- RANDOM EXPERIMENTATION- ROUND 1
We got to use our time in our 2nd class of the year to experiment with objects. And so I did. I got all these objects to experiment in ( beside the ones provided in class ):
Dry mop wipes
Tissue paper
Twine
Toilet paper
Shower cap
Pencil lead shavings
By the end of the class, I did 12 pages of experimentation, and well, this post will be too long if I am to put in all my experimentation here. So I will only post a few of the more notable ones.
DRY FLOOR WIPES
I tried to explore the different effects floor wipes give on paper when applied with ink. Below are some of my results.
Done using the rubbing method.
COTTON WIPES
I thought that they will give a really subtle soft effect, and well I was wrong. They gave a much rougher texture than I expected. I still had a great time experimenting with them though.
TWINE
Experimentation with this material was really fun. I tried to use it as its normal form and also use it in its ‘compressed’ form.
LEAD
I used shaved lead obtained using my pencil sharpener. They give a really interesting 3D effect when mixed with ink, like some mushy paste.
Paste!
HAIR
This one gives thin broken lines. Sadly, it did not give an effect that I expect it to give. It is also really hard to manipulate with, partly due to the small quantity I have.
Done by printing
Done by pressing ink stained hair.
After all those random experiments, I thought of some emotions that I am familiar with and tried to create visualization for them while attempting to ‘feel’ these emotions.
Frustration
It was meant to be ‘anger’ at first. But it ended up looking like ‘frustration’. I suppose I am more well versed to the feeling of ‘ frustration’.
The short brisk sharp lines shows dissatisfaction and irritation. While the softer spots show attempts to control my own frustration.
Hopelessness
Just like everyone else, I do feel hopeless at some point in my life. I tried to revive this feeling and using a cotton wipe, I came up with this visualization of the emotion. I decided not to use ‘depression’ as it is too strong of a word to use.
The centre of the dark black mass is done using circular motions to convey the idea of a bottomless pit. While the sides are soft as to me, the feeling of hopelessness comes in a gradual upward motion.
Curiosity
I just thought of this in the middle of the lesson. I suppose I was feeling curious when using all those different materials to experiment with. I used pencil lead and lip balm ( not mine ) for this.
I used different styles and techniques to create the different markings to indicate the curiosity to do new things.
Guilt
Like everyone else at some point in their lives, I lost a loved one before. Guilt is the emotion I felt because of that. I tried to revive the emotion and thought of words such as ‘why’ and ‘what if…’ while using a shower cap to portray this visualization.
Calmness
I thought of this while experimenting with the cotton wipes, as well as pencil lead. I attempt to give a ‘zen’ feel. I personally feel calm when I am surrounded by water. Hence I tried to imitate flowing water.
Disgust
This was just a sudden thought in the middle of lesson. I used hand sanitizer and ink. The end result ( after drying) seems quite gross. But not gross enough.
Euphoria
I was feeling intensely happy during the experimentation when I thought of this word. Then I thought back on other instances I feel extremely happy and came up with this visualization:
End of round 1.
IDEA GENERATION- ROUND 2
I decided on expressing the following emotions for my project and below are the ‘google’ definitions of these emotions, followed by my own interpretation:
Guilt: a feeling of having committed wrong/ failed in an obligation.
(own interpretation: A mixture of self-blame and anguish and intense sadness)
Hopelessness : feeling despair, loss of desire, aspiration
( own interpretation: A feeling of a lack of future, a feeling that often occur when you fail in doing something or reaching your idealisation )
Curiosity: being eager to know and learn something
( own interpretation: the feeling you get when you read books or look at interesting works of art. or when watching animal planet. )
Frustration: feeling of being upset or annoyed
( own interpretation: the feeling you get when you get pissed at yourself for not being able to do something right. )
Euphoria: feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness
( own interpretation: the feeling you get when you go out with your best friends. The feeling you get when you feel high. )
Calmness: absence of strong emotions, feeling soothed
( own interpretation: the feeling you get when looking and listening to nature. Or the feeling you get when you are cuddling or petting your cat. )
Disgust: Feeling revulsion
( own interpretation: The feeling you get when you see something disgusting, eg. Germ-infected things, tons of bird shit. )
I chose more than 6 just in case some gets rejected.
