Mindful Making
work as a Project Zero Artist in Residence
For a few years now, my painting practice has centered around the abstract landscape, the indiscernible image and the contradictory nature of the relationship between the self and the world around it. Sometimes I begin a painting with an image in mind or a photograph to paint from, but often times the landscapes and abstractions appear on the canvas without a plan or sketch prior. I don't know where these images come from, what buried memories form them, or how much is imagined. I have always found painting in and of itself to be a meditative experience. Time seems to slow down and speed up all at once - the world both freezes completely and spins furiously, and I am connected to the earth and material while at the same time, disengaged from this reality entirely. And when I return, there is an image on the canvas that I cannot always explain. This semester is my last semester of graduate school. Between course work, job search and savoring what could be my last few months in academia forever - this spring term should be nothing but fast and furious. But instead, I am taking the challenge of slowing down. Intrigued by my desire to understand my own painting practices, as well as to begin to define the best ways to teach technique to others; I have begun examining the ways in which meditation, mindfulness and the practice of "slow-looking" from the Out of Eden Learn project at Project Zero can be used to explore medium, image and the mind. My time this semester as a Project Zero Artist in Residence will be dedicated to these inward and outward explorations. I aim to do this in roughly four parts: 1. My personal journey will include the continuation of creating these abstract paintings, but I will commit to providing further reflection, analysis and explanation as to my understanding of the final images (which will be published individually on my blog). 2. I will be working on strengthening my existing daily mindfulness practices as well as integrating new ones in to my routine. This includes, logging each of my practices, keeping a written journal and creating reflective artwork based specifically on the daily practice. This work will be completed under the guidance of Metta McGarvey and with the peer support of Los Angeles filmmaker and artist Samara Rosenbaum. 3. Along the way, I will be designing art-specific practices that I can use to engage and teach others. As these exercises develop and as I perform formative evaluations on their effects for others, I will be documenting the process and products of these mindful making sessions. 4. The final culmination of the project will result in a longer workshops for fellow graduate students, and plans for classroom integration of key content in grades K-12. The entire project will be completed through the Project Zero Artist in Residence program under the supervision of Jordy Oakland and with the aide of Out of Eden Learn Principal Investigator Shari Tishman. This page and the accompanying links (left) will grow with the project. Please feel free to click through, and come back to revisit as it develops. |
the paintingsthe practicescheck back for developed art exercises
the projectcheck back for workshop details, evaluation results and lesson plans in the making.
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