Trial and error

Trial and Error

To Kim, the person that has featured in every conversation I’ve ever had.

My parents feel like they know you.

(I whine a lot.)

And to Whitney, thank you for coming in and sharing wisdom with us.

And to my parents, for listening to me cry.

This documents every tear I’ve shed.

I can’t say they weren’t worth it.

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Hi. I’m Shruti, I study at MICA and I’’ve been trying to find myself..

But it’s okay to be lost, I know that now.

My work shows the struggle I’ve faced with each project.

It’s okay to struggle, I know that now.

I moved to a new place and felt very alone, But alone isn’t lonely, I know that now.

This is me, my struggles, my victories, my process.

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i m a g e h a r v e st drawing from the old, digging into our existing practice.

p a p e r c utt i n g using pop ups or papercuts to create our pieces.

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typography using typefaces to tell a visual story.

publishing creating a book cover for a book the size of a matchbox

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fabric and binding Using fabric or book binding to represent an idea.

l a s e r c utt i n g using the process of lasercutting material to create a piece.

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a r t m a r k et learning how to create and sell your art, the tricks of the trade.

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s i l l y C it y redesigning and illustrating a lesson plan for a client

P att e r n m a k i n g creating narrative patterns that form a series

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s e l f d i r e ct e d p r o j e ct ideating, developing, researching and executing a completely open project

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The first project we had, My first point of struggle.

I’d just moved to America, and I was dealing with my ‘identity’.

This is the first step in my struggle to encompass my culture in a project while trying to connect with an audience that comes from a completely different background than I do.

Myths and beliefs fascinate me, as does nature and the intersection of humans and our environment results in some truly interesting stories.

Into the woods, right in the middle. >>

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The idea for this project came from a story I’d previously written about a little girl and haunted trees. I’ve been rather fascinated by haunted trees and superstition.

They say that our old Peepal tree is haunted, They say that there’s ancient evil within, They say that they hear it rustle and creak, In the dark of the night while they’re all fast asleep.

They say they did try to cut it down one fine day, Tired of living under its looming shadow, Their axes and saws made not more than a mark, A small little scratch on the Peepal’s eerie, dark bark

From the crack in its surface seeped an eerie grey mist, Shrouding their house with its cold clammy hands, Consuming every inch of their once lush green land; The fields rendered barren, the soil turned to sand.

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Illustrations from my first attempt >> at a book on witches and trees.

My story changed from a horror to a

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The paper cutting/ paper engineering project was very exciting to me.

I really enjoyed the process of cutting something so meticulously, adding so much detail.

It was the ideation that took a toll on this project. I wanted to deal with big big things but I didn’t know how.

Poking your fingers into things. >>

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My first idea was that of reincarnation and the wheel of life in hinduism. I tried to represent the wheel through imagery and illustrate the realms through paper cut. It was a very tasking process.

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My second attempt dealt with frames from my life, my growth from birth to death.

And the third project deals with the same process through pop up and paper cut and involves colour.

If I had to choose which was the most successful I’d say my second attempt because it epitomized what makes papercut so lovely, the paper, the negative and positive space.

The beauty of the medium.

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Playing with type, exploring the digital realm, this project was an exploration of what we could do with technology, with existing typefaces, with the digitization of new ones, with anything in the realm of typography.

It was a lot of freedom. The freedom to use language in a way that was visual.

I loved it.

It helped me realise I like words. I like writing down things I can’t say.

It helps me express better.

Two illustrations both involving text.. >>

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This project was one of the last projects of my first semester. I’d been broken by then.

Not by anyone but just by circumstance.

My confidence was at an all time low, I was insecure, scared, confused. I was questioning my purpose and whether I deserved to be here.

And then we had the typography project.

A medium I was comfortable with. I had the words I wanted to say to people. I just never said them.

I decided to use this opportunity to communicate. To use the idea of not telling people how I really feel but giving them the opportunity to find out.

