#integrative project

(02/19/16)

It felt great doing watercolor again.  I’m having a lot of fun mashing up imagery from religious iconography, popular culture, flowers, food... I had a critique on Wednesday, which went pretty well, I think.  I presented this painting (which will be used on my promotional postcard, by the way), my Mundane Clam Girl ink drawings, and some sketches.  

I have a lot of work planned; I just have to keep at it until it’s all done!

- Mana

(02/12/16)

SONG OF THE WEEK: “Days With You” by Snakehips

This week I took it slow, as it turned out to be an emotionally taxing few days.  I also decided that, instead of completing 12 ink drawings, zines, and portraits, I would bump it down to 8 each.  Otherwise, my expectations were getting to be a little unrealistic (especially if I wanted to keep my sanity somewhat intact through the rest of the semester).  Furthermore, this week I continued to work on my zine from last week, brainstormed, and sketched.

My light pad arrived, so I should get started on painting this weekend.  Hopefully I’ll have more work to share next week.

Thanks for all your support!

(02/05/16)

SONG OF THE WEEK:  “King” by GRADES

A quick update on what I did this week.  

Started planning a painting (below)… I’m a week behind, but hopefully I’ll be productive enough to catch up this weekend.  This one, of course, will be a homage to the inspiring Tavi Gevinson.  This is not based on a photograph.  I’m not particularly fond of doing finished pieces that mimic published images.  I think that’s frowned upon anyway.  Here, I studied Tavi’s face and decided on her pose independently.

(To be clear, I didn’t provide that last explanation to be a snob.  I had to say something because I don’t want people to think I copied an existing image.)

…I added flowers because I like flowers, dammit.  THEY’RE PRETTY AND INTERESTING, OKAY (the various meanings behind individual flowers are really fascinating)?  WHY DO YOU THINK MONET PAINTED SO MANY GODDAMN WATER LILIES?  NOBODY ASKED HIM WHY HE PAINTED FLOWERS, HE JUST DID BECAUSE HE WANTED TO AND WAS GOOD AT IT AND EVERYBODY LIKED THAT.  

Anyway, speaking of painting, I finally caved and ordered a LED light pad, which will be useful when I transfer my drawings onto watercolor paper.

Preview for this week’s zine (still a work-in-progress):

This week’s Mundane Clam Girl:

This week’s ink drawing may be difficult to understand… I started voice lessons, and one great thing you can do to trick your body into engaging with your breath is to lean up against a wall in a sitting position.  I was instructed to buzz my lips while humming scales (hence, the bees), and found that it was much less strenuous compared to when I stood upright and only hummed. The more you know!

I’m excited that I’m able to focus on singing again.  My interest in the arts is multifaceted, so I thought it was important to include this moment in my Mundane Clam Girl series.

(01/29/16)

SONG OF THE WEEK: “All My Friends” by Snakehips

It was tech week for Evening of Scenes, so I’m a little behind schedule... but here’s a panel from last week’s zine (will post finished comic later):

...here’s last week’s Mundane Clam Girl ink drawing (still a work-in-progress):

ALSO: It’s that time of the year, folks!  I’m coming down with a cold.  Hopefully it won’t affect my productivity too much...

Take care of yourselves!

(01/22/16)

SONG OF THE WEEK:  “I Love This” by Jamie Cullum

The original draft of this post was somehow lost, so… Take two, here we go!

Hooray for test animations!  This one’s relatively simple, although I couldn’t get it to run smoothly as a series of gifs (hence, a video):

Spent some time intensely planning out the rest of the semester.  Hopefully I’ll be able to work fairly consistently, and according to schedule.

If everything goes well, I should be able to complete things on a weekly basis (1 zine, 1 Mundane Clam Girl ink drawing, and 1 small painting per week).

(Technically I already have 3 zines, but I’d like to redo them.  I’ve set aside some time during the week to work on polishing earlier work.  The “Mundane Clam Girl” series will be compiled into a zine toward the end of the semester..)

