Assignment 5

The purpose of Assignment 5 is to make a drawing or a series of drawings that need a period of time to elapse.

In Part 4, Project 1: Found Images , I experimented with shadows on the ground created by the sun. My tutor advised me to explore this idea. I took a large paper and without being predictive I look for an interesting shadow\found image to trace on my paper.

To introduce the time element I thought I would repeat each tracing at a specific time interval of thirty minutes. However this had some inconsistencies reflecting my difficulty on keeping timetables as a lot of things come up and get me out of schedule. After about three hours there was no more shadow and I considered the drawing finished. I thought it was an interesting result regarding the composition and the abstract element.

The next day I thought I would repeat this kind of drawing, but on a longer sheet of paper in order to have a more interesting result and intended to do the tracing every hour throughout the day as the shadow comes and goes depending on the clouds and the position of the sun. From the moment I started I realized how fast the sun was changing the position of the shadow on the paper. I decided to follow that movement which lead me to change my planning. I kept drawing continually the shadows on the paper and I also drew my own shadow on the paper. That was very interesting since my shadow was changing as I was making the necessary movements in order to draw! The whole act became very exciting, I got engaged with the act of drawing and I was feeling like I was becoming a part of the drawing mentally and physically as I was sitting and lying on the drawing surface. I kept drawing from 7:46 a.m. until 10.19 a.m. when there was no more shadow as the sun hide behind clouds.

I was so excited with this drawing. Each time I see it I feel the energy I felt while drawing it. I have it on the wall and I get lost in observing all those shapes that were created simply by tracing shadows. I feel the movement, I follow the paths of lines and I feel a sense of depth in the drawing that captures me and absorbs me. I shared my excitement with my husband and my kids who actually had positive reactions.

I wanted to extend this project so that it becomes the work for Assignment 5. Therefore, I planned to go outside more times so that I would cover a more wide time range of the shadow. However, due to the requirements of my family daily life and having the children with me most of the time I thought that I would draw anytime I found the opportunity. It seemed impossible to plan a schedule and follow it.

Indeed more than two week passed till I had about two consecutive hours to work. It was 2:00 p.m. when I started and I kept drawing until 3:56 p.m.. I placed my paper on the floor where the shadow of the pot was at that time of the day. Another exciting drawing experience with another exciting drawing outcome for me. Placing the two drawings side by side I am even more pleased with the result, as seen together the two drawings create an interesting visual interplay.

 

A few days later I had the opportunity to continue my project with a third drawing. It was even later in the afternoon and surprisingly someone put another pot on the column. I drew the shadows from 4:45 p.m. until 5:27 taking only moments of break to take the photographs and drink something because It was really hot under the sun!

Having three drawings was even more interesting visually and fulfilling for my expectations.

The next day I proceeded to do a fourth drawing of the shadows. I managed to find time to draw after 10:19 a.m. and before 14:00 p.m. so that I could fill that time gap between the drawings I already did. I started drawing at 11:20 a.m and stopped at 12:27 p.m..

I felt so pleased that I created another drawing for this project that ended as a series of four drawings, drawn on four different days and on four different times of the day. Basically, I was able to capture the shadow on the spot from the time it shows up in the morning till late afternoon when the shadow disappears from the spot.

I think that I found an interesting way to approach the assignment’s aim. It is a recording of the passage of time in a direct way as the line inscriptions follow the movement of the natural element of sun shadow. Additionally, I was able to incorporate the element of my presence in the drawing, as a participant and as the person who makes the recording. I feel that the whole act of doing those drawings has a conceptual element and this is also displayed in the visual outcome.

Project 4: Time and the viewer, Part 5

Aim: The aim of this project is to make a drawing which makes the viewer to use time in a different way.

Using as a starting point the work I did for Part 4, Project 1: Found Images (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/part-4-environmental-interventions-project-1-found-images/) and following my tutor’s instructions to combine that work with Part 5: Time Lines, I went outside and searched for interesting shadows. I placed my paper on a table under the trees. I have pre-decided to insist on a specific timeline for doing this drawing and that was to keep drawing for an hour the same time each day. That would be 8:30 in the morning, which is the time I return home after taking the children to school so that hopefully I won’t have interruptions.

