree. 8" x 10". Magazine Collage.

Play Flood. 8" x 10". Magazine Collage.