SOMETHING TO NOTE (because it helped me feel less stressed):  So, along with studying art and design, I am studying theater as a minor.  Despite already being involved with two plays this semester, I was going to audition for two more.  As fate would have it, the production dates for the shows I’m already in interfere with the ones for which I was going to audition.  At first, I was devastated.  Now, however, I see that the universe did me a big favor.  There’s no way I was going to juggle four productions (assuming I was cast) and IP.  It’s a bad habit of mine to bite off more than I can chew.

Anyway, the rest of the week was spent writing my thesis, which has been… difficult.  I’m having trouble articulating my ideas.  I can’t complete a single paragraph without feeling like I’m just blabbering about something I don’t even completely understand.  I also feel that the text’s contextual background should include my original idea, and the transition between that and my current idea, but I don’t know how to write all of that out without sounding like a fickle, lazy art student (which I’m not, dammit!).

I saw Young Jean Lee’s Untitled Feminist Show last night and it was phenomenal.  Perhaps I’ll write more about it in a later post, but… it was unlike anything I’d seen before.  Still processing.  I’ll be seeing another one of her works, Straight White Men, tonight.  

This week’s Mundane Clam Girl ink drawing:

That’s it for this week.  Thanks!

(01/15/16)

SONG OF THE WEEK:  “Figure 8″ by FKA Twigs

This week was a little rough.  I think I’m having trouble getting back into the swing of things, especially since I didn’t have the chance to totally relax over the break.  Also, I think I’m a little thrown off because I’ve had to opt for alternative studio hours (one of my classes conflicts with regular hours).  Still, one must trudge on...

The above is still a work in progress, which I will work on animating.  I’m toying with the idea of using gif art to show progression and deterioration. 

I’m slowing filling my south studio wall with images of mundane Clam Girl.  It’s nice to take a break from digital art to use pencil and ink.  Gotta do more of these...

This weekend I’ll continue to work in preparation for next week’s critique.

Sorry to be so brief!  Like I said, it was a pretty slow week.

SONG OF THE WEEK: “Burn” from Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Been practicing Clam Girl, trying to figure out the right design for her head (and having fun drawing ridiculous body language).  I’ve also been considering options for how the finished zines might look.  Will they be strictly black and white, or should I introduce color through paper and/or in the drawings?

I presented these during critique on Wednesday, and the following are some things I quickly jotted down.  My professors and peers had some great suggestions (these notes aren’t terribly detailed, so let’s just pretend it’s a free verse poem):

In addition, I’ve also been thinking about whether to add eyes.  I rather enjoy the design the way it is (that is, literally just a giant clam on a human body; there’s something very stark and cold about it, which I like), but I feel that I might need something besides body language to communicate the character’s emotions.

We’re going to have another movie night / work session with the Michigan Animation Club tonight, so I’m just going to keep experimenting with Clam Girl, and hopefully have some new zines planned by the end of the night.  

Gotta prepare for my REAL IP Review, which is scheduled for Tuesday.  I also have some projects due in other classes...  Just think, by this time next week I’ll be completely done with this semester (hopefully)!

That’s it for now.

- Mana

(12/04/15)

SONG OF THE WEEK: “Room 317” from Miss Saigon: The Definitive Live Recording (Original London 2014 Cast Recording)

We had mock IP reviews this week (to prepare us for our actual presentations, which will take place later this month)!  Though nerve wracking, I think that my presentation went well.  The process was very helpful... For instance, in the mock review, I didn’t include any of the work I completed before changing my idea.  Later, I was urged to discuss how I arrived at my current idea by touching on earlier work because, as it was pointed out to me, they are somewhat connected.  That is, I had decided to change my original idea and formulate a new idea because I wanted to address my insecurities, which provided for many stressors early on.  

My Clam Girl idea seemed to have been well liked.  It would be interesting if I did a series of performances wearing a clam for a head (maybe I’ll make a clam-shaped headpiece using paper mâché or foam).

Obligations for other classes have kept me from getting more work done this week, but I’m hoping to do some watercolor painting and zine-experimenting this weekend.  Wish me luck!