Foil, food, play, etc.

I was disappointed we never got a chance to play in the snow, although I really enjoyed the class lunch, I think it's important for us all to be comfortable with each other, and open to communicating in order for the class to be successful> I really enjoyed Richard's slideshow-- it's nice to see the creative process of the people you're getting feedback from.

I really enjoyed the foil project, and I loved that every time I came to work over the weekend, most of the class was also there, and people were interacting and giving feedback and jumping rope (!!!).

It's always interesting collaborating with a new person, and finding a space for ideas to mesh. Ultimately I was happy with our collaboration, although I don't know if I came away 100% satisfied with the piece. I think I got sucked into the idea of weaving, and maybe that wasn't the most appropriate way to build the chair (although our other attempt to build a table instead wasn't right either). I enjoyed working with the material, but perhaps wasn't careful enough with it. Since we didn't have an 100% clear idea of the what hte final product was going to be when we started, we had to do some editing along the way, and I think that hurt the integrity of the material (i.e. unwanted creases and crinkles). I liked the illusion we created, I liked the fact that we were able to modify our original plan as we went, although maybe it's better for me to work with someone more confrontational-- I think being challenged, and having to really defend my ideas helps me make better art.

Since I am retaking the class this semester (although it's been very different so far, and I'm sure will continue to be with a very different group of people), I've been thinking a lot about what my goals are for the semester, what I got out the class last semester, and what more I think I can get out of it. I think I have a much better idea of my creative process, a better sense of how far I can push something, and when it's time to switch gears and change directions. In some ways I'm interested in exploring the types of things that I am studying (public art and community engagement, etc.), but I also am afraid of getting myself out of creative mode and into academic mode, and I think there's the possibility of producing painfully didactic and boring work if I do that. I guess it's all a balancing game.

I was feeling out of sorts today in class-- maybe nervous about the presentation I had to give, but for whatever reason not engaged. I need to find a way to use class time more effectively, so that I can get feedback from classmates during the class period, rather than I'm working (mostly) by myself and have a project dilemma. I think it's important we striek the right balance between work and play.

Bread dough, #2

It was great to have a discussion, and see the results of the first bread assignment, before starting working on the second bread project. Talking about what worked, and what didn't, helped to focus my process for the second assignment. I really liked Caroline's raw piece, and tried to replicate the raw-meat quality of the dough in my own project. Also, I was interested in the way that dough "membranes" (a word that I never use, but which I found really descriptive when used in the class discussion) can describe forms and and shapes articulated by other elements. For this piece, I used wire mesh and wire to drape thin sheets of dough. I also experimented more with finding ways to reinforce the dough invisibly, giving the material the appearance of being more structurally sound than it actually is. I think color, which I didn't add until later in the process, was important in making the piece more coherent. I really enjoyed seeing everyone else at work, and the moments of collaboration and exchange that happened.

Bread dough, # 1

At first I had trouble getting away from the idea of molding the dough to make bread, rather than sculpture. In order to focus my exploration, I decided to focus on texture, and on using the properties of bread dough (especially its tendency to expand) to explore different textures that can be formed by restricting the expansion of the dough. I approached the project more as an exercise, rather than a complete project.

"You Are What You Eat"

I took as a starting point the title of the assignment, "You Are What You Eat." To me, the title implied some sort of autobiography. If form follows function, I wanted to find the food that would be most appropriate to serve as a kind of edible autobiography. Some of my earliest memories involve cooking pancakes with my dad and grandma, so I chose pancakes as my base recipe. In thinking of how to utilize the material (pancake batter) I thought of the "Mickey Mouse pancakes" I sometimes ate as a kid, and decided to explore the possibilities of portraiture (of family members as a way to relate the project to the idea of (self)-portraiture) through pancake batter. The idea to "draw" with lines of burnt pancake batter came to me as I was falling asleep. The process of actually drawing (paintbrush vs. pastry bag, batter consistency, pan heat) required several hours of trial and error, but once I figured out a system, things went relatively smoothly.

I liked the challenge of the project-- of creating a piece of art that uses food as a material-- and through a process of experimentation I developed a process that I may want to explore further in the future.