It's been a very challenging first semester but it ended in a high note. I have learned so much in only a few months so I thought I'd document the journey by presenting some of the projects I worked on so far.
I absolutely loved our final mixed media assessment, called Play list. The brief called for interpreting a song of our choice and producing a mixed media artwork by using at least two techniques and two different surfaces.
My chosen song was Freddie Mercury’s Song “Time”. I started to map ideas and concepts and sure enough, (and ironically), time was a very hot commodity in producing such a complex piece in a relatively short interval. I always wanted to produce a body of work by using traditional Romanian Symbols and I knew this was the perfect opportunity.
Rather than interpreting Freddie's words, I chose to look at the concept of time from both perspectives: the immediate temporal and the atemporal dimensions.
Just like time itself, my work encompasses parallel narratives, taken on various levels. Drawing on Jung’s collective unconscious concept, I chose to illustrate my stories based on three widely known myths. According to Jung, the human collective unconscious is populated by instincts and by archetypes. Archetypes are seen as universal symbols and as such, my storylines employ 3 different universal symbols. Envisioned as a tryptic, this body of work follows three timelines:
My chosen song was Freddie Mercury’s Song “Time”. I started to map ideas and concepts and sure enough, (and ironically), time was a very hot commodity in producing such a complex piece in a relatively short interval. I always wanted to produce a body of work by using traditional Romanian Symbols and I knew this was the perfect opportunity.
Rather than interpreting Freddie's words, I chose to look at the concept of time from both perspectives: the immediate temporal and the atemporal dimensions.
Just like time itself, my work encompasses parallel narratives, taken on various levels. Drawing on Jung’s collective unconscious concept, I chose to illustrate my stories based on three widely known myths. According to Jung, the human collective unconscious is populated by instincts and by archetypes. Archetypes are seen as universal symbols and as such, my storylines employ 3 different universal symbols. Envisioned as a tryptic, this body of work follows three timelines:
1.” Three Wise Men”
The first story is the equivalent of an instantaneous daily snippet; a modern version of the Three Wise Men. Three men, (the most unlikely friends, coming from different environments with different life experiences and who under normal circumstances are unlikely to socialise), are brought together by fate and they embark on a mutual quest. Theirs is a journey searching for knowledge, or perhaps for the meaning of life. The meaning of their story is deliberately left unclear, through a short poem I wrote for this work. The audience can draw their own conclusions, just like we do in our daily exploits, witnessing random scenes on the street.
I chose to work with both abstract ideas and conceptual drawings.
For instance, instead of drawing the three wise men, I chose to synthesise their characters through their hearts. Therefore “a heart of gold”, “a hearty dream” and “a heart of stone” are rendered through stylised heart shapes I found in nature. (bark, leaf and rock).
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And so, they met under those faithful stormy skies:
The Seer, The Seeker and The One Alone
The most unlikely pals and none of them the wise;
A heart of gold, a hearty dream and last, a heart of stone.
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2.“Six Seconds”
The second story tackles the immediate temporality dimension, the cycle of life and the fact that nothing lasts forever. It is a personal take on this common belief that one’s entire life will flash before their eyes before passing away. I have always imagined that this takes 6 seconds.
The second story tackles the immediate temporality dimension, the cycle of life and the fact that nothing lasts forever. It is a personal take on this common belief that one’s entire life will flash before their eyes before passing away. I have always imagined that this takes 6 seconds.
This story depicts the last six seconds in the form of 6 leaves. They signify 6 important moments. Some of them have images on them and they represent precise memories. Some have the resemblance of a map. I have intentionally inked details resembling topographical elements to depict an individual journey through life. Some leaves don’t have much details because memories fade and because some periods in our life are just like blank pages. This segment of the tryptic incorporate the most techniques, as I wanted to illustrate how different one’s life experiences will be.
3.“Infinite Love Story”
The third story is illustrating atemporality through the means of an archetypal myth, the primordial pair. Man and Woman meet under the tree of life. They settle near water and they populate their space, setting the premises for a perpetual future through their heirs.
This primordial pair is depicted through symbols and drawings.
I was inspired by two things – cave paintings and traditional Romanian art. Taking inspiration from my Romanian heritage, I used imagery incorporating traditional Romanian symbols. Some of them date as far as Neolithic and they belong to the Cucuteni culture, where the Great Goddess (the feminine and fertility symbol) is depicted through the womb shape and the primordial water underneath. The male symbol in the Cucuteni culture is depicted through bull horns but I chose to use a more recent symbol in my work, the ram’s horns. Traditionally, Romania has a strong agriculture and sheep is a big part of it.
By drawing the symbols of water and seeds (fertility), my drawing suggests the growing family and the life journey of the pair initially depicted.
The third story is illustrating atemporality through the means of an archetypal myth, the primordial pair. Man and Woman meet under the tree of life. They settle near water and they populate their space, setting the premises for a perpetual future through their heirs.
This primordial pair is depicted through symbols and drawings.
I was inspired by two things – cave paintings and traditional Romanian art. Taking inspiration from my Romanian heritage, I used imagery incorporating traditional Romanian symbols. Some of them date as far as Neolithic and they belong to the Cucuteni culture, where the Great Goddess (the feminine and fertility symbol) is depicted through the womb shape and the primordial water underneath. The male symbol in the Cucuteni culture is depicted through bull horns but I chose to use a more recent symbol in my work, the ram’s horns. Traditionally, Romania has a strong agriculture and sheep is a big part of it.