EXPERIMENTS
CURIOSITY
I added in many materials into the ink to make the paste ( I added in tissue paper, stray strands of fabric, aluminium foil bits, pencil shavings,… ). I began to curiously experiment making patterns using the mixture and used different materials to smear the mixture on the paper, such as a ruler and twine. I played around with the mixture as if I was a kid playing with sand.
First sample
The second sample is one that have foam soap mixed into it.
I did not choose this piece in the end as there are too many black areas. Compared to the first one, this piece seems less dynamic and positive due to the excessive black ink present.
Second piece ( rejected)
FRUSTRATION
I tried to use aluminium foil on cardboard to create texture. For the first piece, I just covered a cardboard paper with aluminum foil. I added black paint/ink to my ruler and start scratching onto it as if I was venting my frustrations.
The second sample is done using the same method but with crushed aluminium foil instead.
This is rejected as the crushed aluminum foil makes it hard to see the scratches and as it is completely crushed, the whole piece looks monotonous in terms of texture.
EUPHORIA
I tried to show a sudden increase in volume in this piece, followed by a line that shows the after effects of euphoria ( I feel really tired out after feeling euphoric ).
This is done using twine.
This is done using a dry mop wipe.
The piece that uses twine have too many sharp lines, making it seem like a negative emotion is being portrayed instead. Perhaps I should add some curved lines.
The one that used dry mop wipes is better in portraying a positive emotion. However, I find the line ( the longest one ) a bit too thick.
GUILT ( REJECTED)
I used a cotton wipe for this. While attempting to ‘feel’ self-blame and anguish, I drew out really sharp lines. While ‘feeling’ upset about myself (asking my self ‘what if…’ ), I pressed against the paper, creating dark round markings. Below are the 2 samples I did:
These are rejected as they look too chaotic and confusing. Furthermore they seemed too similar to my interpretation of ‘hopelessness’, and these pieces are not interpreted as ‘guilt’ by my classmates.
HOPELESSNESS
I tried to use aluminium foil for this but it did not turn out well as the foil either makes the piece really flat when the foil is not crushed, and create too many sharp lines when crushed. I will need to adjust the layout of the piece so that it will not look like just a clueless mess.
DISGUST
Creating this was really fun. I added dust and hair into the leftover mixture I did for the emotion ‘curiosity’. I then add a big dollop of white acrylic paint onto a black piece of paper and then add in the black gross mixture. Next I unevenly swirled the mess to make it look extremely disgusting looking. I then poured a small amount of water. Here is the result:
It looks like bird shit. Which is great. Because I do feel disgusted when looking at bird shit. I may not add in water for the final piece as the size of the paper we get to use is too small for that.
CALMNESS
I did the most experiments for this. I realised that brush strokes will not achieve the effect that I want to get. Hence, I tried another method. I added dye into a basin of water and placed pieces of paper in it.
They did not come out as I expected them to be. Next I add a small cup of water mixed with black dye and poured onto a piece of paper before submerging it into the basin of coloured water.
It gives a pretty ghastly effect instead. That looks cool but it was not the effect I want.
I accidentally spilled a cup of black ink onto a piece of paper. And it looks pretty cool but it is not calming enough for me.
The final method I chose was a method I found online when searching for “creating flowing water effects using liquid acrylic” or something similar. For this method, I poured a small amount of black liquid acrylic (obtained by mixing acrylic with water) into a cup of white liquid acrylic.
Next I placed a piece of paper on top of the cup before flipping it over.
I then swirl the paint around till I got this effect:
I also tried to mix light grey and black liquid acrylic together.
However, according to my 2D teacher, it is too subtle and will not catch the viewers’ attention.
I will be using this method for my final piece.