MA 1 Visual Enquiry

plan update

Revised plan and definitionsHow to create chaos?-What is chaos-definitionThe unexpected-to create chaos is to create the unexpected, such as when is something looks hard but it is actually soft, etc. So opposites-the perception.To create a linear sculpture that appears to be burnished or Matt and metal but is actually phone covered in felt so light and blush. Their chaotic movement of sensory perception challenge.restrictions - 100 piece project possibleDon't miss stages-create forms from card, Plaster etc first. And then look into hard/Soft etcStages to 3-D--draw or

  1. trace images and Black out edges leaving the connected space-use black lines on paper and great to select space 'space awareness '
  2. Cut out 'greyspace' in another series, overlay and photographs-collage.
  3. Using card cut line is out completely-make into mini 3-D pieces that can be photographed
  4. Leo card to make square forms glued together
  5. Consider scale and in large-possibly using boxes instead.
  6. Consider materials subversives-thinking textiles soft sculpture-phone and dealt stitched embroidered stuffed

Restricts to a four all smaller3-D in TD plain-velvet flocking all resistor work-4n divorce, raised textiles-stitch already working with chainstitch-pronounce into deeper more pronounced raised workfrustration after group making session - vilene, transparency and laying & geometric now being used by many peers, initial reaction is to stop what I'm doing as I don't like going with the masses.100 day project - no time for that - could do 100 pieces project - 5 a day for 20 days.set restriction, - size - colour- i.e. current work - link to poetry or 3d etc

07/06/2018 - Evaluation and reflection: Task 2 & Task 5 Exploratory Project

EvaluationMy project is a journey through experiments and materials, a gathering of mini explorations that link together like branches of a tree. Without the need for a defined outcome, the Exploratory project was the perfect opportunity to 'play' and work inside different disciplines without judgement or expectation. The ideal space to dip into techniques to expand my horizons. Next, I would like to hone into one thing and exhaust it, explore it as far as I can.Takeaways: okay to be multidisciplinary, try things out, use the opportunity to experiment.What pushed me? fear of failure, excitement in techniques.Alongside wanting to do well and push my practice I was urged on by my own excitement in the processes and outcomes of each of the experiments. When something became stuck or didn't offer an immediate resoltion I was able too to put it down and move on to another area of the project.Sculpture: not yet comfortable & resisted so didn't see it through. The use of the laser cutter and unfamiliar materials seemed to be a step too far for me, I wasn't able to progress in this area as much as I would have liked.Books: materiality - only just touched on material exploration. In Tutor and Peer critiques, the books were received relatively well, there was interest in them as books and as art objects once sealed with paint, however, the materiality was questioned. I began to experiment with paper making but was not able to explore bookmaking with my own paper on the timescale.Scale: I resisted large scale for fear of not completing & challenging timescale - wanted to get the most out of the project. Again the personal issue of fear of failure held me back here, I did not want to start a large piece that showed slow progress for a project that was about exploring. I wanted to use the time as effectively as possible, so maintained smaller works to allow for more outcomes, I wanted quantity in this instance.Could push materials further - explore the stitched paper & its delicacy. The use of handmade paper and how the stitch interacts with it.Digital: needing to acquire new skills, self-taught studio set up, lighting, stop-go, adobe premier - I taught myself basic video creation and editing skills during this project which was fun and quite fulfilling. I am happy with the test videos I have created, I think there is more scope for using video as a medium to record performance.My expectations of making and the resistance to outsource - laser cutter or manufacturing - I am a traditionalist at heart and find it difficult to put value into concepts rather than material so if the work is created by other on my behalf I am challenged by this. I would like to place this directly into the work, consider if I can create work that requires the audience to do the 'making'.Destruction of work: - removal of 'precious' feelings towards work and seeing it all for what it is. Unpicking work became a piece in itself and the outcome was aesthetically pleasing. I absolutely loved this aspect of the work, both the dipping of the books and the unpicking of the textiles that was filmed. It was liberating to not feel chained to a final piece, to allow them to evolve into something more and something else.Overall the risk-taking aspect was the most profound takeaway from this project. I wish to make work and to destroy it, or evolve it with another process.The submission:It feels so small. It's tough to really pull your work into a small sendable package for assessment. To work out how you might be able to tell you story/express your thoughts in a succinct manner in a few pieces.It was however also quite cathartic and liberating to find that I could express my work in a minimal way.img_2024img_2034img_2023img_2030.jpgimg_2032.jpgimg_2036img_2020.jpgimg_2026img_2028.jpg

