During the initial weeks of my residency at SAIC I realized that the studio can be a relatively malleable and mobile space. Though I enjoy having a dedicated location to make things (a traditional studio), I also benefit from a degree of movement and change in environment. Depending on the project I am working on I may spend two hours writing and/or sketching at a coffee shop, and then shift to the traditional studio space, followed by an evening walk. Overall, I appreciate switching things up and maintaining a sense of balance when developing creative work
The residency schedule thus far has kept me very busy. But I have done my best to develop creative material in two areas: drawing, and visual/written concepts for an artist's book. Following the idea of a malleable or mobile studio (mentioned above) I devoted part of June 28 and 29 to shifting between different spaces—I spent time drawing within my SAIC studio, I went for a walk, and then spent time at a coffee shop writing (further time was spent on the computer in my dorm preparing the artist's book).
During this exploratory phase of the residency, I am finding it helpful to mix and match different spaces as well as different modes of making. Between June 28 and 29 I made use of automatism as a starting point for a small scale graphite drawing. I used a similar approach for an image created earlier in the residency. Each of these images were created by finding meaning and form within initial improvised mark-making (executed in rapid and loose manner without looking at the paper). I intentionally use automatism as a starting point in order to create images that emerge in an unplanned manner.
During this time I also began piecing together content for a possible artist's book (for potential screen printing). As part of this exercise I gathered previously captured film stills or photos and turned each into a coarse dot pattern in Photoshop (accentuating the aesthetics of screen printing). I also wrote text for the book—the verbal part of the book revolves around ideas about line-making. As it stands, I may not end up printing this book during the summer residency, but the experience of writing/reflecting on aspects of drawing and philosophy helped me to define ideas for the current project I am involved in (described in the remainder of this post).
Later in the week I decided to tackle a new drawing through the same approach mentioned above (starting with improvised marks)—but on a larger scale than previous work. I don't usually render imagery beyond 18" x 24" (the size of a standard illustration pad). However, I imagined that changing the size of my drawing surface would help in the exploration of new aesthetic possibilities.
My decision to pursue this large scale drawing emerged on the morning of Sunday, July 2 (as I awakened). Later that day I walked to my studio and created a landscape drawing surface on the East-facing wall by taping three 18" x 24" sheets horizontally and two vertically. I then proceeded to begin a graphite drawing. I started with extensive gestural marks before indicating details.
I continued adding visual elements and texture to the image throughout Sunday afternoon and Monday (I used a range of graphite media and erasing techniques). The drawing is unfinished but has already played an important role in suggesting a new direction for my image-making.
In addition to this large drawing I also explored a form of mark-making through movement and chance. I created a basic method for creating a drawing by walking. Using packing tape, I made a makeshift chord that allowed me to drag a piece of paper along the ground (admittedly this is extremely rudimentary but it was all I had in the studio when the idea popped into my mind).
The images below show the large graphite drawing, a spread from the book, and the drawing-made-by-walking with chord.