By drawing the symbols of water and seeds (fertility), my drawing suggests the growing family and the life journey of the pair initially depicted.
Project stages:
My initial sketches were quite simple:
Next step, was finding the materials, surfaces and art supplies I wanted to work with and decide what techniques will be best to convey my ideas.
I knew from the beginning that organic surfaces such as wood, bark, leaves and tree branches would work best for this project; they provide that intimate connection between the onlooker and the ideas of time and of finite and infinite.
My initial sketches were quite simple:
Next step, was finding the materials, surfaces and art supplies I wanted to work with and decide what techniques will be best to convey my ideas.
I knew from the beginning that organic surfaces such as wood, bark, leaves and tree branches would work best for this project; they provide that intimate connection between the onlooker and the ideas of time and of finite and infinite.
Initially I didn't plan for so much to happen within the same work, but as it usually happens, each project has a will of its own and it shapes differently.
The techniques used are:
- Ecodyeing – to tie up the colour scheme
- Alternative photography (chlorophyll process)
- Linoprint
- Drawing (pastels, carcoal pencils and ink pens)
- Collage
I have given a lot of consideration to the best surfaces for this project and I chose to go with entirely organic surfaces. I feel that wood texture is most appropriate for the idea of time. I spent hours looking for the right bark with interesting textures that would connect with my narrative lines, for the right shaped leaves and thinking about the ways I could collage all these together. The most difficult quest was to source naturally heart-shaped materials for my 1st story.
When it comes to colours and art supplies, I have chosen Art Spectrum pastels for drawing on the bark – they have a special edition of colours matching the Australian landscape and they have a certain likeness to the cave paintings. For the finer lines and details, I used Conte Pastels (portrait colours box) and Derwent charcoal pencils. Fixing them with fixing spray did not alter their appearance too drastically.
No hazardous materials or dangerous techniques were involved, however in using encasing resin, glues, carving tools, eco- dyeing, etc, I took precautions and followed manufacturer’s instructions and safe working techniques.
I paid attention to the processes, minimising dust or chemicals contamination. I looked into ergonomics as well, such as posture and works space.
Project evaluation
This was a very complex project, requiring a lot of thought, lot of planning and the actual physical time for the works to cure properly before assembling them.
The initial challenge was to source bark that was thick enough to support artwork but still thin enough that won’t become too heavy when assembled.
I did not want to affect the trees around my grasslands therefore I looked only for bark that was already fallen off the tree.
My major challenge was given by the fact that most of the surfaces I used are brittle. I looked at various ways to extend their life. Even if their brittleness fits the time idea for this particular brief, I would like to be able in the future to work with these beautiful surfaces.
Experimenting with linoprints on leaves was a turning point.
I wasn’t sure how this would turn out and whether the leaves will disintegrate under the press. It was a trial and error process, repeating steps with leaves of various shapes, dried out leaves, green leaves. In the end I obtained a fair amount of printed leaves.
This was a very complex project, requiring a lot of thought, lot of planning and the actual physical time for the works to cure properly before assembling them.
The initial challenge was to source bark that was thick enough to support artwork but still thin enough that won’t become too heavy when assembled.
I did not want to affect the trees around my grasslands therefore I looked only for bark that was already fallen off the tree.
My major challenge was given by the fact that most of the surfaces I used are brittle. I looked at various ways to extend their life. Even if their brittleness fits the time idea for this particular brief, I would like to be able in the future to work with these beautiful surfaces.
Experimenting with linoprints on leaves was a turning point.
I wasn’t sure how this would turn out and whether the leaves will disintegrate under the press. It was a trial and error process, repeating steps with leaves of various shapes, dried out leaves, green leaves. In the end I obtained a fair amount of printed leaves.
The next dilemma was how to preserve these leaves and if by using encasing resin I will achieve this. I also had to consider whether the resin will react with the printing inks. Fortunately, it didn’t, but it was a very time-consuming process, waiting for the inks and then for the resin to dry out. In fact, at the time of presentation, I have only managed to apply one layer of resin. I still have to allow the leaves to dry completely, before applying resin on verso.
Ecodyeing was also an experiment where I was guessing which leaves and bark to use and what papers is more reactive. I have done quite an extensive research online but at the end of the day, I am still inexperienced when it comes to obtaining a more refined variety of tones.
Assemblage was a new challenge, particularly the 2nd story. The tree branch is very dry and that made me reconsider my initial plans.
I was going to use tiny screw hooks to assemble the leaves but I soon realised that the screws will compromise the branch before I even had a chance to hang it on the wall. In the end I opted for glue and I think it is a better option.
I put a lot of time and effort in the initial planning and there weren’t any major surprises in terms of execution, i.e. drawing or collaging. Once the unknown factors have been gradually sorted out, the final work came out better than expected.
I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked for this assessment, but in the future, I would like to continue this project and produce a full body of work exploring the parallel between life cycle and the cyclicity of life.
I would like to learn more about working with wood/bark/leaves and any organic matter and about the ways to preserve them. While the fact that the surfaces I used will disintegrate is very fitting to this particular brief (the concept of time), I would love to explore more working with these surfaces and being able to create works that last.
I would love to learn more about the variety of trees I could use for ecodyes and I would love to refine my lino carving techniques, particularly getting my lines straight and crisp.
I am satisfied that I did my best, given the time constraints, the nature of materials used and the high number of unknown factors. It was very lucky that things worked out in the end.
I feel that there is always room for improvement and in the future, I would like to dedicate more time to polishing and refining the final work.
