Michelle Makes

  Coming into this semester, I was excited to take more classes at Stamps and try new mediums I had never worked with before. I was not prepared, however, for the challenges I would face and just how much I would learn from them. The work I produced this semester in this Methods class really tested my ability to iterate on ideas and showed me what makes up the creative process. In previous classes, I have had a tendency to go with the first idea but the projects and situations this semester have pushed me to go beyond that. The sequence project required collaboration which required us to cooperate, compromise, and only use our best ideas. Due to our changing situation, my final product for the body extension project looks completely different from my initial sketches. After seeing the importance of change and freedom in earlier projects, I intentionally left space for spur of the moment decisions in my final remapping project.

         As most people did, I faced significant challenges this semester. My health faced a sudden decline and attending in person classes became much more difficult. In this sense, the switch to online classes was a blessing, however the lack of resources, structure, and social interaction was still difficult to adjust to. Ultimately, I was able to adapt to these difficult times and even used them to push my work further. I am proud of what I have made this semester.

         Our sequence project, Lunar Consciousness, pushed my boundaries and was creatively fulfilling. The body extension taught me about adapting and how we can represent our ideas in many ways. My remapping project tested my craftsmanship and ability to reflect. I am excited to take what I have learned and use it as I continue my studies in art and design. 

From the beginning, I had a pretty clear idea about the direction I wanted to take my remapping project. I wanted to use the text from my Instagram and paint over it to show my own emotions looking back on these times. While I iterated slightly on my ideas, the main focus for me was the process of making the object. I started with the tedious process of copying my own writing into a format which could be printed, cut, and assembled into a book. After the pages had been more or less assembled, each a chunk of text with semi-transparent vellum on top, I moved onto the more emotionally intensive part of the project, painting the memories. As is the case for many, this semester has not been the best time in my life so reading accounts of my emotions and events that transpired then translating that into a visual language was difficult. But it was also therapeutic, it helped me reflect and use art to process the semester. I am really glad I was able to take this project such a direction. In the end, my remapping project is nothing more than a small book but it acts as a way to show others a very specific period of time and look back on it myself.

When we started working on our body extension project, the idea of being quarantined in our homes was merely a “what if” in my mind. In fact, our groups theme to tie our extensions was the very idea of connection and love. We wanted to explore the different ways in which we try to connect with each other, physically and emotionally. As we were told to leave the university and shelter in place, both my ideas and methods on my project shifted. We no longer had to use our objects in conjunction with each other, yet we still had to show their purpose through videos and photos. Because of this, my idea shifted from a covering of the body which didn’t allow others to engage with me to an object through which I could control the space around me. I still wanted to play with the idea of allowing or not allowing yourself to connect but the idea of creating physical space around me became increasingly relevant. After some tests, I created a skirt like contraption that flared out to create a solid ring around me. The extension allowed me to stop people from coming near simply by raising my arms. Without the resources provided through the university, there was certainly some challenges the construction of my object. I was luckily able to find enough cardboard and craft paper around my home to make the extension. Documentation was also a process. My sisters were willing to help and allowed me to showcase the movement and interaction of my extension. Overall, this project pushed me to iterate my ideas as circumstances changed and look into new ways to both build and showcase my ideas.