** for Project 3: Model Studies, scroll to the bottom of this page then click on page 2.
Project 2: The Challenge. All ideation, process journals, work in progress and final piece are posted in the first section of Unit 2, starting immediately below.
Unit 2 project is titled “Challenge”. The work is to be thematically driven and is meant to explore alternative substrates and media that arise from and are intimately connected to my theme of Letting Go. Below I attach two PDFs: the first is a record of some of my brainstorming about this project, the second is my proposal submitted Feb 12 on Brightspace.
Brainstorming-project-2-proposal Project-2-ProposalFrom that starting point I made a bunch of material trials, varying substrate and media, and pondering my subject and theme. I assembled all the photos and brainstorming as of March 2nd into one pdf document, below. Note that there are 6 pages so keep clicking!
Material-trials-Project-2In my quest to find the best version of hands to draw, I searched 3 areas. One was an artist’s figure-drawing website (Croquis Cafe) with hundreds of model photos; the second was Greek sculpture because I find the hands so compelling; the third was an exploration of Buddhist art, specifically statues of the Buddha and the meaning attached to specific hand positions. Once settled on the most suitable position, I intend to use my own hand and arm as model to draw from. Below is a photo gallery of some of the options I considered:
Materials testing… made a trial with pure beeswax + turmeric, but it is near impossible to work with. I can melt it to spreadable consistency but it cools immediately to an unforgiving hard wax. So the Dorland’s works best for me to “draw” with.
Settled on a fisted hand and a Varada Mudra hand (open, hanging down with palm visible). I have begun to imagine a display method inspired by Buddhist prayer flags: square pieces hanging suspended as if along a clothesline. Idea: make one square template for the fisted hand and one for the open-hand drawing, with the intention to draw one at each end of a rectangular piece of rice paper (by draw I mean the process described above, with wax resist, wax-with-turmeric resist, and dilute black ink). If I fold each rectangle in half over the “clothesline”, the front of the flag is a fist and the back of the flag is an open palm. Will draw multiples so there are many flags with varying version of grasping / letting go. See below, next step in realizing this plan — a couple of photos used along with my own hand to form the template drawings with simplified colour fields. After this… make first wax/turmeric/ink drawing to test the “readability” of the double-sided flag with my planned colours, may need to adjust values or lighting or adapt the plan if they aren’t comprehensible…
See below: first run with open hand… I applied yellow mix first then plain wax but it made for fiddlier drawing. For the fist I map out all waxed areas in plain wax first , then overlayed the yellow where I wanted it… certainly ended up with more white. Finished product first run below. Will alter proportions a bit on the fist for next time, help make the two hands seem the same person.
tried folding in half over a hanger — see below the “prayer flag” shape with fist one side, open hand other side. Will have to decide what to do about transparency… not showing in these images but if the flag is backlit there is an interesting / confusing sight of the two hands at once. Perhaps can play up the effect but also moderate so not too confusing…
March 12th peer feedback on work in progress:
- Make a lot of them! Far more powerful. So if I cut these double flags in half I automatically get twice as many flags to display.
- consider hanging on string (as per Buddhist prayer flags) but against a wall, single-sided, again for more impact. The gentle curve of them hanging from a draping line is attractive
- another option to hang around an object (example, cloakroom coat rack) so that you see through to the back side of the flags on the other side of the rack, plays up the transparency aspect
- Many version of fists or single version enacted many times? People had pros and cons for both. Several ideas about making a series that change position in sequence, then displaying so people see the change from open to closing and back again, multiple times. (not sure I have time to make enough of them to get this full effect). Others thought there is merit in the repetition of the same view of the fist but it being different every time because of my variable manufacture… this repetition and subtle variation conveys more of a meditative process, and perhaps an invitation to the viewer to a more subtle attention.
- Consider a stop-motion film to play beside the hands — whether they are alternating simple open/closed, or showing the progressive steps in between. This could be projected on the the work, played on the wall beside them. Many options…
Made 23 of them . Decided to glue approx 2 inches apart on to black twill tape, but set them up in three groups (9, 5, 9 — I am liking the unevens) with a longer length of tape between the groups. Gives me some flexibility for hanging, options to make one long string with some graceful curves or doubling back so they hang in a “Z” shape, or perhaps in garlands overhead along a corridor or hallway… see some photos below of the glueing process and diagrams for installation ideas. Did a mock-up in my hallway at home — liked the both sides visible option better than I expected. A few images below, as well as a one-page summary of the process to take to critique on March 19…
Critique March 19th feedback from peers and instructor included: hanging arrangement of flags effective due to overlapping curves and sense of depth; good choice for fingers-down position because if the fingers were pointing up the fist could read as aggression and the hand as a stop symbol; backlit from window works well; the window itself is unattractive with wide wooden framing and wide pane separators, but this is offset a bit by the way the colours match with the hand colours; the breeze from overhead fan adds movement to the flags with good effect; the decision to use just two versions of the hand position successful because so much variation between each version of the same hand position. And finally — add more hands, repetition really works and it would be even stronger with more. See below – four photos of trial hanging arrangements in situ, and the final version at bottom:
