We had a great zoom meeting with Michele last night focussed around finding and pushing our boundaries.
Firstly, it was insightful and a relief to hear that most of the other students had some uncertainties or even some insecurities surrounding aspects of their art or the direction they were taking with their MA. I felt a bit more human as I could relate to some of them.
Secondly, it was good to be reminded of the piece of writing by Rebecca Fortman called ‘On not knowing – how artists think’. Some of the phrases that stood out was: “ working on the edge of un-thought’. Slowly building a language in which to think.” I just love this. I can totally relate to NOT KNOWING because I experience this in this MA. As my focus has changed I have often experienced self doubt. Michele encouraged us to try to become ‘Confidently Insecure’…
Confidently Insecure! This is a challenge and boundary that I will have to overcome. I will need to change my attitude towards ‘not knowing’ and become confident that I can trust the process.
Boudary no1:
I think one of the things that are holding me back, is that I need to gain clarity about what exactly my work is about. In a nutshell, it is about the importance of our interconnection with nature and with each other and the benefits of using art to reinforce those connections. This focus not only shines a light on how we should care for the health of our planet but also how it cares for our own health in the Digital Revolution that we find ourselves in. I have written a statement in my PPP but today I will revisit that and I feel that I need to make it PLAIN and more clear (even to myself) what my work is about and rest in that. To stop searching. There will always be time after the MA to pursue other themes but it is important to me to find clarity about my direction for this MA.
Boundary no2:
Materials and methods. These aspects are causing a mental boundary within me that is causing tension. I feel that in the context of our group and the contemporary art movements that are current, that my material and methods might be ‘too traditional’ but at the same time I am not ready to move away from them entirely. They are part of my language and what I feel comfortable with. I am pushing this boundary by looking at other drawing and painting mediums. I am exploring the idea of using natural earth pigments in my artwork and am excited about how it can connect with my themes. I have also explored watercolour as a paint medium as it allows me to draw on top of it more easily. It is also a more ‘friendly’ medium in terms cleaning and using less toxins and fumes. Lastly, I love that I have control over how soft or bold the medium ca be handled.
I am sure there are more boundaries to be found internally and externally. I will elaborate more on this in the future.
Another sentence that stood out from last night’s chat was (from Rachel Lowe I think): “The medium comes to the artists rescue”. I have experienced this over the last week when I started working with watercolour. It was such a relief just to get colour and line to flow. Watercolour has an element of unpredictability about it, which I enjoy. I am still able to have some control as I start my layers very light and am able to wipe away when needed. I feel that it’s soft washes and translucency will give me the ability to draw over it as and when needed and I like that it creates the effect of visible layers.
We discussed the notion of being held accountable for our artwork. Whether that be through aspects of our medium, theme, tellings of methods. We are held responsible for our intentions and therefore it is important to stay true to your own heart and creating work that is authentic. Work that stands up for what you believe in and has the potential to speak on behalf of others.
Michele also encouraged us to see boundaries as positive and to keep reflecting in our journals.
I have printed the paper – On not knowing. I’ll be reading through it this weekend and perhaps add to this post at a later stage.