FIN 140 Unit 2

PLACE: Situate to the place that you want to explore for this walking lab. Record the following items:
Where is the location, (country, city, street, can you not the latitude and longitude?
The Salmon River Estuary, A trail leads into the estuary off a well used logging road outside the Sayward Village.

What is the place, (describe: a bustling shopping mall, a quite hiking trail by a stream)
A quiet nature preserve with a small walking trail where the Salmon River meets the Johnstone Strait

Why did you choose this place?
This is not somewhere I often come to walk

UP + DOWN perspective:
Take time to look downward (Take 2 interesting photos – change angles and perspectives).

Take a photo of you that serves as a portrait but does not include your face.
I came across a bear and noped out, took this as I was making my way back down the trail.

3.  TOUCH: be as descriptive as possible

Feel a surface and write down 1 sentence to describe it. 
Fir Bark: Cool, rough, grooved, fibrous

Feel a second surface and write down 1 sentence to describe it. 
Fallen Leaf: Crunchy, dry, brittle.

Write a sensation felt within the body and write down 1 sentence to describe it. 
“Oh S**T that’s a bear” probably isn’t what this assignment wanted. But that was the only sensation I could think of after coming around the corner to find a black bear in the middle of the trail.

4. SEE: be as descriptive as possible

Describe a colour and texture of an object – do this for 2 objects

A pale orange filled mushroom with holes chewed through it. The top has a  darker spot in the Center, fading out to an off-white creamy colour. The mushroom is spongy, but not porous. There are two holes chewed through the cap, and one larger indentation where something has enjoyed a meal.

A deep brown rusty chain lays half buried in  the ground.  The rust has eaten away at the surface, leaving scars and divots long the cable.

Describe the texture or colour of an object surface and cross it with another sense – do this for 2 objects
I understand what to do for this but I cannot seem to actually do it?

Take a detailed photo of one element you wrote about for this section.

5. HEAR: take 3 minutes in stillness, with your eyes closed and listen. 

List the various sounds you hear, a minimum of 8  sounds

Seagulls, water sloshing, wind through the trees, logging trucks on the road, songbirds,  crunching leaves? Oh. That’s a bear on the trail. I’m going to leave now!!!

Pair each sound with 1-2 descriptive words

Seagulls: shrill, distant.
Water Sloshing: Calming, soft
Wind through the trees: Static, everpresent.
Logging trucks: rumbling, growl
Songbirds: cheery, flittering
Crunching leaves: unexpected, heavy

Doodle on a piece of paper (lines, marks, dots) in reaction to a sound – label the sound(s) you focused on. Note how long you doodle for 20 sec, 2 minutes. 

4. Take time Listen to your breath. Write words to describe it.
   
   Heavy, relaxed, scratchy from allergies.
   
   SMELL close your eyes and take a deep breath. 
   1. Write 2-3 descriptive words to explain the smell of this place
      Fresh, salty, fishy
      
   2. Write 2-3 descriptive words to explain the scent of a specific object in that space. 
      Bracket Fungi: Earthy, muted.
      
5. TASTE be as descriptive as possible (this one will be explored in your imagination:)
   1. Write 1-2 sentences that if you could taste this sense of place, how would you describe it? 
      Fresh, green, earthy.

Intent:
To create an artwork that incorporates time as an aspect of how the work is experienced, to create an artwork with a temporary existence or in a sequential medium like video, sound, or performance.

1. Where were they born? Where did they grow up? Where do they live now
   1. And Goldsworthy was born in 2956 in Cheshire England.
   2. Goldsworthy now lives in Scottland

2. Where did they study art? Or are they self-taught?
   1. Goldsworthy studied at the Bradford College of Art from 1974 to 1975 and the University of Central Lancashire from 1975 to 1978

3. What kind of art do they make?
   1. Goldsworthy makes art using existing elements in nature, he creates site-specific land art using twigs, leaves, rocks, shale, and ice.
4. Looking at the selected assemblage artwork: 

1. What are the formal aspects of her work (size, colour, materials, texture, value, composition, genre, style, etc)?
   1. Unknown size, fallen leaves arranged in a circular pattern in a gradient starting from bright yellow in the center to deep burgundy around the edges. There is a mysterious black object in the center.
      
