Process

So, these first two pages are getting all of my ideas down, the images I want to include, etc. I've written down textures and forms and images that come up when I think of the time I used to spend in the woods as a kid. We've also formally acknowledged that the woods/forest was a home for me, somewhere I felt safe. Not that I didn't feel safe at my real home, I had a wonderful family and still do. But the woods have always been a place where I've felt extremely comfortable and safe.


These two are exploring the final arrangement/format of my pieces. I'm debating between separate panels or quilting them together. Either way, I don't want them to look like a quilt. I've decided that they will transform from land to water. My teacher though that it was significant that I spent time in both. She told me about how the frog was revered in some Native American cultures because it traversed the land and the water. I thought that was pretty neat. Plus, I like frogs. And I think it'll make a nice transition/order for it.


These go from first thoughts to most recent. These last two sketches, I did in my art history class today. Yes, I was paying attention! Don't mind the actual contours of the bayou, it's really ugly right now. That's just to get an idea of the layout... I never draw. Or sketch. But, I'm figuring out the layout of the individual panels and also writing down ideas of what shibori techniques to use. I don't know if all of them will have shibori, or if some of them will have silkscreening or stamping or other methods. I need to get some more finalized sketches. Also, I need to find more reference photos. I'm not going to where I grew up and taking photos of the actual place, I want to portray it as I remember it. That's important.



This was the first page for my basketry final project. The parameters were that it had to have something to do with ritual/ceremony/some sort of object like a talisman or something. It didn't have to be something that was based on religion or spirituality, though it could be. I immediately started to think about the ritual of the everyday. Coffee was the first thing that came to me as an example. Probably because I love it, and I work at Sbux, so I am actually part of people's daily coffee ritual. I thought about shots, and about time, and about the variations that occur when a single natural thing is multiplied or repeated. For example, because we make all of our drinks by hand, and often it's a different person who's making your drink most times, even though you order the same exact thing, it's slightly (or majorly if someone messes up!) different each time. Also, your experience will be different depending on who's working and who's in the store. I also started to think about the idea of a diary.

Here, I'm focusing more on espresso shots. The variables that form those. They can be different colors, they can take longer or shorter, etc. I'm also thinking about time some more. Throughout the day (time is variable, day remains the same), different things that we do every day that are also susceptible to variation.

I know it's kind of a jump to this page, but I couldn't find the in between page that I know exists! To fill you in, I focused more on the diary idea I had earlier and thought about time that way. I could record how I'm feeling every Tuesday, for example, for the rest of the semester and make a vessel that expresses that each week. Here, I was thinking about doing completely different shapes for every emotion/state of mind. I've developed the idea that making the bowl is the ritual. But, when I talked about it in class, we decided that if every vessel was different entirely, they would look like a bunch of vessels all thrown together with no theme connecting them. Unless you read a thorough artist's statement. So, my final final structure is that I will still focus on an emotion or feeling (hopefully each week) and make a vessel that conveys said emotion. However, they will all follow the same shape blueprint, which will be an open bowl.

And here's the open bowl. They will be closer to the one on the top, with the smaller base and overall more open feel. The bottom one is clunky.


Oh my goodness. That was a lot. When I see my progress and write it all out, explaining to you, it kind of comes together in my own mind and makes a lot of sense. I feel really focused and like I can start both projects. I've already started my first bowl, and am doing some real sketches for my quilting project. It takes a lot of energy to see a concept through. I'm in a good place. Sorry if that was too much for you to read at once, but I didn't really feel like it should be broken up into two posts.

Thank you for listening! If you have any input, critique- or idea-wise, please tell me! I would love to hear what you think and what you think might be good to include that I haven't thought of.

xoxo