HOPE

 

Hope (noun): a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.

 

Materials: ink on paper, powder

 

For me, hope is more like a glimpse of light in the darkness. It is telling you to not give in to your troubles, to the darkness inside you. From that, I had the idea to make the paper pitch black and add a strike of white.

At first I tried white paint mixed with water, but since there was too much water, it didn’t work out very well. It puddled instead. Then I tried using powder, which was quite difficult since it wouldn’t stick as I wanted to to the paper, but it turned out quite well in the end. I wished the corner could be brighter, though. I tried to add more powder, but they wouldn’t stick; and I didn’t want to use other materials like paint or correction fluid because I didn’t want to make it seem as if there were different “ideas” for hope. I tried putting some correction fluid on paper and spraying powder around it, and they looked like two separate entities.

I chose to position the white part at the bottom corner since I was inspired by the Greek mythology, Pandora’s box. In the myth, when the box (actually it was a jar called pithos and not literally a box) was opened, evils came out, and hope remained inside. My idea is that hope was “left” at the bottom of the box inside the darkness, all alone, yet still glimmering.

 

LONGING

 

Longing (noun): a yearning desire.

 

Materials: tissue paper, glue

 

I had a difficult time trying to portray longing. For me, longing is the feeling of wanting something and reaching out to it. After researching more, I found out that unlike desire, when someone longs for something, he or she doesn’t necessarily do anything actively to achieve their wants.

Another difference is that longing might be a want for something that cannot be achieved. Going by the second definition, I put nothing at the end of the “tentacles” reaching out, because people might long for something that might not even exist in the first place, or something they already have.

I chose tissue paper due to its transparency. By putting it against gray paper, the tissue can be barely seen. The same thing goes for longing; not everyone knows what other people are longing for, or even what they themselves are longing for. I actually tried using transparent keyboard protector, but after I cut them into pieces, their shapes looked very controlled and that wasn’t what I was going for, so I just discarded the idea.

 

FRUSTRATION

 

Frustration (noun): the feeling of being upset or annoyed as a result of being unable to change or achieve something.

 

Materials: pencil lead, glue

 

I chose to make up-and-down, zig-zag lines to represent frustration. In my opinion, frustration is when you are trying hard to find a solution to a problem that bothers you, and trying to stay calm at the same time; hence the line looks calm and normal at first. However the lines gradually get messier since you keep trying to stay calm but you can’t. In the end, when you can’t hold back anymore, all the lines just meshed up, disturbing your thoughts.

At the end part, the change from three lines to one huge line might seem very rushed; but I want to show the “snap”, the sudden trigger that makes someone lost calmness all at once.

At first I tried making this using ink and plastic knife, and it actually turned out very well. However I wanted to experiment with materials, and I felt that pencil lead was a good choice since it was easy to break and could form lines. They weren’t easy to manipulate as the glue kept sticking to my fingers, so I spent quite some time on it, but I’m pretty satisfied with how it turned out – although I feel like I could still improve it.

 

SURPRISE

 

Surprise (noun): an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, etc.

 

Materials: ink on paper, straw

 

Surprise wasn’t easy for me to portray either. For me, surprise is when something doesn’t go according to your plan or against your expectations.

I was just trying out things for fun when I made this; I mixed ink with some water, sucked them using a straw, and dropped the mixture from a height. They created a nice splatter effect, and I liked it, although they weren’t so special. When I was about to carry it back to the table (I did it on the floor to reach greater heights) (it wasn’t intended to be a pun), I tilted it and hence, they flowed sideways.

After that, I actually made another one where the spillage flowed downwards, but the splatter effect wasn’t as nice, and I felt that the first one was more “surprising”, simply because it is unexpected for the ink to spill sideways – against the gravity.

I wanted to make the paper all black and create a white splatter in the middle at first. However, I thought that would be very similar to my “Hope” piece, so I dropped the idea.

 

ANXIETY

 

Anxiety (noun): a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.

 

Materials: ink on paper, water bottle cap

 

I am a very anxious person, so anxiety is actually one of the easiest emotions for me to portray. Anxiety, to me, is the presence of “but”s in your mind. It is when you overthink a problem so much that a simple 1+1 question can lead you to think of quadratic formula, driving you away from the answer.

At first I tried using the other type of bottle cap (the one with teeth), but they didn’t come out nicely. So I used the water bottle cap and it actually gave me the anxiety idea. I dipped the side part of the cap in ink and rolled it with the help of my hand. It is interesting to see how the lines don’t go straight although they can reach the end of the paper quickly if they just go straight. Moreover, the ideas of the lines intercepting each other also represent how overthinking a problem leads to another.

