Week 13:

Thursday ~

Final multiples critique:

For the critique I brought in kits for writing letters to nowhere. These kits included a sheet of six stamps, a wax seal, and a long list of instructions all contained within an envelope. Going into the critique I already knew there were things that I wanted to change about the kit and those thoughts were supported by the feedback I got. The instructions could be simplified and shortened, the kit could include paper to write on, and the kit could include a pencil to write with. I also felt that if the stamp sheet was going to have six stamps all of the other supplies should be available in the same quantity. So before documentation I made these changes.

This new kit comes in a box with six envelopes, six pieces of paper, six stamps, six seals, a pencil, and an improved instruction card. The new instruction card is half the size of the old one and is made of nicer materials than the previous plain printer paper.

Tuesday ~

Final book critique and documentation:

Week 11:

Tuesday ~

Take A Stand playlist from Art 21 – https://art21.org/playlist/taking-a-stand/ 

The artists from this playlist that really stood out to me were Stephanie Syjuco and the collective Postcommodity.

Stephanie Syjuco’s counterfeit crochet project really stood out to me. I really enjoyed how this project got people involved. Stephanie posted simple instructions and it became a large movement. She uses this project to talk about partaking in and denying consumerism as well as outsourcing labour.

Postcommodity created a site specific installation using hot air balloons along the Arizona – Sonora border. This symbolic fence was used as a way to “almost flip the script or to complicate the way we understand fences,” also “The idea of the balloons is to intersect the U.S.-Mexico border. That signified a suturing or connecting of the Americas together”.

Week 10:

Tuesday ~

Week 9:

Tuesday ~

Book progress ->

The theme of the book is time and is shown by the age of the hands progressively getting older on each page.

Week 7:

Thursday ~

Initial Book Brainstorm:

My three books I brought to class ->

I started with these books because they are what was immediately available to me. However, there are many things about them I like for this project. The Printmakers Document by Jim Dine has an interesting layout with a mix of text and imagery. I particularly enjoy the pages in this book that are just long skinny columns of red text. Daily Magic by Judika Illes talks about time and the creation and evolution of the calendar in a really interesting way. This is a theme that I often think about and sparks a few ideas about how I could show the passing of time in a book format. The final book Images of Age by Micheal Jaques shows images he has made (drawings, prints, etc.) of the elderly. I really enjoyed these images and his art style.

Class Notes ->

Week6:

Thursday ~

Environmental Video Art Final Work: “Glowing in the Thicket” – Anna Syme & Alyssa Dupuis

These videos explore interacting with and being a part of nature through the ideas of camouflage and bioluminescence. During the day the feminine figure is seen trying and failing to hide within and mimic the natural world and at night they are seen glowing and enjoying being seen. The videos are to be watched in tandem on screens that face each other so that the viewer has to stand in the middle and look back and forth between the two. You can’t watch it all at once and will notice something new each time it loops. One audio track of ambient day and night sounds together plays in the background filling the space and immersing the viewers in both worlds at the same time.

Audio –

“Instead of masking like they did in the day, now that they’re visible,

they celebrate the vulnerability of being witnessed.

Though they risk shame, rejection, and humiliation by being so visible,

they are content.”

– Anna

Week 5:

Tuesday & Thursday ~

Video Art Work in Progress:

After getting all of our footage on Friday we started to put it all together into two videos, one for daytime shots and another for nighttime shots.

At first we thought of displaying them side by side in with a split screen but then after some thought we decided to display them separately on two different computer monitors.

(opening shots for each video) ->

Week 4:

Tuesday ~

Video Art Brainstorm:

Initial ideas with partner:

Research from arboretum website:

Moving with the wind- In one of the natural areas of the arboretum, Victoria woods, there are many types of old growth hardwoods such as sugar maple, white ash, black cherry, and beech. These trees have grown to be big but not huge because their root systems don’t grow out very far due to the wet soil. This means that if they grow too tall a strong wind could blow them over. So, even though this forest has never been clear cut it is not very dense, this leaves room for a variety of woodland plants to grow in the space between and in the upended root systems. Cool videos of trees .

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Week 2:

Tuesday ~

Eyes as Big as Plates

Eyes as Big as Plates is an ongoing photographic and book series by artists Riitta Ikonen and Karoline Hjorth. The project started as an attempt to illustrate certain phenomena – folklore, stories, figures from myth. However, more recently it has become more about just working with whoever they are interviewing.

I found the photos captivating. They all carry a level of mystery and intrigue that makes you want to look at them for hours. I thought that the idea to reimagine older people as figures from lore and legend was such a cool concept. I love painting older people because they have the best stories and such a strong, sure presence, you can really feel this in Riitta Ikonen and Karoline Hjorth’s photos.

Riitta Ikonen and Karoline Hjorth work with the person they are photographing. They start by getting to know them, then they go to a location that makes sense for that person, and use the landscape to inform the viewer.

In the first image sits Halvar, a retired farmer from Norway. Halvar suggested that they shoot on the land where he and his family have their roots. His headdress is made of wild grass found in the landscape they were shooting in and is a symbol in local legends about figures that live underground.

In the second image is Agnes, a 90 year old woman who has gone parachute jumping twice (once at 85 and again at 90). She described “floating through the air as pure joy” so they decided she would dress to depict the fabled north wind.

These images feel powerful, and magical in a way that makes me believe these people could truly be the figures they depict.

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200617-eyes-as-big-as-plates-remarkable-photos-of-people-in-nature

Thursday ~

For my book stacks I went to the third floor of McLaughlin Library. I wandered around and pulled books with titles that sounded interesting and books that I thought looked interesting. I then put together books that I thought worked together. I played with stacking them upright on the floor.

Then I decided to put my stacks on a shelf. I liked that you can kind of see where they were found.

Final Independent Project

As an independent project, I wanted to explore part of my personal practice as an artist: writing. I’m very interested in the concept of medicine in literature and how writing can be a useful tool to promote growth and healing. Earlier this year I started writing as a way to cope with being raped, I was shocked at how the words just flowed out of me. I never thought I’d have this much to say, I had repressed the memories for five years unable to actually call it what it was because I was in a relationship with the man who assaulted me and I loved him. I’ve always enjoyed writing but I always saw it as separate from my art until I started writing poems about my trauma this semester. I see these works as individual moments in time and vessels for human connection. I couldn’t believe how many people connected with my work when I started sharing it. I framed all of these works individually and I envision them installed on a wall together in a cluster. I think eventually I would also like to turn these into audio works where people could put in headphones and listen to each one individually around the gallery. I can also see these a prologues or prompts for future paintings.

This first one is a story about my best friend growing up and the first time I realized I might be gay, I was 12 and the kids at school were bullying me for having a pixie cut and they were calling me a dyke. When I asked her if she would still love me if I was a Lesbian she told me we could be friends but that we couldn’t have sleepovers anymore because she wouldn’t want me to molest me in her sleep. I didn’t talk about it until I was 20 after that day and I haven’t talked to her in 5 years for a number of reasons.

This is a poem I wrote about being assaulted, it’s called “The First Time I Had Sex”, I felt it was too personal to share with others so I blacked out all of the lines except one and pinned it into a black shadow box with a black mat like you would a moth. I also thought it might be more powerful to just have this one line with no context what so ever, I really enjoy the anonymity of this work because it can mean different things to people.

This work is some recent elections on gender and what it means to be a woman.

This is another line that I took from a different poem about being assaulted, I thought this was powerful on its own because the timeline addresses the man who did it while not getting too graphic. I have a hard time seeing myself as a victim and speaking about these events so I don’t know if I would ever share the full poems to the public.

If being sick was an addiction

anorexia was my drug of choice

Numbing the pain with alcohol, coffee,

and sex with strange men I met on the internet

This last piece is a summary of my late teens and early 20’s. As a way to cope with being abused at the time I threw myself into an eating disorder because it was the only control i had in my life, in a way even though I was hurting myself, being anorexic kept me alive during that time of my life. After the relationship ended I was with a very kind man I went to art school with, when that relationship inevitably crashed and burned I threw myself into a hyper-sexual phase as a coping mechanism for being with the trauma and trying to regain control in my life. I think I was also trying to prove that I was happy being “straight”, I was wrong. There’s something incredible about being able to self-reflect. and heal and look at the past and understand why you did the things you did.

I tried to add the image of all of these works together in the frame but my computer is not letting me.

Take A Stand

Book Project: Work in Progress

I added all the pages of my book but they are not showing up, I might just email you them.

Book Project: Ideas and Research

Originally I was inspired by this book called “Come As You Are” by Emily Nagoski. The book is an excellent read whether you are the owner of a vulva or not. The author confronts sex not as a taboo but as something that should be talked about and answers questions we’ve otherwise been too ashamed to ask. I find it a rather beautiful and powerful approach to sexuality. As someone who isn’t a big reader I don’t own many books, typically the books I do own are about plants or bugs. I bought this book last year when I was really struggling to connect with my partner and be intimate, I was so sure the problem was me and If I could read this book and figure out what was wrong with me maybe I might finally want to have sex with him. Flash forward a year a lot has changed, I am no longer with my partner and tho this has been a very scary and emotional journey I realized that I am not in fact broken, I’m just gay, and the reason for my problems was that I was lying to myself trying to prove that I could be happy and settle down with a man. I think when you’re in the closet or even just denying your truth sex can be really scary, I had made myself numb to the idea of liking girls for years despite knowing my parents were fine with me being a homosexual. It was some sort of overcorrection or overcompensation and I was so confused for so long. It’s not until I’ve truly let myself feel attraction to women and acknowledge these parts of myself that everything in my life has become much clearer. With my book, I wanted to focus on my two primary interests: plants and sexuality. More than that I wanted to challenge the notion of genitals and people’s obsession with how that correlates to gender and sexuality. I wanted to show just how beautiful and natural diverse genders and sexualities are and that genitals aren’t what makes a person a certain “thing”. Rather when I say I’m gay it’s not so black and white as I only date women or I’m only attracted to people with vulvas, rather I’m attracted to feminine and masculine energy in people the the rest doesn’t really matter, I’m just not content being with a cisgender straight man, mainly because I’m tired of being reduced to being a woman in their eyes. I want to be with other queer people who truly see me and not just the superficial parts of me on the outside that most people mistake for “woman”.

Arboretum Video Art

Harvesting Acorns featuring Shanza Yole and Forest Funston

Disclaimer: All materials harvested in the arboretum gene banks were done with permission from the horticultural team and sustainably collected for seed processing. The arboretum is a consumption-free space meaning that you cannot pick or eat anything you find in the arb.

My inspiration for this piece was my chosen family. I think one of the best parts of being queer is the sense of community that you find through shared experience. Working in the arboretum this summer I met some incredible people who are now some of my closest friends. Not having any queer friends since moving to Guelph has been very lonely and isolating, I didn’t realize just how much I was missing until I met three very special people this May across the lunchroom table in the Hilton Center. One of my favorite memories was picking native plums this summer while singing The Greatest Showman song. In an attempt to recreate the queer experience in the arboretum and explore what it means to be gay in the arboretum with my friends. These wonderfully weird and creative souls had never participated in performance/experimental art before and they did amazing, they were such good sports coming to my rescue and putting this video together with me.

Bookstack Nina Katchadourian

One of the first books I picked up was in the philosophy section, how I got there im not sure, the book was titled Kents theory of form. I started comb through the various books, looking at the colours, their spins lined up one by one, withered and dusty. And yet the pages inbetween looked untouched by time. None of the pages had been dogeared, there was no evidence anyone had been there before me. Not a stain or smudge left behind. I myself am not a big reader as I dont have the attention spand for it, my focus for this project was texture, colour, repetition and form. Arguably the best book title I found was the Paradox Of Existence which pretty much sums up my entire life. an interesting play on words that I was experimenting with was:

Critique of Pure Reason

Free to Hate

The Paradox of Existence

Artist Research: Shawna Dempsey

1. Shawna Dempsy is a Canadian performance artist and queer icon, best known for their work with Lorri Millan as The Lesbian Park Rangers. Both artists have collaborated on a number of satiric and lavishly outrageous performative works such as Growing Up Suites, and my personal favorite We’re Talking Vulva. I think what is most appealing about Shawna Dempsy is their ability to reach various groups with their work through comedy and pop culture. So whether you can relate to them as a queer individual or as an objective third-party viewer you’ll probably have a laugh. Dempsy is able to touch on important subjects and voice feminist and LGBTQ+ advocacy. One of the strategies they use is satire. By using satire, Dempsy makes these necessary conversations surrounding the lesbian experience more palatable to viewers. This is an excellent approach because they’re able to shatter stereotypes about feminists/queer women being angry and volatile. Not only are queer women seldom represented outside of the male gaze but there is not always a lot of positive or accurate representation either. I really appreciate how they don’t take themself too seriously, it’s very refreshing just how silly and yet powerful their work is. If I had to summarize their system/task they assigned themselves in a sentence it would be: Abolishing the patriarchy one lesbian at a time.
2. In the Lesiban Park Ranger performance, Dempsy and Millan navigate queer wilderness while flipping stereotypes and gender roles on their heads. They challenge narratives on colonialism, sexism, capitalism, and the heterosexual “ideal” by inserting themselves into the landscape of Banff National Parks, (although they do not directly critique colonialism). This parody of the traditional and machismo role of the park ranger turned lesbian park ranger works very well to frame their message. By inserting themselves into the natural landscape not only are the viewers able to appreciate our natural resources but also identify some more critical issues of our nation, such as the forced displacement and assimilation of our First Nations people. The audience is invited to question the integrity and authority of the park rangers while confusing the audience. However, if you are able to read between the lines you might soon realize that this is much more than just a funny skit. There is a definite correlation between wilderness and queerness in this work which peaks my interest. Perhaps because, like the great outdoors, sexuality can be unpredictable and at times difficult to navigate.

Week 12✦

Final Book Documentation

Gallery of fun/detail photos

Formal Gallery:

ARTIST MULTIPLES

FREE RAINBOW ✥ CONSTRUCTION PROCESS ✥

FREE RAINBOW ✥ FINISHED PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION ✥

✥ IN ACTION ✥

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Week 11✦

♡

Multiples Ideas/Brainstorm ❉

FREE RAINBOW ✥ BRAINSTORMING ✥

(Picture of a rainbow cast by one of my sun catchers in my home)

My current interests within my art practice have been about honouring and focusing on the present moment. Noticing the small moments every day that can surprise us with a little magic. Specifically, I have been interested in unique phenomenon of light refractions and shadows in my environment. I am intrigued by the sun and the moon and how they interact with our surroundings, performing like another dimension in our world. There are some tools that can be used to enhance and create light refractions in a specific place. For this project I would like to create a “rainbow maker” multiple. 

Even when a sun catcher is in the same spot every day, the way the light interacts with it is never the same. As long as there is sun/moon light, there can be rainbows. On cloudy, overcast or stormy days, these sculptures still hold a glimmer, it sparkles and within the crystal prisms you can see the trapped colours. This device can be used to bring unique light phenomenon into any environment.

I am proposing a very simple yet effective concept, either in the form of a “Make your own rainbow kit” or a ready-made rainbow refracting charm that can be placed anywhere you desire. I am going to include a metal clasp that can be secured to many different surfaces and locations, and fishing line to connect your clasp to your crystal prism that will also be included. I am debating whether it is necessary to include other components. 

I am proposing that with your rainbow creator, you will have the freedom to insert it into the world wherever you feel our world needs it. 

For myself, although I see rainbows as a magical and beautiful phenomenon, they are mainly special because of their universal symbolism for positivity: joy, inclusion, peace, love, good fortune etc… Although all are positive meanings, different religions and cultures have a different message for what a rainbow means specifically. You may place your rainbow and use it however you believe it is needed, no matter your beliefs it can be a powerful and beneficial device.

My rainbow maker (kit) will include:

-a metal clip/clasp

-fishing line

-7 coloured beads: red, pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange

-2 clear round faceted beads (light refracting beads)

-1 octagon crystal (main light refracting/rainbow making component)

Either pre-assembled or requiring assembly?

