Landscapes

I've been considering ways to merge this body of work with the leaves. So far I am working towards building a small collection of objects. that when exhibited together, will build a narrative of a specific place and time. The objects in these collections will either directly appeal to or reference each of the five senses. Since I focused on memories of my grandmother's back yard last semester, it seems like the most natural place to start off this semester. I plan to branch out, exploring different places and stages of my life. Last semester, I sketched ideas for the topographical object paintings and sand paintings from memory alone, so there was a lot of room for artistic license. This resulted in the paintings emphasizing the formal qualities of  landscape, becoming more schemas of a generic creek and ravine than the actual place I sought to depict. Since my goal is to be more specific and direct with content, I enlisted the help of some satellite imagery to get a better sense of the actual landform. This way I can show details of the tiny plot of land that is close to me and the larger context it belongs to.

Experiments with Paper

I started off my studio practice this semester by experimenting with ways to dye library catalogue cards. My goal is to be more precise in the way I approach materiality in this body of work; reducing the pulp to a single material source is the first step. By comparing the results of dyed blended pulp vs. pre-blended torn paper, I sought to determine the best process for achieving accurate and vibrant color. I prepared two dye baths and allowed the paper to absorb the dye for several days. The pre-blended pulp dye bath produced more uniform and vibrant color but required a longer process to separate the pulp from the dye solution. Although the torn paper dye bath was resulted in more dull, uneven color, it was easier to separate from the dye solution. The torn cards also sat in the dye bath for a long time causing the paper fibers to break down too quickly during blending. This made it difficult to create pulp with bits of legible text. The next step will be to cast a set of leaves to determine the strength of the fibers and the durability of the leaf once it drys.

Torn paper in dye bath

Pre-blended pulp in dye bath

Pulp made from dyed torn paper

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.

New Year, New Artist Statement

Impulses of memories are familiar and idealized, often shaped by one’s desires, and infused with a sense of loss. My paintings and temporal installations use topography as a language to recreate this sense of nostalgia and wonder through emotions, memories, and sensory experiences associated with nature.  Exploring the reciprocal relationship between environment and inhabitant, my work points to ways in which my surroundings have shaped me, and I in turn, leave my mark on them. Ephemerality and the passage of time are intrinsic to my material choice and process. Exploring the need to memorialize fleeting moments, I signify time through repetitive mark-making; a stroke of a palette knife or the pouring of a mound. My photographic practice references the tension caused by detachment and loss not only from a particular place but also a longing for the tangible in a world increasingly dominated by images.

Emphasizing the process of making, I use my hands to transform the banal; constructing, sculpting, pouring and rubbing. Through my labor, materials generally considered trivial are made precious. Camp sensibilities inform my work blurring the boundaries between nature and artifice, as well as art and craft traditions, through embellished surfaces that encourage haptic communication between viewer and viewed. An awareness of space and sensitivity to surface requires the audience to physically and emotionally negotiate their relationship to material and form, rekindling personal connection to the work itself and by extension, the landscape. 

The Unreliablity of Memory

"Time and memory are true artists: they remold reality nearer to the heart's desire."

- John Dewey

Biophilia

Near the end of last semester, I started making collard leaves. I created these leaves by casting handmade paper in molds. The pulp was made using library catalogue cards under the subject heading, "modern history" and Canson paper to add color. This was the result of spending the entire semester looking for ways to infuse my work with personal connection. My relationship to collard greens has been complicated, but rich with cultural and personal significance. This realization has me searching for other places where identity, culture, and nature overlap. My advisor gave me some very valuable feedback concerning the leaves and how to use the aesthetics of research to explore how display can add to the work's content. I've started organizing research and ideas on modes of display on my Tumblr blog, Stream of Consciousness.

This is a sketch I made during the residency exploring  possibilities for display incorporating labels and aesthetics of specimen display.

In the coming months, I aim to continue exploring the construction of collard leaves and other flora using the following criteria:

Refine process of making leaves...

• Experiment with color, texture, form
• Paint the back with gel medium to increase strength
• Build new molds

Determine how important is evidence of the material...

• Experiment with transparency of material
• Dye cards before pulping
• Try using whole cards without pulping them

Ascertain which materials and form will best depict what I want to say...

• Can I use different leaves?
• How does this work function?

Consider different options for installation... 

• Make use of the aesthetics of research
• Research installation possibilities
• Experiment with using text (faux labels) to convey meaning
• How does display become content?

The Exhibition Diaries

Last semester, I was very fortunate to have Baker Overstreet as my mentor. In addition to conversations we had about my work and the ideas behind it, Baker took me to a number of shows so that we could contextualize contemporary art and facilitate discussion about what we respond to in general about different types of work. My advisor, Laurel Sparks, also gave me fantastic recommendations for shows to visit. These museum and gallery visits were an invaluable source of inspiration over the course of the semester. I found myself returning to the pictures I took again and again to study how the artists used materials to communicate ideas. 

I've decided to create a Tumblr blog to organize and easily reference these images and my thoughts about the work. My Critical Theory II course last semester concentrated on the archive as a thematic element of art or as a construct which provides a context for certain types of art. Delving into the idea of the archive as a tool, brought with it the realization that collection and documentation have been an important part of my creative process and everyday life for some time. I'm extremely grateful to now have to opportunity to deliberately and thoughtfully integrate archival processes into my practice.

The Exhibition Diaries

A detail of Tightrope 7 by Elias Sime

A detail of Spring Shadow by Julia Bland

A detail of Ink Splash by El Anatsui