Exploratory Project - Wk 12 - extended - Video

Video works:I created several video works for the project. One was a Stop-Go Animation,[vimeo 273833616 w=640 h=360]516748 K VennerWoodbridge Video Fractured Foam from Katie Venner-Woodbridge on Vimeo.I did not create a storyboard or plan for this. I cut up some foam that was supplied by a friend and set about creating a small sequence. I wanted to explore order and chaos in a very simplified format that would still maintain the air of my work. By looping the video it reflects the daily routines and repetitions that I am so fond of and displays the way they ebb and flow. In hindsight, the material was not great and moved very easily if there was a breeze etc. I would also make a storyboard next time to make sure that the piece flowed steadily and developed into a more choreographed piece.After a tutorial with Kimberley Foster, we discussed the temporaryness of the drop collage pieces and I decided I would turn them into a performance and record it.[vimeo 273836648 w=640 h=360]516748 K VennerWoodbridge Video Performance Drop Collage sml from Katie Venner-Woodbridge on Vimeo.This piece as has a timelapse but I couldn't get the file to edit properly. I watched it on the camera and it felt so rushed I was happy to keep the real-time video. The element of sweeping the pieces away and starting afresh is cleansing, like a good night sleep. If the pieces don't land favourable, sweep them away and drop them again. Having chance play a role through the act of dropping also brings another element of chaos into the work. I would like to take this to a larger audience and allow participants to create the work and ask their reactions, so if they feel the need to stop when they have a favourable layout etc.Lastly, I created a large Performance piece, this was after speaking to Les Bicknell and his suggestion of making a systematic piece. It had also come up in a previous group critique. I set about planning pieces and drew out a 4x4 (5cm each so 20cm x 20cm) square on a piece of cloth. I then set up a filming area and proceeded to set a timer for 10 minutes and an alarm to remind myself to do the task daily. I tested the fabric would work first on a scrap.img_1614 img_1607.jpgimg_1616  img_1622I proceeded to punch embroider everyday for 10mins inside on of the squares, a couple of the day I didn't finish, the rest I had to stitch over as I was faster than expected.img_1653img_1695img_1699 img_1723img_1719Once I had done the first 16days I began to unpick the work. This did not need a timer. I systematically unpicked each square carefully bundling up the yarn for display afterwards. This is in honour of Hassan Sharif's piece "Cotton" pictured below. Which is a video installation alongside the artefact of the lump of cotton her created.

Hassan Sharif, Cotton (still), 2013. Cotton and single-channel HD video, silent, 20 x 67 x 46 cm, 8 minutes 26 seconds. Courtesy Estate of Hassan Sharif and Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai. http://sharjahart.org/press/sharjah-art-foundation-presents-landamrk-hassan-sharif-retrospective-i

img_1727img_1731 img_1733img_1771 img_1770 img_1760img_1923img_1773.jpgThe video would be displayed alongside the artefacts and played on a loop. It is 3:36 hr: mins long. I chose to leave it like this as the point of the use of the techniques was its rhythmic movement and sound. It is tedious to watch, mirroring the common thought fo the 'daily grind' but in its sum creates a textile piece. As the chaos ensues ans it comes apart a different, perhaps more aesthetically pleasing textiles arises.[vimeo 273833967 w=640 h=360]516748 K VennerWoodbridge Video Performance deConstruct from Katie Venner-Woodbridge on Vimeo

Exploratory Project - Wk 11 - 29/04/2018- 05/05/2018 - paper making

Moving through the materiality criticisms of my handmade books I decided to make paper at home. I had to create my own equipment as I could not find any in the area to purchase and to buy it was expensive with long delivery times.img_1446My initial batches were coarse and grey as I was using a substandard blender and the paper had a lot of printer ink on it. It was also heavily textured due to the fabric I was using to place it on. I replaced that and fixed the other teething problem and created some almost white paper. I was trying to maintain an element of transparency but this proved to be very difficult with the paper tearing and breaking up.img_1777  img_1801Once I dry I did some ink experiments with the pieces. Because the paper doesn't go through any finishing processes it is absorbent and allows the ink to bleed through. I think this could be made a feature but where it absorbs too much ink it very quickly disintegrates.img_1806  img_1809img_1814I next used threads in the process of papermaking, laying them on and in the paper solution as I was creating the sheets. This relies on the paper fibres to hold the thread in place and is not the most secure way of doing it. After a short time, the threads began to come away from the paper. I also sandwiched the threads between sheets but this rendered the paper very thick and the threads not as visible.img_1798  img_1782img_1821 img_1817I do really find something pleasing about the piece that created holes, this unperfect aspect in an art form that prides itself on perfection moves me back into the thinking of chaos and order.img_1829I did stitch a piece but it doesn't photograph well, this is a piece of Japanese paper that was also stitched. It holds the threads well whereas my handmade paper tore quickly and I abandoned stitching it further to save the piece. Perhaps the next point would be to continue until is does destroy itself and see what happens.  