I was able to do this in four  consecutive days. The fifth day (Friday) something came up and I couldn’t work…Then there was the weekend and on weekends I hardly find time for drawing as we schedule family activities. In the meantime I lost my motivation to continue the project. I thought that all the drawings were becoming similar and I didn’t see a big point on continuing it. Maybe it would work if I was able to continue it for maybe a month, but without breaking the continuity. It could be that a huge number of drawings would make it more interesting.

Doing those drawings was very challenging. The leaves were moving continually because of the breeze. The shadows wouldn’t remain the same for more than a second. I was trying to capture the movement as fast as I could and I thought that this exercise would be also suitable for the Project 1: A Changing Scene, which I hadn’t started yet.

I used pen and pencil to make the mark making more interesting and to be able to intensify some areas. I also placed mirrors to represent the very shiny reflections on the paper. Also, in this way I could relate this project to my Parallel Project in a more conceptual way, as the viewer could see fragmented reflections of his/her face while viewing the drawings. This would mostly apply to me and my family members as being the subjects of the Parallel Project, while those drawings were made in a familiar area of family gathering and shared experience in our yard.

 

I return to the Time and the Viewer project after doing work for the Artist’s book Project. I prepared a blank album paper book with several pages and sat on the same spot as in my previous attempt for this project. I aimed at capturing the tree shadows on the paper by turning the page of the book each time it was filled. I decided to remain simple for a more clear narrative representation of the moving shadow from page to page and for this reason I used only line drawing with marker. Fortunately, the number of pages was appropriate so I was able to manipulate the time I turned the pages in order to capture the movement of a tree trunk shadow as it entered the first page of the book and exited in the last page of the book.

I was very pleased with the result of this time and the viewer – artist’s book, because of  it’s narrative properties that engage the viewer to follow this time lapse.

 

 

 

 

 

Parallel Project,redefining

Working through Part 5, I realize along with my tutors feedback that is time to reconfigure my work for Parallel Project. During all parts of the course I was able to explore the subject of my Parallel Project, which was suggested as early as after Part 1 Assignment.

In Assignment 1 I started exploring the idea of  self identities through the relationship with oneself, by drawing self portraits.

 

From that I extended the idea about exploring self identities through the relationships with others and this came in practice in Part 2 Narrative project, where I explored my children narrative ”portraits”.

Also in Part 2 I had the opportunity to explore my self portraits in the exercises about space , depth and volume, which was the starting point for exploring identities through self portraits in subsequent projects and for Parallel Project specifically.

 

After my tutors suggestion I allowed my children to take part physically in this explorations by working with me after my guidance. This took my exploration a step  further and I tried new methods of interacting with the children and my husband in the exercise of most of the projects of the course and aimed at relating most work of the projects with the work  for Parallel Project. The work of Part 3 opened new possibilities on how to investigate my subject.

 

Part 3, Project 1:Drawing Blind

Part 3, Project 1:Drawing

Part 3, Project 3: Drawing ”machines”

Part 3, Project 3: Drawing ”machines”

Part 3, Project 3: Drawing ”machines”

Part 3, Project 3: Drawing ”machines”

Part 3, Project 4: An emotional Response

Part 3, Project 4: An emotional Response

The meantime between starting and finishing Assignment 3 I was facing a difficult emotional situation and I took a study break. During this time I produced several self portraits, that I connect tot eh parallel project as they are explorations of relationship to myself and they have a narrative and autobiographical element. The following self portraits precede the final projects of Part 3 and they actually were raw material or preparatory work for Part 3 Project 4 : An Emotional Response.

In Part 4 my exploration became more conceptual and more playful with the participation of my children.

 

The exploration became broad, which up to a point was positive. However, as my tutor also suggested I should eventually be able to bring all the work back to structure and do something concrete that would consist the Parallel Project final piece or pieces.

The exercises of Part 5 could assist me in this endevour to coalesce the raw material that came out of my experimentation relevant to my Parallel Project throughout the course.

Project 2 of Part 5, regarding Artist’s books allowed me to put the general concept of the project into a context. I was able to dot his because of the nature of the book as book and the way I chose to approach it. The two artist’s book I did are inspired by some of Mary Kelly methods, and even though they are at a primal level, it could be a precursor to the final approach of the project.

