#shinsjournal

So for this next assignment, we had to choose a particular site and I chose Market Square. It is this block of space that is a courtyard outside the auditorium and it's an area of lots of activity. Lots of students, faculty, and others walk through that space every day, and I also walk through/by it too. 

I stayed there for a while, studying and observing the area. It was a rainy night, so it was cloudy, a bit rainy, and windy. But there were still quite lots of people strolling through the open space. 

Then I saw this big brick wall that was completely empty. I knew that I wanted to do something with that area. That's when I got the idea of maybe continuing off from my "reflect" idea several assignments ago. I thought that I could perhaps make a big mirror on the wall and have the words: "Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" But it would be ironic because the actual thing is not a mirror and just reflective paper that only distorts the image. 

Then I also had another idea. I was thinking of using that wall and taking a photo of the wall and print it out large, then tape it to that wall. Camouflaging it so that it blends in. But then when you peel it off, there'd be something underneath it, like another drawing of some sort. 

My third idea was also maybe using tape art, but that has already been done before. 

Here are some pictures that I took of Market Square:

So I continued exploring with this assignment and I explored the absorbency of paper towels. I thought to myself, why not use the paper towel as a way of printing things down onto paper? Or as a brush? 

So what I did was I would take pieces of paper towel, fold them up in certain ways, and dipped them in watercolor paint and then unfolded them. The folds would create certain patterns and when I pressed the towel onto the paper, it left behind a pattern caused by the pattern threaded in the towels. 

Instructions for Using the Paper Towel As a Tool

Take a piece of paper towel, and cut it into a rectangular strip of paper towel. You will also need a watercolor set and water and a piece of paper for this experiment as well.

Fold a corner of the paper towel into a triangle.

Fold the edge of the triangle over.

Then repeat the folding again until you have fully folded the triangle into a thin, rectangular line.

Then once you have done that, fold that in half.

Keep that folded and drop some water on any color you want and rub the paper towel into that color. It will soak up the color.

Then unfold the paper towel. You will notice that the color has been absorbed at different parts of the paper towel.

Then press the unfolded paper towel against the paper, and you will press the color onto the paper.

Pull the paper towel away and you will see the pattern of the paper towel imprinted onto the paper.

Repeat the process, fold any corner of the paper and use the same color used as previously if you want to repeat the pattern.

Try different methods of “printing” the paper towel pattern onto the paper. Rip the paper towel, scrunch it up, and dip it into a color and then unfold it and spread it against the paper.

For this assignment, we were given a list of words to choose 4 from in a certain font (Futura Bold), and with those words, we had to convey the meaning of those words through just typography. No images, but just manipulate the words/letters in a way that conveyed the meaning. My words were: fall, tension, expansion, repetition. 

For this assignment, we were given graph paper and had to make letters in 9 x 9 squares, and could only fill in the boxes. It was a really fun assignment as the letters kind of looked pixelated. 

Then I tried to make as many letters from the alphabet using the designs that I made onto the computer for the next step.

So! It's the start of a new, FULL week of classes! Gasp. How will I ever survive? Haha well, this is exciting though. I'm starting my first day of Typography class and I'm honestly psyched for it. Ever since I took that letterpress course in wintersession, I fell in love with typography and I just looked at words and letters in a completely different view. I had never realized until a while ago that there was so much work into making the letters exactly perfect and just a slight difference in the letter's shape can totally affect the words' meaning. 

So I tried uploading the recordings up onto tumblr, but for some reason it isn't working! :< 

So here are the direct links to the recordings that I caught while I was at my spot for my observations. They sound pretty much the same, just wind blowing about, cars passing by. I don't have a day 3 sound recording (I wish I did because the sound of rain falling would have been SO COOL). 

But yeah here you go!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4

Snippets of my notes from Day 4:

Sunday, Sept. 14th, 5:30pm

2 Asian guys have stepped out onto the courtyard. One of them is wearing a gray sweatshirt with light blue pants. The other is wearing a navy blue t-shirt with a red backpack. 

The guy with the red backpack stared at me, almost glaring at me. I looked away, disinterested, to look at the building

Why was he looking at me like that? 

A man has arrived to the state house courtyard

He's wearing a gray t-shirt & black pants, with black sneakers. He has dark blondish/brownish hair and a shaven face. Looks about to be in his mid-twenties, early thirties?

He has set up a camera by the courtyard. Filming? Taking photos of the state house?

The sun is out, it's a clear sunny day but it's cold out so I have a sweater and leggings on

5:36 - the photographer has left

The sun is at an angle, shining brightly into my eyes

Wind is blowing in y face

seems to be a slower pace here

i thought courtyard would still be wet by now

sirens blaring off in distance

low grumbling of a car engine can be heard in the background

There seems to be less people outside today

is it because Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest?

I can hear cars coming and going as usual

I feel so sleepy. I think the warm sun is making me feel like a lazy cat

there are people walking out of the state house

5:41 - the road seems to be less busy today - there are longer spans of silence today

Just wind howling

5:43: a lady w/ bright pink outfit (literally everything is all pink) has walked across the courtyard, and she has red hair as well.

She seems like a cool person and I smile at her in greeting and she smiles back as she passes by me, before pressing her cheek into her phone

Just heard a loud screeching noise

Don't know what else to write

i click my pen

A loud screeching train noise

the train station is nearby after all

Sun seems to be covered by clouds- it just got dark for one moment and then bright again

5:46- sun seems to be slinking down again

long shadows outcasted to the left across brick

5:55 pm - taking photos again

Seems so quiet here- I feel lonely

6 pm - sun is slinking down even more

6:10 - even more walking around again, humming

My sketchbook feels cold b/c of the wind blowing against it

6:20: lights are turned on the streets-starting to get darker

"How can we make use of everyday observations in our work?" 

That was the very first question that our lecturer, John Caserta, posed to us before introducing GD to us. 

It got the wheels in my mind turning. He mentioned about the ordinary, common objects that we see and drawing our inspirations from that. 

How do we approach an idea and how do we get to the end?

Simple: We all start from the beginning, and go through a step-by-step process of observing, forming ideas, and melding them into metaphorical perfect, clean crystals. 

Feelings, emotions thoughts can be conveyed through our own style and art. Visual communication.