Blank Paper and Wall Space

 Is there anything better than a white wall and big blank sheet of paper? 

I don't think so. 

After several weeks of writing, researching and gathering materials I am ready to go! I just received a large roll of white paper used for backgrounds in school plays, as well as a new projector. I spent the better part of last night in the studio experimenting with both. I began with projecting drawings and collages I created during undergrad. 

These are the results of last nights studio session . . . 

The first of my experiments

A small collage from undergrad, gone big  

With the use of the projector my work is moving along extreemly quickly, so quickly that I am already running out of wall space! I am still working through the conceptual aspect to my work, but for now I will just work! I can not wait until tonight's session!

Changing Ideas . . .

So it is a few weeks after the residency and life is getting slightly back to normal, I am finding time for both life and art. My main focus in these weeks has been the first paper, the synthesis of the residency. This paper has both greatly helped and confused me. I began writing the paper with the same intent and idea I brought to the residency, however with the first draft done I am reconsidering everything. This is especially true of my themes and concepts. With such a plethora of fields and ideas to explore I am finding that my original intent is no longer at the center of my interests. I originated with the ideas of viewing childhood through the eyes of an adult, of misremembering and fragmentation. Currently these ideas seem to be informing my work rather than driving it. I am now considering the ideas of femininity and feminism and whether they can co-exists, as well as ideas of sexuality and madness. 

The Day After . . .

So it is officially one day after my first residency at The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and one giant step closer to an MFA in Visual Arts! The First Residency was a whirlwind of Artists, critiques, and great discussions. I have so missed getting feedback on my art since graduating from undergrad in 2011. I am so happy to be part of a wonderful and supportive artist community as well as part of a truly amazing group one, full of talented and intelligent artists. I cannot wait to see where this program takes us and what we will be producing by the time we graduate!

The Starting Point . . . 

Here are some of the images I applied with and brought along to the first residency. Most of the work is from undergrad including my BFA final project, an independent study project, as well as some more recent studies with different types of  paper. 

The main consensus about my work has been that the larger scale drawing based installation is the direction to go in (pictured above and below). However, I will not be abandoning the smaller collage based work just yet, but rather I will be adopting it into my general studio practice. 

Happy drawing . . .