Exploratory Project - Wk 10 - 22/04/2018- 28/04/2018 - Textile

Textile:I've decided to use these journal posts to bring all the elements of one branch of investigation together to keep it coherent and not seem all over the place.I have a strong textile background and have resisted working in textiles for a long time before starting this course due to bad critique experiences and my own self depreciation.It feels natural to me to work in fibre. The touch is comforting and the techniques are often repetitive and meditative. This is a strong presence in my work looking at routines and the mundane every day, the things that get overlooked.I've been considering how touch can evoke emotion for the contextual study and realised that for me touch plays a big part in self-soothing stress and also helping to understand how things work or are made, babies touch everything! Yet the arts tend to forbode touch, and this is something I am looking to consider in my work. Textile Artist Maxine Bristow talks about touch and how we interact with fabric in public places such as buses and trains.Home-page-slider-new1.jpg

http://www.maxinebristow.com/

Rug making is full of touch and normally trodden on in bare feet. Rugs have also been used to adore walls and demarcate areas. The process of Latchwork is a simple pull-through know made using a hook and canvas.img_1495img_1513.jpgBelow the back can be seen, its relatively straight lines and the top is more chaotic.img_1914 img_1910I am considering how this would work on a large scale where the height of the pile can be changed and the textures would highlight the geometric structure further.I also used crossstitch, and punch stitch to explore how these geometric can translate in to stitch.img_1905  img_1882img_1892 img_1900I found them frustrating. I longed for density in these pieces either by layering transparent fabric over each other or by building up textures and stitch density. There is a long way to go with the textile aspect of this exploration.

24/04/2018 - Exploratory Project - Group Crits

Exploratory Project Crit Group PresentationSlides:Part 1: Books & objects Book - dipping, pages, closed
 KatieVW Exploratory Project crit group 23Apr2018
Part 2: paper collages for painted works
the need for painting - the feeling
KatieVW Exploratory Project crit group 23Apr2018-2
Part 3: Structure
Paper structures - the upcoming experiments
paused due to material sourcing (laser cutter and acrylic)
KatieVW Exploratory Project crit group 23Apr2018-3
Part 4: Stitched/Strung
Stitched pieces - the fabric experiments
KatieVW Exploratory Project crit group 23Apr2018-4KatieVW Exploratory Project crit group 23Apr2018-5
Part 5: Text
KatieVW Exploratory Project crit group 23Apr2018-6
Questions:
Scale - go big or go even smaller? Thinking chapman brothers mini scenes, minutiae, pulling the viewer in, OR larger scale, overwhelm, frustration, confusion.
These pieces feel linked, is there space for a performance piece? - would need a movement class, have a possible collab.
Responses:
How much engagement does the audience needs to have with the work?Touch them, and open them, etcHow do I want my audience/ how do people interact-expectations, Focus groups. Create a experience or being excessive-Inclusion of audiences/children etcDo they need to come together or exists separately?Separate-Individually paper collages– AmazingMovement– Gymnast/contortionist trying to getMinor chaos-the strings and the different intentionAre so the work as installation stringpiece and losing contortionist or gymnast or and using contortionists for gymnasts to move around the piece as performance all allowing audience to move around as personal performance.Audience through the work so do they make you work? Laser cut pieces for installation? Large-scale-room and Intel-Keep Separate works through of Videos.

Exploratory Project - Wk 9 - 15/04/2018- 21/04/2018 - Structures

Paper works and structures:Starting in a usual place for me with tracing paper images. I like the chaotic nature of layers and the translucent papers allow for quick plays and layouts.Starting to consider how I can give more form to the work, how to move from 2D to 3D so turned my attention to space. Initially filling in the surrounding space of the lines and layering for density.IMG_0107  IMG_0647  IMG_0660  IMG_0652IMG_0657I moved on to cutting these forms out and playing with the idea of layered collages to build up density that can be moved. The collages are not fixed and therefore have boundless configurations adding an element of temporary chaos to their organisation. A small breeze would change them, an event that's tiny causing a larger repercussion.IMG_0685   IMG_0673While dropping the pieces they began to entangle and build up into these half-collapsed forms. allowing for the consideration of 3D to leap off the page. IMG_0706   IMG_0712IMG_0721I moved forward by looking into the thickness of the line, the thinner the line, the more fragile the piece appears.IMG_0694   IMG_0693IMG_0700   IMG_0703 These pieces were created using a 1inch paint pen. The paper started to bend and curve with the ink. The structures are less intricate but have far more of a density to them, a presence.IMG_0726 IMG_0727IMG_0773   IMG_0768 Transfering these ideas back to stitch, I used card and the recommended influence of Fred Sandback to explore moving the lines into an installation. I created some maquettes. One has a base and a ceiling, the threads would be suspended from both, creating a web of vertical lines to walk in and out of. IMG_0814  IMG_0813IMG_0797 IMG_0799IMG_0796 IMG_0793The second was purely of suspension. Inspired by Hassan Sharifs hanging pieces that were seen at his retrospective, the thread would come down from the ceiling and amass on the floor, making it difficult to walk through the space.IMG_0820IMG_0824  IMG_0825In creating the piece and laying it down for photgraphy I was actually very drawn to it as a piece in its own right. The chaotic hanging threads shielding the geometric stitch design behind them.IMG_0821I went on to revisit the white piece and play with how that could become a small piece in its own right too. This was more of a struggle and moves back to the book work so I will look at how I can link the two.IMG_0800  IMG_0802As I was determined to at least try the 3D work I used modelling straws (from my teaching kit!) to tape up some simplified designs I created in Adobe Illustrator. They proved to be very poor quality and frustrating so rather than waste time with them I moved forward.img_1854  img_1862Lastly, I cut a piece from card, it is 50cm x 50cm and a laborious task. The issue once it was complete was that it was still a flat piece. Multiple pieces would have to be cut and slotted together but this didn't feel like the right route to go down.img_1868After this, I decided to forgo the laser cutter as this would have given more flat pieces. and I put the 3D work on hold for this project. I would like to investigate the ways sculpture can be subversive and involve the viewer in touch by creating something that looked hard and metallic but was actually plush and soft.

