It has been a new week with new problems to solve. Still focusing on my relationship with my mom I have been thinking of the best way to represent our relationship visually as well as what parts of the relationship are the most important for me to talk about. I started the week off by doing another set of color studies. I created three compositions that all use colors to represent a certain emotion or characteristic. 


The first image uses colors that create a simple and feminine look. The second composition uses brighter colors that represent a more creative and vibrant characteristic, while the third composition uses colors that show a more modest characteristic. These are all characteristics that both my mom and I posses. 

Also this week I have started thinking about the relationship and the whole idea of me growing up in her shoes. This had me think about all the positive and negative aspects of our relationships and the woman that I do and don't want to be. So i began creating this image below which represents my own feet as a younger girl wearing her mom's shoes around. With this image i am creating a print. With the print I am going to play with mixing it and layer it with other images and different mediums such as paint. 

As for this coming week I still have concerns and questions about where to go with this idea and what the best way to represent the overall message. I still have to answer questions and I think talking with my mom more is really going to help. Also I am going to continue to explore mediums and techniques to figure out a way to be present my thoughts. Im just going to keep working and trying to make something. 

       My week started off with doing some new color studies. I figured I would try and tackle the project again but went about it in a different manner. I began by defining prevalent personality traits that stuck out in the word web I had previously done and than each of these traits were assigned a color. Next I began to construct the personality of each individual based on a numerical scale using the colors, than created an image combining the colors of both the other individual and myself. Below are the combinations that resulted from each relationship.


Relationship: Freshman Roommate & Myself

 Relationship: Childhood Friend & Myself

 Relationship: Mother & Myself

 Relationship: Boyfriend & Myself

        Based on these color combinations that were created I than began to analyze them and write down notes based on what I saw and felt form the compositions. 

        Also in this past week I have started to focus more closely on one particular relationships, the relationship with my mother. This is an important relationship to me and I want to take some time to explore the possibilities of this relationship looking at all aspects of it both positive and negative. Based on this I have begun to create some sketches pictured below that I plan to turn into prints. 

        This sketches are created based on the idea of combining two separate individuals into one. I wanted it to be simplistic so the main emphasis is on the images and the interaction between to two. 

        The next step for me is to work on some more color studies. Although my initial idea is to create monochromatic images I am still exploring the idea of colors. Color can have a strong emphasis on the meaning within the final pieces. So the other day I finally received the book Color Image Scale by Shigenobu Kobayashi. So with guidance from the book and personal experimentation I am going to create some color studies. Also this week I am going to be turning my sketching into a series of small prints while possibly exploring combinations of mediums. Additionally although I have been doing some research on a variety of artist books. 

This week I continued to do more journaling to try and get a better sense of these personal relationships I have. I did a few word webs to look for connections between individuals and certain relationships while trying to paint a better picture of each person's personality. By simply writing descriptive words it is interesting to see the similarities between people as well as the differences in personality.  

Also this week I began to do a few studies using color to try and visually demonstrate a feeling that these relationships evoke. When starting out my goal was to use the color to visually show a feeling based on the people but when I started I slowly began to get more and more frustrated. It was difficult to combine the right colors to evoke a feeling and just not coming across as what I was thinking. But I was recommended a book called Color Image Scale that I am excited to take a look at. It talks about color combinations and emotions that can be brought out by certain combinations. Once I get this book next week I am going to try and do a second color study.

Over this break I am working on some sketching and starting to transfer them into images ultimately trying to create some prints using the photo-litho process. So I am excited to get into the print studio and do some work. This week was short and sweet but I have been doing a lot of journaling and research and now I am excited to get my hands dirty and start making stuff!

          Relationships are an essential part of any human beings life and almost all individuals can say that they have formed a bond with at least one other person. What intrigues us to form these relationships, how or why do they work? What does the relationship look like? This past week these are questions I began to ask myself about my own relationships.   
      