 

Parallel Project: Towards Conclusion

Following my tutors suggestion, I place all the main work that I did for my Parallel Project around me. Indeed that was more than I thought I actually produced.

The work appears so diverse like is not related to a specific subject. Indeed the exploration of my parallel project did not follow a straightforward path visually. At the same time the subject was quite clear from the start. The first idea was to explore my identities and self states of mind and feelings, which came out through my very first Assignment (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/category/assignments/assignment-1/).

While started exploring this self related idea, inevitably my closed relationship revealed requiring to participate and take their own place. This was apparent in the work of Part 2 (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/part-2-material-properties-3/). In that project I explored narrative portraits of my children which lead to the idea of exploring my identities through my relationships with my children.

From that point the subject remained clear. However, there was a certain point that I focused on exploring self psychological states mostly in self portraits. I could say now that this was a necessary stage for me to clear my view of my self so to be able to see how I am connected to my significant others.

After exiting that stage, which actually coincided with a difficult psychological stage that I was going through, I was ready to move onto to exploring relationships a such. This is when I had my children to take part  in the projects  which I found a way to connect with my parallel project (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/part-3-physicality-and-gesture-3/). Their participation was also incorporated to Part 4 (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/project-2-interacting-with-the-environment/) regarding environmental interventions, where I reintroduced (I used the mirror before on one portrait I did of my son exploring how I see myself through him) the mirrors that finally became an important part of the Parallel Project.

By placing the work all in front of me I aim at finding what works and what’s not. I try to find which works follow a path and have a connecting thread between them.

I see a few elements that have connections and could be part of my final Parallel Project piece or pieces of work.

I intend to combine the elements of thread, mirrors, imprints and blind portrait drawings with the more  conceptual element of shadow tracing that came up in my last assignment in an artist book form. I made a simple preliminary drawing to decide on how to develop the project.

Project 2: An artist’s book, Part 5

Aim: The aim of this project is to research and learn about artist’s books as form of artistic practice and create an artists’s book about something which elapses over time.

Method: Decide on your preferred method of creating an artist’s book whether this includes handcrafted binding or a simple fold of paper.

The aim of this exercise is to make an artist’s book about something that is related to time. For this exercise I aim to connect my parallel projects investigation regarding my family relationships and my identities. I retracted some photocopies of mine and my children’s palms that I kept for a few years. I thought that I could display them on the book and connect the past with present by tracing today’s palm outlines on top of the photocopies of 2012. This  way I could present a narrative of two time moments, along with a third moment , which is the moment that the book is ”read”. The mirrors I placed in the middle of the book is that third moment. It is a connecting link of different time moments. The poems were written by me at a different time moment, and they were directly copied from the notebook they were originally written, using transparent adhesive film, which is attached on the book.

The book is very personal, is directed at the family members who are present through their fingerprints on their pages. All members of the family are involved in some way, reflecting their role in the family relationship and in their shared experiences. Nevertheless, any external reader is invited as an observer in this family narrative.

I continued with producing another artist book similar to the one above.

I did blind drawings of me, my children and my husband in an attempt to present in the book a narrative of our family. I did portrait blind drawings in Part 3: Physicality and Gesture, Project 1: Drawing Blind (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/part-3-physicality-gesture/). That investigation on blind portraits produced an interesting visual outcome, because of the immediacy and expressive qualities of the drawing act. I wanted to repeat that act and that interesting outcome creatively. I thought that I could do this for the artist’s book project.

Relating my work to the Post Partum document of Mary Kelly, who I study for my critical review as well, I  allowed my children to put their own ”tracing” by making blind drawings beside mine and by writing their names, placing their own signature. In this way the book becomes a conceptual documentation.  This is related to the mirror stage and intersubjectivity of Lacan’s theory which Mary Kelly explores in PPD regarding her relationship with her son.

In order to give a lyrical sense to this narrative, conceptual documentation I added writing which is actually poems I wrote in different time points and are referring to my children, my husband and myself. I directly copied the poems from my diary on a transparent adhesive film which I attached on the book pages.