18/04/2018 - Text: poetry

Using Skillshare online teaching website, took course: Poetry 1: intro to making poems-led by Cameron Conaway - PoetHe asks 'What is a poet?' - Something tangible and inside, Write to make the small large, the minutiae of everyday to make it mean something. This really struck a chord with me, I have always kept private books with poems in, just something I have done since school, I had a wonderful english literature teacher that encouraged e to write for fun and I carried on.His first task is to find a Theme -  Something physically close to us, or that stirs emotions,  or that we are interested in learning more about. The activity is call 'Action 10' which is  10 minutes long, 5 minutes sitting meditation, followed by 5 minutes free writing, No filter, no editing, no stopping, no self censoring; just continuous typing or writing.Second is 'Finding your thread' - the part of us tethered to our theme.Action 10-10 minutes right as we sit. Write about what matters or care about the same.Small noticing: Detail, Minutely organised particles, a bright particular star, bubbles in the dishwasher, The Billboard, The light on grapefruit. Procrastination has a purpose. It allows you to absorb the small noticing marinate on it, perkily. Adam Grant-Commit.Action 10 five minutes sitting meditation with notebook small notice things five minutes free writing look at notes and free right.MY WORK:ThemeContinuous writing - 5 minutesWindow, grid, tree, chaos, framed, captured by window frame, cat peers out, restricted, watching, lines of houses, neighbours house, pipes, Windows, Doors, Wall, horizontal, vertical, window curtain, screen, bookcase, bench, rugs, tiles, doorway, fridge, door, fan, me, door, walls, tiles, grout, Lines, paralleled, straight, orders, recline, linear, tidy, confined, Beautiful, completed, complete, fractured, snapshots, vignettes, Moments, frames, cropped, cutoff, removed, connected, perceptions, perspectives, paralleled, reflect, actions, reflective, fractured, reflections, disjointed, imperfect.ThreadContinuous writing - 10minsportals, boundaries, screens/frames, vignettes, encased snapshot of something, an edit, a consumable piece of a whole, a glimpse. how I manage my thoughts, breaking things down into pieces. making them fractured to be consumed, the segments of an orange make it more palatable, a slice, a serving. With so much on offer, so many options it provides a limit, a restriction - to keep things from running off, to maintain control. the media and its edits, the control of information available and that which is not. you only know what you know. the comfort of knowledge. the discomfort of the unknown, the unpredictable - health, happiness, the unpredictability of life - OCD & Anxiety - cause and effect - relinquishing control - carelessness, responsibility, comfort of routine / discomfort of unpredictability - can you find comfort in the unpredictability? Small Noticing's - detailsPlanting a garden is to believe in tomorrowthe stillness of the windowthe leaves twinkling in the sunlightthe silence of the scenethe rumble of the washing machinethe frame containing the leaves that disappear beyond its edges of viewVertical edges, horizontal binds, shadows and bricks, reflectingthe containment of the busy window within the windowthe cropped visuals of vases through embroidery hoopsthe lack of associated soundthe buzz of the fridgethe twinkle of the cat water fountainthe whirls and clashes of the washing machinethe twitters and squarks of birdsthe buzz of an irritating flythe rise & fall, ripple of the sail shade, silentthe jostle of the jasminethe bamboo windchim renders silent by the glazing POEMS:windchime Glass renders it silent,Its movements make sweet music.Its song remains unshared until someone, the window, opens. window portals,boundaries,encased snapshots,  an edit. a consumable fragment,a glimpse, palatable.  calm jasmine jostlesleaves fold I watch steel and glass containassuaged by structure the wind blows but not here