Memory Drawing

Foundation 2D – In our last 2D lesson, we were given an emotion and prompted to think about a memory that links up to that emotion – then to close our eyes and use our non-dominant hand to draw, expressively, what we felt.

 

Happy - in a time where "hey, want to hang out?" was not yet found in text messages, she knocked on the dusty glass panels of the window to class during recess, calling for me, wanting to spend time with me - and in that moment I felt what it was like to feel affection.
Happy – in a time where “hey, want to hang out?” was not yet found in text messages, she knocked on the dusty glass panels of the window to class during recess, calling for me, wanting to spend time with me – and in that moment I felt what it was like to feel affection.

Emotion: Happy

Medium: 4B graphite pencil

Words that come to mind when looking at the end product: yelling man, faces, conflict

Yes, it doesn’t look like the happiest “happy” drawing that I could have done. In my defence, it was the first drawing we did, so part of the reason was because I was still warming up; on the other hand, it is completely my fault because I chose what one would call a bittersweet memory. There’s a lot of conflict, a sense of loss and longing involved in this memory – probably not the best memory, heh.

Anger
Anger
Anger
Anger

Emotion: Anger/Frustration

Medium: 4B graphite pencil, penknife

Words that come to mind when looking at the end product: hard, dark, jarring

For the next few emotions, I didn’t really have a specific memory for each of them – I find that it’s rather difficult for me to grasp hold of specific memories, but easier for me to summon a feeling (and gain flashes of different memories from it) and act on it. I’ve not felt anger for a long time now, and I’m not entirely sure if I acted on my impression of what anger should be, rather than the feelings of anger I harbour.

Frustration, however, a close cousin of Anger, is a familiar feeling and is probably the emotion that best described what I portrayed here.

Sadness
Sadness – when you’re so tired, but you can’t sleep, and a creeping grief crawls up your gut and claws at your throat

Emotion: Sadness

Medium: 4B graphite pencil, calligraphy ink

Words that come to mind when looking at the end product: hazy, grey, tears, struggle

Mimi’s comment was that the ink was quite literal – I do agree. Perhaps I should have just gone without? It was worth a try, though, and I’m quite fond of that effect.

Serendipity? It's not an emotion, though.
Serendipity? It’s not an emotion, though.

(It’s the tissue I used to clean up the mess I made from “sadness” – pretty neat, huh? I found it quite pretty despite the fact that it was completely accidental, so I stuck it in my sketchbook.)

Nervous - sometimes you let the self-doubt creep in
Nervous – sometimes you let the self-doubt creep in

Emotion: Nervous

Medium: 4B graphite pencil

Words that come to mind when looking at the end product: neurotic, small, anxious, jagged, isolated, disjointed

This one is pretty self-explanatory? All I can say is that indeed, this is a very emo project.

That’s all, and thank you for reading through this very emotional post!

Author: Natasha

can't spell PROCESS without OSS *finger guns*

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