While trying to make visual progress regarding my parallel project, I placed the book near a self portrait exploration I did for Part 3:Project 4: An emotional response (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/category/coursework/part-3/). In that drawing I used lines to represent the setting of limits. Also, I used thread in my mark making materials and narrative projects (https://drawing2blog.wordpress.com/2017/04/06/part-2-material-properties-3/). I used the thread as a way to inscribe the connections between me and my children, maybe as a symbolic representation of the umbilical cord. I decided to use continuous thread through the pages of the book to document the family connections and also to reinforce narrative. Additionally, I associate the red color of the thread with motherhood and intimacy.

Finally, the placing of the mirrors also gives another aspect of my exploration regarding family relationships and identities. Personal identities are formed and being reformed through family relationships. This also is related to the mirror stage of Lacan, which also Mary Kelly deals with in her Post Partum Document 1973-1979.

 

Through this project I was able to make visual progress on my Parallel Project. I used different elements of my parallel project investigation in new ways. I incorporated different ideas that were used before to make a new artwork. This takes me a step further regarding my final work for my Parallel Project.

Project 3: A finer focus, Part 5

Aim

The aim of this project is to make a drawing which involves focused effort and reflect on how this affects the relationship with the subject and the process and how this communicates to the viewer.

Method

We are asked to choose a subject that has a great number of detailed parts. Either repeat the same parts or different ones drawn from observation or invented taking primary consideration to the the relationships between the elements rather than the imagery.

For research and reflection on the subject of finer focus I chose to focus on the work of Stephen Walters (http://www.stephenwalter.co.uk/home.php,https://www.instagram.com/stephenwalterartist/).

Stephen Walter

Stephen Walter

A first glance on Walter’s drawings brought in my mind a comment I did about Elizabeth Blackadder work in Part 1, Project 2 of the course regarding Using Space (https://wordpress.com/post/drawing2blog.wordpress.com/317).

Elizabeth Blackadder

Elizabeth Blackadder

Elizabeth Blackadder

Elizabeth Blackadder

It get the feeling that the artist with his fine method creates original environments. As I mentioned on the post about Blackadder, for me, the canvas is the environment where she puts objects in her own order. Similarly Walter with those micro elements that become the mark making for the big picture, creates his own made pictorial world. All those detailed elements are  the genetic material of the artists’s own creation.

Additionally, all this repetition of microelements gives me the sense of perpetual motion of a living organism. I feel that the work invites me to enter this artists’ created environment and discover a new reality.

Talking about microelements, in my mind came my own unique microelements. I am referring to a small scribbles I used to do since my school years. All my books and notebooks were filled with those scribbles that I was doing during school lessons! I always loved them and thought they were little artworks. I thought this exercise was the opportunity to use them in a more artistic way.

With a few  sketchbook drawings I tried to find what would be the best  way to create compositions with my little scribbles. I decided to make a more structured and strict composition and another more loose one. Those two approaches should be viewed side by side as each one adds to the way the other one is viewed.

pen, 149x210mm

pen, 149x210mm

The work for this projects reflects a very strong characteristic of myself. Generally I tend to escape to the deepest of my mind, especially during stressful situations in order to get my feelings and my thoughts in order. It is my way of meditating. Those are moments of purposely and meaningfully being alone with my self. During my endeavor for the exercise I was drawn in the procedure, the focused effort in a painstaking and meticulous way. Additionally I touched the limits of compulsiveness and oppressiveness as I had to push myself out of the situation and stop drawing as I couldn’t continue for ever!

The two drawings reflect the two different states of mind. The first when the thoughts are trying to find an order through following various directions. The second is a situation when the thoughts are clearer, thus bringing an order.

work in progress, pen, canson paper 65×50 cm

work in progress, pen, canson paper 65×50 cm

final piece, pen, canson paper 65×50 cm

final piece, pen, canson paper 65×50 cm

As the work of Stephen Walters and Elizabeth Blackadder give me the sense of a uniquely created environment, a world of their own, so do my drawings for me.

Prospectively:

After my tutors comments on these pieces I feel very content. I am exited that another person saw what I see in these little scribbles. I plan to definitely expand this project in future artistic investigations. I could try different formats and scales. I could create these scribbles in structured boxes/rooms that one can enter and be surrounded by these. Another idea is to draw the scribbles on long narrow paper that could be rolled and unrolled.