After last Monday, I realized that my subject had strayed a bit too far from the brief for the semester. Tuesdays we have our theory class, which is the greatest as it is really inspirational and just generally my favorite class because it is about thinking about the context of works in history. Our teacher is an artist who focuses on synthetic fibers. Last Tuesday, we had a lecture introducing Man-made Fibers. It was really interesting and she focused on the idea that through synthetics, people were able to create things they only dreamed of. The idea that synthetics shined when they did not try to hide as a replacement for a natural fiber.
That all being said, I abandoned my idea of using fruits and vegetables to create synthetic representations. Everything about her lecture told me not to. Instead, I focused on the translation of properties from bubbles to bubble wrap, a somewhat strange instance of biomimicry. As some people know, I have worked with bubbles before, last semester I did a project on the now well known WaterCube, where the swimming events were held for the Beijing Olympics. So, I wanted to make sure to focus on different aspects of bubbles apart from their structural formations. I really liked the sudsy ripples of colors you get, so that became a new obsession.
So after gathering my new idea, I found some photos of my new subject, which were interesting, but as I needed a 3D object to draw from observation, I was still stuck. A kid in my class reminded me of an old children's toy. It's this sticky stuff you get in a tube and then using a straw, blow bubbles out of it, sort of the consistency of bubble gum. Anyways, I thought there was NO WAY they still sold this stuff, as it's definitely not a great toy for a kid (it's toxic, sticky, and somewhat temperamental) but sure enough, good ole Hamley's, basically London's bigger FAO Schwartz had some of this stuff. I ended up getting a set with a tube of blue, yellow,red, and green goo. I got back to studio and Saera and I spent a bit too long playing round with the stuff. Here is what the bubbles look like:
Anyways, after playing around with it for a while, we began mixing colors. I'm now pretty much an expert at this stuff. Hamley's should hire me to demonstrate it to little 5 year olds. I was really happy with them as my subject matter, but I had no clue how to capture them on paper. One other initially disappointing point about them is that they only last about a day before they deflate and the outside becomes brittle. However, coming back to studio the next morning, I saw my now slightly deflated balloon and realized it was actually a cooler specimen in that form. So I got to painting! The paintings take me a while, mostly because I am not too experienced/ haven't painted in a long time. Also, all I have is watercolor and a tube of white acrylic, so I have to wait for things to dry occasionally before continuing. It's been tedious, but I'm actually proud of the work I've been doing.
Here is my studio desk with my paintings and the balloon things:
Studio has actually been a lot better than I thought it would be. I thought I was going to be struggling to get everything done in time, when in fact, I actually just make better use of the hours when things are open. Life is a lot healthier here. My new found ability to time manage is something I plan to bring back with me. There are only two annoying things about studio. First, it is really cold and I have to roll up my sleeves so as to not drag them in my paints. I left earlier than I originally planned today because I was so cold. Second, my desk is right by the main door to our studio, which means a lot of opening and closing. While I've gotten over the constant distraction of people flowing in and out of the room, the gush of air from the door occasionally blows the balloon I'm drawing clear off the table.
Once I finished painting for the day, I revised my photo wall and stuck my paintings up on it. Here is my now revised selection of photos and all my paintings from the new topic:
No comments:
Post a Comment