Life after graduation.

September is here and I have no classes. I miss classes however I love this abundance of time that I have. I have moved to long branch (best decision), and found a affordable studio here. Pictures will be added for proof. To be honest I have been slacking however these are the things that I am thinking about now.

Finding things.
Finding a use for them.
Contradicting or mimicking the found thing.

I will elaborate later however this wall drawing I did in May started this train of thought. Maybe the picture will help my words.

Crit with Paul DeMuro

I feel satisfied with my review with Paul. He suggested using Plexiglas or linoleum. Which are both more practical materials to work with. The woodcuts take me hours to carve. Unnecessary. I am also thinking about silk screening, however for my purposes I feel linoleum or painting on plexi might actually work veThe comments from my peers are very much appreciated. Essence of the crit: work smarter, faster, and think about formal aspects. Thanks ya'll.

Critique

Here's how I feel about your work.

Thesis Proposal

I am planning on have 6-8 paintings in the exhibition. These are going to be smaller works and I am concerned that they will be swallowed by the work around it. I am hoping it will have space to breathe. These paintings are going to be interior images. I would like to be in one of the smaller rooms if possible. Lets see if we can figure this out!

First Thesis Review

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions I received during the review. I am constantly questioning everything I am doing, and the review raised a few more concerns for me. I have given it a lot of thought as to how to present the work. Do I need both the woodcut and the print? Or can I just use the wood to dig in and build up on and present it as an object all by itself. Is there another way that I can approach the subject matter of visual imprints without it being literally spelled out with my working process?
I felt most people were worried about the size and the amount of the work I am planning to put into thesis. The scale of the work is intentional. I want the work to be small and humble. I understand that it risks being lost among all the other work, or be swallowed up by the space that it would be put in, however its not reason enough to change the scale of my work. There are a lot of reasons why I have chosen to work small. I have worked large and I found it unnecessary and not serving a purpose to my subject matter. I want the work to invite the viewer closer to observe. My work is about how we experience and remember spaces. The images are of the house that I lived in until I was 10 years old. These images are intimate but not precious. I want the viewer to be able to come up close and see the flaws. These paintings are a struggle. I am not a print-maker, and I don't have a lot of skill when it comes to woodcut, but I am willing to try and make these objects. Just as I try to remember my experience in that house.
If there is one thing I learned in art school, it is the willingness to learn and make mistakes. To be open-ended and be constantly looking for resolutions. I am not sure if I always find solutions but I definitely question all of my decisions when it comes to making art. I realized that I am still learning and the thesis show does not have to be a grand statement or a conclusion to all of my knowledge. If anything this is where life starts and we have to apply the work ethic learned in school to life outside school. There must be some logic behind this enormous freedom to make objects. And my logic is to keep my paintings small and simple because they are vulnerable objects. They are small attempts at being paintings. I would like to know if any of this makes sense? Also If anyone has any suggestions as to how I should present my work, feel free to let me know. Thanks