The circles were actually an accident; the bottle cap stumbled sideways as I rolled them. At first I was anxious about it (yes, I said anxious on purpose) but then I decided to let it be, because the circles represent distractions well. When you worry about something, you got distracted from the original problem; you don’t know what started your racing thoughts anymore. You just know that you are worried, and that now you’re worried about something you’re not even thinking about in the first place.

After my first time making “Anxiety”, I actually considered making it more 3D by using other materials; but then I thought that the “flatness” of the piece could represent “inactivity”. When you spend too much time worrying, you spend less time working on the problem.

 

ISOLATION

 

Isolation (noun): the process or fact of isolating or being isolated.

 

Materials: pepper, glue

 

The idea for this actually came from a song – Starlight by Muse. It’s one of my favorite songs.

This is the idea that I worked the longest with. At first, I just made a black circle in the middle of nothing, but I didn’t like how it turned out. So I tried making some black circles on paper, but they didn’t capture the idea very well also since it cannot be seen whether the circles are touching or not.

For me, isolation is a situation when someone is completely alone. It’s not exactly a feeling of loneliness because when you’re lonely, you’re reaching out for other people; but when you’re isolated, you’re just alone. It’s more like an observation.

Since I related this more to human interaction, I wanted to use something like grains or seeds to represent humans, and separated one grain or seed from the others. Since I didn’t want to buy anything (I was scared I would waste them since I don’t cook in hall anyway), I took packets of pepper from… McDonalds. I took a few handfuls of them and went home as if nothing happened.

The pepper stuck pretty well to the paper, although if you touch it, some will definitely come off. However if you shake it, little to no grains will come off, so it was enough. I thought it would be hard separating a grain of pepper and making it obvious enough to see, but it was not as difficult. In order to emphasize the “isolation” of the grain, I made a larger empty space around it.

 

I learned a lot of things from this project; that research is always a good idea, that expressing emotions is difficult, and that different people can portray the same emotion differently. Above all, I had a lot of fun.

Task 1: Object and Representation of Self

 

I have a lot of significant things in life: my collection of postcards, my Harry Potter book series, letters from my friends, my handmade friendship bracelets… but since most of them are back in my house in Indonesia, it actually saved me the trouble of choosing. (Not implying that this object is any less significant!) So the significant object that I chose is my Snorlax doll. His name is Hashtag.

 

Say hi, Hashtag.

Hashtag was given by my JC friends as a farewell gift. In JC, I had this group of friends, consisting of five people from different countries. However, we knew that after graduation, we are going to continue our studies in different countries. We knew that meeting up again would be difficult, so we prepared gifts for each other as a symbol of our friendship. They chose to buy a Snorlax doll for me since they knew I like Snorlax (I can relate a lot to its unwillingness to move) and dolls. For the name, we decided on a name together based on our inside joke.

 

Hashtag can’t hug back, his arms are too short. But that’s okay! I hug him because I love him, not because I was expecting a hug back.

The picture of Hashtag alone, for me, shows that it is just a normal doll – and it is interesting because it means a lot to me nonetheless. I have a lot of dolls, yet when I came to Singapore, I only brought Hashtag. I felt like Hashtag was enough to “accompany” me.

The picture of me hugging him illustrates my relations

hip with my friends. My friends know I like hugging people, and that’s why I like dolls or soft toys – they are huggable. For me, hugging makes me feel less lonely.

The close-up picture of Hashtag and I looking at each other, for me, symbolizes that relationship is a two-way thing – “It takes two to tango.” I relate to that phrase

“It takes two to tango”

a lot since when facing difficulties in my relationships, I always try to remember that there are two people involved in the relationship, and that I have to try looking from another person’s perspective as well.

Fortunately, I still stay in touch with this group of friends quite regularly. I hope we can meet again someday.

 

Task 2: My World

 

As for a significant place, I have to say I love looking at the sea.

 

The sea at night is incredibly calming. The lights seem to be so far away, distancing me from everything else.

 

The thing I like about the sea is the vastness. When I’m sad or tired, I like to stare at the sea. Listening to the gentle waves and smelling the slightly salty air – those feelings give me a sense of peace and calmness.

In a sense, the sky is also vast, and I love looking at the sky as well – but when I’m staring at the sea, when I look at the horizon, I always feel dwarfed. The sky and the sea, they both make the world seems like a huge place, and make me feel like a grain of sand. When I’m facing a lot of problems, I often go to the beach just to sit down and stare at the sea. The vastness always reminds me that my problems are temporary and insignificant in such a big world.

Not only that, I have a lot of memories about the sea; playing Frisbee inside the water with my friends, splashing water at my sister, playing orientation games, crossing the sea to Batam for my overseas project, and even canoeing during my Outward Bound.

Funny moments, happy moments, and even sad moments – I have experienced them all by the sea. That’s why it is such a significant place for me.

