Reflecting on 2nd Residency

The last two weeks, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the 2nd residency and what it's going to take to move forward. One thing became evident very early on, even before the first critique. Although I feel a lot of progress was made with the technical aspects and conceptual ideas surrounding my sand paintings, continuing that body of work in its current form is not very high on my agenda. I plan to explore paper as a medium more in the current semester; in the form of papier-mache embellished objects, cast leaves, and possibly biomorphic forms. I feel paper is a fascinating material to work with because it comes with a history and it has a physical memory. Paper begins its life as a natural, living object and is intentionally transformed in form and function. I believe this transformation is echoed by my artistic process. I also appreciate paper for its tactile qualities and versatility.

Creating a Context

"This is a fundamental view of the world. It says that when you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, you must repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent, and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it."

-Christopher Alexander

Porcelain Artifacts...Update

Since my last post about this project, I've built up my collection of porcelain artifacts. When assembled the installation is about 3 feet wide. I'm at a point where I feel I can take a break from constructing. After the final firing, I will turn my attention to experimenting with combining the forms with sand for installation. 

Over the past two weeks, I've been consumed with researching my ancestry. I've always been interested in listening to my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother recount stories and oral history of my family but I've never actively engaged in research until now. I've been about to trace my maternal lineage back to the 1860 census and there is a high possibility that I have also located my 5th great grandmother on the 1850 census but it's impossible to know for sure because the slave schedules only listed people by sex and approximate age.

Uncovering records and sifting through conflicting information have raised a lot of questions for me concerning identity and legacy. This collection of miniatures in a way is a response to this.I haven't quite worked out how these will be resolved. At the moment, I aim to display them in a line rather than a pattern and on a shelf rather than the floor. I'm also considering constructing small boxes for each one. Much like my family research, there are a lot of question left to be answered.

Joyce Robins and Visual Memories

Joyce Robins - Pale Color Circle, 2011

Last week I met with my mentor. We visited MoMA PS1 for its current Greater New York show. One artist from that exhibition was Joyce Robins. She makes graceful undulating ceramic forms that I really connected with. I was fascinated by the visual effects she achieved by combining embossed dots with holes and glazed with painted surfaces. Upon further investigation, I learned that her practice is based on visual memories. I also found that her use of color and pattern evolved in part from a series of paintings aiming to capture light flickering through trees.

Joyce Robins - Pale Color Circle (detail), 2011

Joyce Robins - Dark Cloud, 2001

Porcelain Artifacts

I've built up a nice collection of porcelain "relics" for my sand work. A few weeks back, I posted about the first three forms. This week, I assembled all of them together to get a sense of what the overall pattern will look like when the piece is complete. The fact that so far the surface of the forms is much more smooth than the initial prototypes is encouraging. I also really like they way they look together, simultaneously ornamental and organic. I'm looking forward to incorporating sand once the final firing is complete.

Progress is Slow but Steady

I've made progress on several fronts this week and look forward to seeing where things end up. I've spent much of the last few weeks feeling a bit lost and frustrated that some projects I'm working on are too different and don't relate to each other much. Today, I came to the realization today that I just need to think and worry less about where I'll end up.

One project that I'm working on is a series of object/painting hybrids. I started by building cardboard forms on a masonite base, then covering those forms with papier-mache. This week, I finished painting several coats of gesso on the first two. The built forms are inspired by imagery from the childhood landscapes I've been exploring in my sand work. The paintings I will use them for will focus on experimental surface treatments and abstracted patterning. It takes a while for them to dry in between layers of papier-mache. While I waited, I started building a third object also based on my grandmother's backyard. Today, I will finish applying the 2nd layer of paper.

I also made some progress on the coffee-batik panels this week. I was concerned about the edges which unravel erratically during the dyeing process. I intended for these panels to portray an immediacy that will be lost if I hem the edges. After some experimentation, I found that fraying the edges can be an appropriate solution. I've also learned that for future panels, I need to pay better attention to how I cut them to help the fraying process move faster and more efficiently. I have a rotary cutter for fabric I used a while back to make fabric collages. I plan on digging that out from its hiding place so that I can use it to make precisely vertical cut. While researching African textiles for this work, I uncovered a possible link between West African textile techniques and African American quilting traditions. I'm trying to get my hands on a book of the subject called Accidentally on Purpose to research it further.

Lastly, I'm working on collection of  slip-cast biomorphic forms used to create a pattern which will be partially submerged in sand. This project is moving more slowly than I anticipated because I'm working with molds that have to dry between castings. The first firings resulted in work with disappointing surface texture. For these newer pieces, I'm using rubber ribs to burnish the work while its leather hard before smoothing it further with a bit of chamois.