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.

No such thing as meaningless art...

I've always argued that my art doesn't necessarily mean anything. I do it for the satisfaction it fulfills.

Yet now I feel this is false.

Art will always derive some meaning from the conversations and criticism it provokes. I want people to be interested in my art, and I love to hear what people have to say. Therefore the art develops meaning from society.

If we can not create meaningless art, then I need to figure out what I want my art to mean. Perhaps it doesn't center around a theme- but I do want conversation revolving around my artwork. So how do I achieve that? What do I want people to talk about?

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Jackson Pollock is an artist that I believe suffered from this type of fame. I believe he created his artwork and his process in an attempt to express something within him. When speaking about his work he often wouldn't make much sense or contradict himself later. As critic's (ie Greenburg) started contextualizing his work, he would simply let them take over and they would be the defining factor of what is work became.

Jackson Pollock, Lavender Mist

I find myself in this same problem. I often derive meaning and intent from my work after I create it. Often I am forced by the art school/art society world, to give it some profound meaning, to add a title, to change perhaps what it was meant to be in the first place. It is amazingly frustrating, and almost impossible to escape. Society directly influences what the work turns out to be.

I find Pollock to be similar to me on more then one level. His "All over" paintings are somewhat of a irregular pattern. He is a formalist- he uses lines to create a composition, and his process evolves from the lines he creates as he creates them. He works amazingly intuitively and being one who values process over product, I appreciate watching him work.

I wouldn't say that I am particularly enthralled by his end products, but I find the concepts behind his work and the way he has been portrayed to be fascinating.

As an Artist...

Artists that inspire me usually use a lot of heavily saturated color. I love the glamourous, the juicy, thick overworked and use of excess.

An artists who provokes and uses many of these devices is Marilyn Minter. Minter uses photography as well as paintings to create images that are overly glamourous and excessively suggestive and even sexual. Her paintings are made by combining negatives in photoshop to create a new image. The image is then turned into paintings created through the layering of enamel paint on aluminum. What results in a luxurious glossy image, that you can't help but stare at.

I admire this artist for her boldness, and her fearlessness in creating artwork. I also am transfixed by her materials and application of materials.

Check out her Website

Top: Bazooka, 2009, Enamel on Metal

Side: Quails Egg, 2004, Enamel on Metal

I'm also attracted to patterns, weather they occur in nature or are man made. I work well in 2-d and my brain works flat. Patterns for me combine a need to organize as well as a need to create shape and form.

Mai-Thu Perret

One of my larger patterns, "Push"

"Push" Detail

As an Artist... The environment I choose to work in is typically flat, on a table, usually in my own home. I feel most comfortable there, because I can play my own music, or just have silence. Most of the time I like to work alone, and only like feedback when I'm ready for it. I often will be plugged into my ipod and completely in a zone. I tend to play more repetitive, electronic or mixed music with a lounge or dance type tempo.

As an Artist... my Process is the most important part of my work. It is where I derive my love for art. The final product needs to look a certain way, but it is not necessarily the important part. I work very repetitively, I like doing the same thing over and over. I move into a zone where I am listening to music but not necessarily hearing the music, I am thinking, processing and meditating over thoughts and feelings. This does not necessarily manifest itself in my artwork, but the feeling is important to me when I'm creating.

As an Artist... my Motivation is derived from wanting to be in that zone. It is also derived from the art and ideas around me. Sometimes I'll have such a great conversation with someone, it makes me want to go make something. This is similar to when I go to an art museum, or even look at a friends artwork. Seeing all the possibilities is inspiring and gives me the urge to create.

As an Artist... I probably don't read as much as I should. Being an art educator requires me to read up on books such as The Skillful Teacher and Yardsticks. I'd like to get more involved in art publications, blogs and magazines. When I can I like to pick up Art in America. Personal reading usually tends toward good stories. I like to hear what people have to say, and their personal stories. I recently read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I also enjoyed Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez.

My Most Inspiring Person changes. I derive inspiration from many different people, because they shine in different ways. My best friend Nicole has shown me how to find wealth and richness through personality and conversation. My dad has shown me that shit can get really shitty, and you CAN keep going. MassArt faculty have shown me that I am in the right place. And I, myself, hope to remain an inspiration to myself and create for ME.

A New Semester

Starting off this semester brings both excitement and fear. Excitement to be back in such a rich art making community, and fear in that I need to figure out what. the. heck. i. want. to. make.

Creating a "Portfolio", a cohesive body of work that addresses a certain idea or theme, has been extremely difficult for me. I see myself mostly as a teacher, because I have been teaching most of my life. Although I am creative, I have yet to find a way to manifest that creativity into something tangible and long lasting.

Don't get me wrong, I have created artwork, I have made things that I do approve of and enjoy. But I have yet to make a generous amount of work on one idea or topic. This semester, my goal is for that to change.