 

The sea is calming, but also mysterious – who knows what’s lurking in its depths? In a sense, the sea intrigues me as well.

This picture illustrates the idea of vastness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know I’m bad at taking photographs and my emotions may not come out as much as I want them, but I do hope they can convey some of my feelings.

We did some mark-making experiment in class this week, and it was fun!

I didn’t bring a lot of tools, actually. Here are the things I brought: a fake rose, a paperweight, a brush marker, some bottle caps, and a used, bent glow stick.

The texture came out very faintly.

 

 

First, I tried using my bottle cap. I didn’t think it worked out very well; since there is a slight difference in height, the sharp texture didn’t come out as much as I expected.

 

 

 

After that, I switched to the other type of bottle cap. I like how this one turned out.

I rolled it on the paper.

Result (with my fingerprints)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also tried using my fake rose, although I was hesitant at first. I thought it wouldn’t make an interesting texture, but it turned out quite well.

I rolled the petals on the paper in a circular motion.

Result

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So was the experiment with the glow stick.

I rolled it around on paper, and use my hand as a pivot before dabbing them on the paper in a circular motion.

Result

I also tried using the end of the glow stick, dabbing it on paper.

 

I decided not to use my paperweight and brush marker, partially because I didn’t want to get them dirty. For the brush marker, I intended to make small circular shapes, but I used the end of the glow stick and it worked okay, so I didn’t need the brush marker. As for the paperweight, I thought it wouldn’t work very well because the bottom part was slightly convex; I guessed it would turned out like the first bottle cap.

After that, I turned to my friends to borrow their tools. One of the items that I got was a dry leaf. At first I tried pressing it on the paper, hoping for the texture of the leaf to be printed, but it didn’t. So in the end I dragged the leaf instead.

Result

 

 

 

I also got a cotton ball. I dabbed it on the paper.

Result

 

 

 

The last tool that I got to borrow was a plastic knife. I used both the sharp edge and the flat side to give different ink thickness.

Result

 

 

 

Besides those, I also used the tools available in the studio, such as brush and roller.

Result (with roller)

 

 

I used brush for the flowy parts and my fingers for the circles.

 

I used my fingers to put fingerprints on the paper before by dabbing them, and I tried dragging my fingers as well. It created an interesting result.

For the next class, I hope I can experiment using more tools. I’m thinking of using candies, stapler bullets, and coins. Let’s see if I can make something even more interesting.

“It is all a game of construction – some with a brush, some with a shovel, some choose a pen.”

-Jackson Pollock

 

This is one of Pollock’s artwork, “Ocean Greyness”. [Taken from https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/jackson-pollock]

I have no idea what mark-making is at first, so I did a little bit of research. I found out the usual stuffs – the explanation of what mark-making really is, its history, and the artists who often apply mark-making techniques in their artworks. (I like Jackson Pollock’s works.) However, I also read something that I found interesting, which is what makes a mark-making “good”.

So what constitutes the facility for ‘good’ mark-making by being aware of marks that:

  1. Are appropriate to our intentions – right for the job.
  2. Are ‘alive’ and embody and express the ‘life-energy’ of their maker, the artist.
  3. Help to communicate and express qualities of light and its invisible energy, and the material substance, form, volume, and surface of the objects we are drawing.
  4. Present the eye with changes of pace and rhythm that collectively offer variety and interest. [The rich and varied texture of nature and the world around us is our guide].
  5. Express and stretch the properties of the medium that the drawing is made from.

[Quoted from http://www.utdallas.edu/~melacy/pages/Drawing/AS01_MarkMaking_DrawingProjects/MarkMaking.html with changes]

 

This is what I planned to bring at first.

After reading that, I feel like I should try to explore more ideas, so as to find one that I feel is more “alive” to me and to provide more variety – not only to make it more interesting for the audience, but also for me to better express my ideas. In my previous post I mentioned using bottle caps, but I would probably bring other things (like my brush pen or my paperweight?). My idea is to bring things that can be found in my room, because that’s simple and easy, yet the results may be surprisingly good. (I hope.)

 

 

I think maybe other types of bottle caps might be a good idea.

 

And this is my paperweight.

 

After all, there shouldn’t be right or wrong; people have different ideas and choose to use different tools. It is just about who is able to present their ideas more effectively, more attractively, and more expressively.

All in all, I’ll have fun learning and experimenting. I’m looking forward to tomorrow (I mean today).

So we are supposed to bring things for mark-making. I actually have no idea what I want to bring, so I just think of things I have on my table… and I find a lot of things, because my table is a complete mess. One of them is a bottle cap. Don’t ask why.

http://www.bottlecapco.com/Lime-Green-Bottle-Caps-Standard_p_19.html