I’d been hiding my feelings away putting them in this box in the corner of my mind and it made sense to make that ‘box’ an actuality.

This project plays with the concept of what is said and what isn’t with elements of personal narrative brought in with my hand lettering. This means something to me, this is me opening up to you.

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To create a book the size of a matchbox - that was the assignment.

This project was challenging for me because it involved creating a book cover for a book that was well loved and well read, a book with numerous existing covers that made it a struggle to reimagine things.

I chose Lord of the Rings, a book written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The second part of this project was to create a one word synopsis that embodied the story.

So, I chose the word journey.

The word Journey embodies the paths both literal and symbolic that the characters have to follow to achieve their goal.

This book is also a classic example of the ‘Hero’s Journey’.

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The fabric project was open ended in terms of the execution. We could do anything to fabric, or bind a book.

No one, and I do mean no one worked with book binding. People felted, embroidered and sewed.

I decided to dye silk. I’d been very fascinated with the process of ‘knocking spaces out’ using a resist to create patterns and was delighted to try something new.

The ideation for this process was not as difficult as the rest because I was worn out. I wasn’t bursting with ideas, I was morose and sinking into a void.

So, I decided to dredge up some happy memories and try working with those.

memories of steaming hot samosas, familiar smells. >>

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After unsuccessfully using store bought resist I started looking up youtube tutorials and the easiest tutorials used ‘Elmers’ Glue’.

Like manna from the heavens I ran out and bought elmers and started squeezing the bottle.

I will say - squeezing an elmers glue tube for 4 hours will break your hand. Don’t do it. Take a break.

Then I waited patiently while it dried. Then I painted it.

Then some more drying.

Then ironing.

Then drying.

Then washing.

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The finished piece still had glue in it after 3 washes, but I guess multiple washes are a part of the learning curve.

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Our lasercutting project required that we employ technology and the process of lasercutting into our illustration practice.

This project was difficult for me.

When I first started out I tried to tackle a more complex topic, while I was also tackling a lack of knowledge on the medium and how to deal with the tools I was supposed to use.

I love puns. This piece is titled essentials. >>

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When I first started this project I wanted to talk about the idea of virginity and how it’s often not yours to give. In Indian society a girl’s virginity is supposed to be a gift to the groom.

(This practice prevailed in the olden times and still exists in more conservative families.)

It ended up being a very tricky subject and I was very disheartened. I gave up on it almost as quickly as I picked it up.

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And so I just moved on to something that was easier. Relying on humor and my fondness for puns.

I liked the idea of plexi glass being seethrough and spectacles being something you see through.So, I cut the words see through into a pair of lens And made huge glasses out of them.

This project even after I finished it, felt very unfinished and I realised that laser cutting may not have been my favourite medium.

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What do I sell?

What do people want to buy?

What can I make?

I like weird things. I buy odd things.

But not everyone does. This project helped me learn how to not go about selling my work.

And how to sell my work. (A little.)

My ideas for this project ranged from animal back scratchers to suncatchers.

I wanted my product to be a useful novelty item.

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What I ended up with were mismatched socks.

Single socks that the consumer could mix , match and make a pair.

I called them Spairs, a name that was derived from spare and pairs.

The idea of mismatched socks appealed to me because I often lose one sock out of my pair and them am forced to wear mismatched pairs.

But what if I only had a variety of single socks that perfectly complimented each other but were different in their own way? Would I want to buy socks like that?

Moreover, would someone else want to buy socks like that?

I had to price them in a way that made me a profit but was still affordable. I struggled with this project immensely.

Because I was making work to sell.

What if no one wants what I make?

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Silly City was our only client project and boy was it a doozy.

We were given the brief, made to sign non disclosure agreements and had to pitch to a client. This project was a crash course on professionalism and how to sell your work.

The project revolved around redesigning and illustrating a lesson plan for Silly City, a project that children undertake where they are encouraged to appreciate their local architecture and learn about it.

