2015-16
progress 2015-2016
FALL image harves t // bookbinding // paper engineering // let t erpress // laser cut ting // sewing // publishing //art market // thesketchbookpr ojec t SPRING Wor ds on Wheels // Handlet t ering // Pat t ern // Sel f Direct ed
FALLING (Literally)
Goals for Grad School -To not be t r apped inside my ow n thought s -To be able t o express mysel f bet t er + have thor oughly articulat ed ideas+ act ually execut e them -F ind direc tion t o my work -To creat e a br and for/of mysel f - A unique ent it y that I can build on and expand .
Bloom Where You Are Planted IMAGE HARVEST //
The aim of this project was to come up with 10 different ideas that we would potentially like to work on. This was the fun and easy part for me. Eventually, I decided to combine some of these ideas and learnt how to make gifs. This was an intense process in terms of workload but it really allowed me to explore my skills making patterns and animating them. The process was thoroughly satisfying and I ended up learning a lot. This project also allowed me to learn about exhibiting my work in a space- something I had never done before. The final piece was an ipad installation consisting of three i-pads mounted on the wall. The looping gifs were set to synchronize with each other on the three screens. The concept: I read the phrase “Bloom where you are planted” somewhere on the inter web and it really stuck with me. The concept of being happy with what you have and growing from that is inspiring to me and I wanted my animations to reflect that precisely. “Bloom where you are planted. Flourish where you are grounded”.
Growing Pains BOOKBINDING //
In this workshop with bookmaker-_______, we learned different techniques in bookbinding including saddle stitch binding,stab binding, perfect binding etc. I already had an idea from image harvest about a book I wanted to make and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do so. I experimented making the flipbook with ___ binding but in the end a perfect bound one was the most successful choice. In Dec 2011, I shaved my head. The reasons being - one, as a way to show support to my aunt suffering from breast cancer and that it was okay to lose hair and two, as a way to affirm that I am free to do exactly as I feel, just the way a man can without fear of judgement. I tried to document the journey of growing my hair out by taking a picture of myself daily for a year but after a while I grew tired of this. So instead I decided to create this animated flipbook about the pains of growing out my hair while feeling absolute happiness and freedom from not having any to it turning into a nightmare of maintenance when it was long.
Paper Garden PAPER ENGINEERING // In the workshop with ____, we learned about the basic techniques of making pop-up books. It was fascinating to see her extensive use of pop-up to create life-size collages. While this was inspiring, I wanted to stay away from pop-ups for my reaction piece and really just look at paper fundamentally and feel its qualities. I decided to sit with a bunch of paper and scissors and glue and inspire a spontaneous reaction from myself. The process of making my “paper garden� was thoroughly satisfying and it sucked me in and I really enjoyed interacting with paper and getting absorbed in its tactile qualities. I was able to generate some interesting forms which I have realized have inspired a lot of the work I did later.
Letterpress
Laser Cut L ASER CUT TING //
This exercise informed my knowledge about using a laser-cutter. It was interesting to try and visualize what my work would look like in 3D and having actual pieces printed out. I ended up making a bunch of random things just to see what I could do and experience the material. I was fascinated by the process and it was great to actually be able to hold the work in my hands.
Nostalgia SE WING // I have always wanted to learn to sew and so making this particular reaction piece was very exciting. It made me nostalgic as I first learned to embroider as a child from my grandma. I really enjoyed working with the super cool sewing machine that our department has. I didn’t go ahead and do anything crazy because i wanted to learn the basics and make a finished product. It was great that I could use my laser-cut tag inside my pouch and it really gave me a sense of having a complete product at the end. The entire process was relaxing and something that I would pursue as a hobby.
Plant Zines PUBLISHING //
This was one of the most challenging workshops in the semester. Creating original content and then being able to successfully convert it into a zine was tough work. My idea was to taking the emotions that I felt and anthropomorphize them into plant feelings which lead to my Plant Zines- Rude Plants, Anxious Plants, Dumb Plants.
This Is Not a Plant ART MARKE T // I took a ceramics class throughout the semester and from the beginning wanted to use these skills and come up with a product marketable for Art Market. The origination of my product was organic and just sort of evolved as I was interacting with the clay. Branding the product was the most fun part. Since i was working with so many organic, natural shapes the idea was to have this little sculpture have nothing to do with plants, which for me it was and that is how its name arose.
#thesketchbookproject
FAKE SPRING ACTUAL WINTER
Feelings + Garden of Destiny WORDS ON WHEELS // I enjoyed this assignment especially because of the challenge of collaboration. Taking someone’s words and turning them into images was fun and this assignment really opened my eyes to the possibility of being able to extend my work into editorial illustration.
Dodo Loves You STOP MOTION ANIMATION // Another collaborative exercise. This time with my classmate Jia. Stop-motion animation is a long and tedious process requiring a lot of patience. Me and my friend both learnt about the importance of having good timing while animating as well as having some fun with the introduction of recorded sound.
Book Cover HANDLE T TERING // I selected the book title “ The Francine Odysseys� by ___ referenced from the movie ____ from the invisible library- an online portal which lists fictional books mentioned in actual books and films. This project allowed me to expand on my thinking about handlettered forms and being able to successfully put them together on a book cover.
Repeat Repeat Repeat PAT TERN MAKING // The pattern making workshop by Amy Voloshin gave us great insight into the very real world of the repeat pattern on textile business. We learnt how to make the hero,the secondary and the co-ordinate with our selected patterns and experimented with applying them to different products.
I.D.K. SELF DIRECTED // This project was extremely personal and very close to my heart. I wanted to talk about extreme attention seeking feelings, breaking up, lost love and heartbreak as well as finding love and what that feels like. In the beginning, at the research phase, I tried approaching this project in different ways and not just from a personal point of view but in the end decided to stick to my personal view point to be able to express myself best and get over the things I was feeling. For me personally, this was an important step for my work in terms of creating original content and being able to execute my ideas in the form of a book. The title IDK which stands for “I don’t know” is what I often found myself saying to my boyfriend and it really sums up my general unsureness about being in a relationship and ofcourse, life.
CONCLUSION // This has been the most amazing and fulfilling academic year of my life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I went through the most overwhelming feelings of excitement, stress, self-doubt and achievement all at different intervals and I feel like I have come out of it stronger and readier to face the challenge of doing a thesis project. The pressure of being in grad school has made me realize my potential and I am inspired to keep working hard and not look back. Onwards and Upwards!
Thank you Kim and Whitney for all the great feedback,input and guidance & to all my crazy uber talented classmates who I love to death!
FIN