2. How do these formal aspects affect how you “read” the artwork?
   1. The gradient makes it read as warm and fiery, like an eclipse or a black hole, drawing in your attention. Using natural elements in a very unnatural way invokes a very foreboding feeling.
      
3. What materials and methods might she be using to make these works?
   1. Goldsworthy claims to have collected fallen leaves and arranged them in this pattern. The black object in the center may be a hole.
      
4. What is the context for this work (when this work was produced, what is going on politically, theoretically/philosophically, in the art world, in their personal life)?
   1. This piece was not dated, we cannot know for sure what was going on in the world. Goldsworthy speaks of enjoying creating land-based art to explore and reshape nature. This may be the only reason for the creation of this piece.
      
5. What emotions does the work elicit for you?
   1. Curiosity. What is the black object. What is nature looking at.
      
6. What ideas does the work cultivate, or questions does the work ask you to consider?
   1. What of the surrounding area made Goldsworthy feel this was what he needed to create.
      
7. What does the artist say about their own work?
   1. Goldsworthy collaborates with nature, using whatever materials are at hand to create works of art exploring the essence of these materials.  
      
8. …… What other questions about this artist or their work do you have?
   1. When was this piece made? Was it titled? Is it simply an expression of a love of nature?
      
9. Is there anything about this artist’s work that interests you? What and why? If not, can you articulate why that is? What is missing for you?
   1. I find it intriguing how he can create such clean lines with objects from nature. In some of Goldsworthy’s work he appears to have torn leaves to separate colours and create lines. I do struggle to be as interested in this work as I may be in others just because of the lack of narrative.
      
10. Is there anything about this artist’s work that you can carry over into your own art practice? What in particular?
    1. Goldsworthy’s shape and composition are very striking. This is something to keep in mind when working on more story-based art. Composition is always important.

References:
https://www.livingyourwildcreativity.com/art-gallery-1-mitchell-1

I started by just writing down ideas for themes and mediums. When I got to the point of trying to figure out an idea without limits, my Dungeon Master reminded me that D&D has no limits! Clearly we just need to start an actual play stream.

I tried mind mapping, this just isn’t something I’m good at.

So I went back to lists. The Character Journal book art seems to be where my inspiration is sparking so I will likely explore that more. I have recently shifted from Otter to Bugbear, so it would be neat to explore the different avatars over the years to see the different ways I’ve identified with or expressed my sense of self.

While I was shuffling papers around I found I have apparently attempted this project before.

I use Discord a lot to sort out my ideas. I have a discord channel that is essentially what this progress blog is intended to be. I have decided I will post some of the more substantial updates from that channel to this blog.

Whenever I tell people what I’m working on they tend to offer ‘help’. I think I’m not doing a good job of explaining the project.

Canta gave me a pretty solid idea, actually. When I was livestreaming, I was making time-lapse videos of the art I was making. A time-lapse video does use time as a factor of how the art is viewed. There is nothing saying I couldn’t record time lapse videos of the sketches. I will put this idea in my back pocket for later.
I could, also, use livestreaming the art as a dimension of the project itself as sort of a performance. Maybe look at this more later.

I think I will start working on this with the anticipation of doing the animatic because that will involve the most work. If anticipate the project that will require the most work I’ll have less work to do if that is the project I end up taking on, and I’ll have already laid the ground work for the three other options.

I will record each of the sketches and final drawings in case a time lapse video ends up being the way to go?

Some thumbnails of the ideas I’ve had.
I am liking 1 and 3 the best. The booklet just doesn’t feel like it is interesting enough and the timeline is boring and confusing.

I will need to present these avatars in chronological order, but I will need to work backwards to remember them all.

I know I have more than 12 of these, but they fade out a lot as I go back. I do tend to use ‘canine’ as a general expression of an inaccurate gender. I seem to explore gender by pushing the species I represent myself as.

I have a solid vision of the central point of the possible animatic. Soft landings with a hard transition into Trouble, who then gets surpassed by Brassy and Ranger. Ranger being unimpressed by yet another return to form with the awkward dog. I cannot seem to fit Elliott or Hazel into either end of this.

There is a possibility of having Scruffdog wearing and taking off the Elliott mask.

Perhaps a flash between Scruffdog and the otter as they snap at some vague figure before they drop and cover their head with their arms. The otter then standing up in their place. The otter happy until the mask starts to slip again.
At the end have the Bugbear reach out and lift the otter to their feet. Then the two of them walk off together.