-will include a prompt/ instructions how how to use your light refractor

NAME IDEAS:

-Free Rainbow

-Rainbow Maker

-Rainbow Creator

-Light Refractor

-Light Refracting Charm

-Light Dispersing Charm

TO ME, this idea feels like a way for people to express love, joy and also acts as an intervention in daily life; with the intent of having it catch someone’s eye and create a moment for them to be present. We are often wrapped up in our thoughts or on our next destination, we don’t pay attention or fully engage with our present moment. 

INDEPENDENT WORK IDEA

♡

EXPERIMENTAL VIDEO – The Light Dimension❉

(Examples of photographs of magical, curious shadows and light refractions I have taken over the last year)

As mentioned in my multiples post, I am currently very interested in moments in my everyday life when the sun or moon’s light interacts with our world. I am fascinated by the moments where they create dancing shadows and light refractions that perform as extra layers in our reality. There are instances where there seems to be a bridge between worlds: no longer as predictable and monotonous as it was, life is transformed, becoming curious and enchanting. Part of my current art practice is to capture and document these transient moments and use them as inspiration for paintings and drawings. I recreate the moments and aim to conjure the emotions and wonder felt in those inspired instances so that they may endure in the form of photographs, paintings and drawings. I hope to inspire viewers to take the time to contemplate the small moments in life that hold so much beauty when we are paying attention.   

I have been also documenting videos but have not made any formal work with the footage. I would like to make a video loop with ethereal sounds to create a peaceful and otherworldly experience when watching the video. I would like to include footage of rainbows, light refractions, as well as shadows and other interesting light phenomenon.

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Week 10✦

✩

Final Book❁

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Week 9✦

✩

Book Progress❁

SPED-UP PROCESS FOR CREATING SPREAD IN PROCREATE ON IPAD

Pages In Progress

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Week 8✦

Field trip !

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Week 7✦

✩

Book Brainstorm❁

Shan and I decided we would like to create a book about making pigments from our surroundings. It will include documentation on our process of creating a series of pigments using specimens/objects in our daily environment from our video project.

Notes/Planning ↴

Book Inspiration:

This is a book I have at home that has some really great drawings and journaling style documentation.

This book that Diane shared with us was the perfect way for us to visualize how to begin this project!

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Week 6✦

✩

Video Art ☽

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Week 5✦

✩

Video Art in Progress☽

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Week 4✦

✩

Video Art Brainstorm☽

Shan and I have had the idea recently to create paint using plants or reused materials. We would like to create a video documenting the process. We would like it to be very intimate in the style of recording as well as quick and engaging to hold the viewers attention but also replay enough information.

Some people who inspired this idea for me are artists I follow on instagram:

@thedogwooddyer @blackforager @wildpigmentproject

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Week 2✦

✩

Bookstacks: Inspired by Nina Katchadourian

It was such a playful experience creating book stacks using different methods and inspirations. This exercise has given me a new perspective on books I have owned for a very long time.

Using my own and my partners collections of books, I gathered them all in one room(the room most of them live in, my little home studio) and proceeded to intuitively start making combinations and playing with the books. I lost myself in ply for a few hours just giggling away at my combinations. I noticed many of the books I had were one worded titles which made for an interesting challenge to work with. After playing for a while I reconfigured some of the stacks on my desk with my wooden wall in the background. I set them up with some direct lighting, I also made some shadows( with my hands in some and by manipulating my light sources for others) for some photos in order to capture an aura for the communicated statements. It was very difficult to choose just three, here are my final selections then I will share my additional experiments below. I wanted to also experiment more with colour and sculptural qualities but will require a larger library. This is definitely an activity I would like to continue attempting with different collections and see what the results may hold. Even with very limited books, I felt I had not yet exhausted all their possibilities.

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FINAL SELECTION

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MORE EXPERIMENTS

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Tried to create eerie lighting for this book stack, books surrounded by candlelight. This was the most interesting of that shoot.

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I experimented with stacking books in alphabetical order and then lining up the titles like in my previous attempts. This time I was interested in looking at the tower sculpturally. I then attempted this method a few more times.

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