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For this project I created

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The Architectural Timeline

The Reference Sheets Where design was simplistic based on a six coloumn grid system and followed the secondary colour pallette from fresh artists.

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And the Teachers’

Packet and Worksheet

Which followed a similar structure as the reference sheets involving minimal colour and clean lines.

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I also created 2 posters that encompassed some of the references in the sheets so as to make them less wordy and more visually appealing.

One containing all the

Windows in the references..

And one containing all of the Roofs.

I brought in some character into the illustrations by inserting characters into them. People make cities, give them their character.

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This project stems from home, the stories, the smells, the people. It stems from the idea of storytelling, tackling ‘Who, Where and What’.

Who tells these stories?

Where are these stories told?

What kinds of stories?

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What are things that inspire me?

What colours do I like?

What patterns have I seen, What motifs stand out?

The process of creating a mood board was very important to me, because it helped drive my process. It gave me a point I could start from - a base.

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Experimenting with colour is a very important part of my process because I often overdo my colour usage.

Trying things out implies thought and care and I want my work to show care.

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My favourite story from when I was growing up was that of the the four animal friends and how they manage to overcome obstacles in their path and stay together.

My grandmother was the person that’d tell me stories. I loved my time with her - especially, all the bedtime stories she’d pull out from her stash. I remember how her hands looked, turning pages, how her voice sounded.

She was beautiful.

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Stories are a part of our lives, we converse in stories. When we talk about that neoighbour we have and how our day was we are telling a story. In my country, stories are often when people are told gathered in the shade of trees, it’s almost ritualistic.

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I had no cues for this project.

No base, no initial direction but my own.

I’m an indecisive person so to give me too many choices is to throw me into an abyss.

But this was my chance to sink or swim.

The self directed project was a safe space for every wrong idea, every experimental vision.

We had constructive critique, yes.

But this was our child.

We gave birth to every aspect of it.

We decided what it would look like.

We decided what it would be about.

We decided how we’d like people to see it.

Disconnect, fear, loneliness and hurt.

My demons exist because of this conflict, This conflict that lives inside me.

The conflict that is fed by my inability, To be one with the people around me.

The conflict that is fed by the lack of will, To be either a part or separate.

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During this project I focused on creating work that stemmed from my feelings. Feelings that stemmed from being in a place that felt so unfamiliar, feelings that stemmed from the anxieties that had been hidden till now.

Loud, north-indian woman, That name I was called once.

It was what I was but not what I wanted to be.

I grew up in the west, But my parents were from the north, So I grew up to be confused.

Unconsciously so I was and am a mass of contradiction, The irony I see in my own personality, Is amusing to say the least.

I finally moved to the north, To pursue ‘higher’ education, And I fit.

It fit.

Like a glove I never wanted to take off.

My native language The one my mother taught me – Blossomed like a flower being watered.

But I am a mixture of my surroundings and my upbringing,

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And neither place could fit me, Perfectly.

It is possible that no place is home, But that home is situational.

Home is merely a feeling.

Home isn’t perfection.

It is possible that I didn’t see The value of each place While I was in it It is possible that confused isn’t what I am.

I am a mixture.

The kind that my grandmother made, Peanuts, tomatoes and onions, Layers of flavor I find home where I am.

The north, the south, the east and west Are all native to me,

The similarities rise, The differences fade, First glances aren’t enough To be at home somewhere, I needed to learn and unlearn How to truly be a part of something And then once I was, Life would displace me And I’d start all over.

Again.

Again.

Because I was building two diverse bodies of work, inspiration came from two seperate visual spaces.

There was the

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Comic/Narrative body of inpiration,

And the Sculpture body of inspiration.

Which lead to these

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rough ideas

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A zoomed in view of the comics for your reading pleasure.

Š Shruti Sharma Illustrator, Designer, Ruler of the Shruniverse.

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