I will need to figure out how to fit Hazel into the Soft Landings section. Perhaps having the fur colour shift to brown before the strike and fall. Hazel was short lived between Soft Landings and Trouble.

Can I fit Spades in? Have Spades lift Trouble to her feet before Brassy and Ranger run by.



The benefits of the booklet would be that I could explain what each of these represented about me. The animatic gives a more dramatic change between each of the avatars. There is still some thinking to be done. I will need to sketch each of the avatars outright so I have simple model sheets for the animatic.

What would that look like?


BUD – Feeling unintelligent/not understanding most of what is going on
Durum – Trying to be happy despite years of gaslighting and trust issues
Polly – Dedication & Snacks
Puck – Anger issues, struggles with things needing to be orderly
Bradley – Inferiority and coming to terms with being competent

Bugbear Monk, Otter Monk, Parrot Druid, Rabbit Barbarian, Bugbear Fighter.
I’ve got my own D&D group at this point.


So how would that work as book art? I like the idea of the folded book from the first sketch being a journey through the different characters and what they represent.

Maybe that’s what I don’t like about the animatic, I don’t feel like I could really do it the justice it deserves. It needs to be something more than just an animatic. Perhaps shifting gears back to the folded book art is the way to go. That gives more of a chance to explore what each of of them represented without having to explain it. Though I do like the more cinematic aspect of the animatic… But the animatic also makes me want to burn it all down.

WHAT IF: I start doing my daily comic again?

I’ve been putting it off for similar reasons, I’ve not been sure how to shift between the Otter and the Bugbear. I could do the daily comics every day for a week. Perhaps digitally? Cleaned up?

It’d be a lot of me sitting at my desk… I’d need to actually go do something, or find something interesting about each day. I could do an hourly comic then spend a week cleaning it up?

I keep coming back to the time lapse/animatic idea.

Aimée Henny Brown is a printmaker who also does instillation and performance art. Brown speaks about herself as a researcher and educator as a part of her creative experience. She sees herself as a maximalist, rather than a minimalist, which I very much connected with, though I was intrigued by the idea of using negative space and removal of subjects to portray a message. I am intrigued by the idea of artist residencies, though Brown also utilizes grants and has been featured in solo and group exhibitions. I was most interested in how Brown uses research as a key factor of her art practice.  To preform and share research as a method of preforming art is not something I had considered for art before. I may consider adding more research to my own practice in the future.

What was your first major memory?

Luf:
My first memory is on my third birthday, coming out of my room into the living room, excited for my birthday, my mom playing a cassette tape with a happy birthday Sarah song on it. With a vague awareness later that I have no memories before, only of this day, like it was the first time gaining true consciousness.

After that all my memories between then and like 7 are kind of jumbled up, in that way of, I know these things happened and I was small. I don’t remember the order

Gryph:
I remember my sister sticking a stick into a whole with ground bees in it and running like hell! And then I road on a boat while my sister and distant cousin were treated for ground bee stings. I remember the boat. I was told about they fact they got stung a lot.

I’ve made some solid progress on sketches and selected songs for the 6 avatars so far. I need to find the transition between Grym and Trouble. Both of which work better if I were to do this as an animatic. Beyond Scruffdog I need to add the Otter and the Bugbear.

I wrote out the main story beats I need to hit now I can cross them off as I go.

It’s a very vague script, but it’s time to start boarding.

I am using direction to show forward and backward progress. When a character is facing Right they are making forward progress, when a character is facing Left they are losing progress

I have finished 90+ frames so far. 30 more to go. One more day. We got this…

Change
_________ = Fine
Time


This work was an exploration of identity through time.

I have often used avatars to portray myself and over the years these avatars have evolved to show my feelings towards my gender and mental health. After a traumatic medical event in early 2011 much of how I see myself changed. There was a rapid shift between these personas through 2014-2016 before I realized I was trying to force myself deeper into a box. My depression got worse through the end of 2017 when I finally let myself embrace what I had been trying to hide. This past year I’ve opened myself up to some new friends who have helped me learn to love myself more.

For this project I used Clip Studio Paint to create the art and Adobe After Effects to create the animatic.
Music from the Youtube Media Library.
Sound Effects from Freesounds.org