          This week I did a lot of journaling in an effort to decide which one of my own personal relationships I would start to explore more. I decided on four specific relationships that all can be characterize in completely different ways: 


The first relationship is with my boyfriend. 
We share a bond that people are always looking for. He is my best friend and the love of my life. I have started to explore our relationship more and looked at our individual personalities. We have a lot of similar characteristics and interest but there is also so much that is different and sometimes can be frustrating. It is interesting to start to visualize how this bond looks to other people and how it can be portrayed visually. 


The second relationship is with my mom.
We share a bond that is both biological and personal. She is someone that I know will always be there and we can laugh together and be serious. I've realized a lot of times we don't get along or get frustrated with each other but we are so much alike. Everyone says I look and hold a lot of the same personality traits as my mom so it is interesting to try and portray this idea, yet still keep hold of the difference we do have.


The third relationship is with one of my old friends.
This relationship is very interesting to me. Lindsay and I are only a few months apart and growing up were inseparable. We hold so many memories and have many similar interests. Once we both hit high school and went in different directions we slowly began to drift apart. So it is interesting to look and see how our relationship has changed over the years. Even though we do not see each other that often right now, when we do we can talk and hang out like nothing has changed even though so much in our own lives has changed. 


The fourth relationship is with one of my first roommates at college. 
This relationship is also very different than the previous ones I have started to look at. This relationship was not a good one. We were two completely different individuals that were in a way forced to live together and get along. Looking back at it all i could describe it as an arranged marriage that went bad. So for me it is interesting to see how this relationship was viewed by all outsiders and how it really felt to be in the relationship itself. Also It is interesting to compare this relationship to any of the previous ones i have stated.   

Beyond this exploration I have started to dig deeper into these relationships and start to describe the actual relationship in ways that I could start to illustrate them. I have started this by describing the relationship in just a few words. For example the relationship with my college roommate i described as fake, forced and sometimes distant, while in comparison the relationship with my boyfriend i described as being stable, fun, true and sometimes frustrating. Also another thing that came to mind it the number of years that I have been in this relationship and if that factor can or will play a part in my final piece. 


In relation with my research and journaling I have started to sketch to try and help my get a better visual of what these relationships actually look like. I will have some of these sketches uploaded soon. I have also started to think about what I want the audience to get from looking at these pieces and I want to spark a sense of curiosity not only about my own relationships but I want them to start to think about their own relationships. 


As for the coming weeks I still have a lot of research and exploration to do. I am going to continue journalling and sketching. Also I plan on doing a few studies using color to try and visually demonstrate a feeling that these relationships evoke. Another thing that I am excited to start doing is getting into the print studio. I want to start to turn some of my sketches and ideas into small prints to explore mediums for my final pieces. 

A lot of things have changed this week. 


During the week I spent a lot of time reading, thinking about being uncomfortable and did some sketches to try and capture the feelings of uncomfortableness. The images of my sketches and descriptions of the concept behind each one can be found in the previous post. But after all this I was just at a stand still. I was not sure of where to go with this whole uncomfortable feeling and was getting more and more frustrated.


So I continued to read in search an ah ha moment, something that would inspire me to move forward. In the book I have been reading I finished a chapter called "Thin Slicing". This chapter talked about how we as individual thin slice everyday when we are trying to understand everything around us. Specifically, they began to talk about thin slicing to get an instant understanding of another human being. The most interesting part was when I read about an individual who analyzes couples in relationships. He is able to sit, watch and analyze a couple's 15 minute conversation and based on ques and certain behaviors he observed he had a 95% accuracy rate of determining if they would be divorced in the next 15 years. 


This inspired me to start to think about my own personal relationships. How and why can two completely separate individuals come together to form a bond? What is unique about the dynamic of their relationships? These are just a few question I have begun to ask myself and am excited to start to explore.


Also another thing that has inspired this concept is an illustration I did last year. This is an image of flowers, something beautiful and feet, something considered ugly, coming together and forming a connection. It is the whole idea of opposites attract. 

Based on this new idea this coming week I am going to continue to do a lot of reading about relationships. As well I am going to do a few studies to help me better understand certain relationships I have chosen to look at further. Im just excited to see where this all leads!