And you know what, it feels good. It felt good to make something, to use my creative brain, to put something that I've been thinking about in physical form, to let other people know what's going on in my head.
Here's my artist statement that went along with my art. Kind of long, but it describes the whole process.
Abby Miller and Kodi Colip embarked on a journey with
an unknown end. We each began the artistic process with differing statements of
inquiry. While Abby had hoped to explore handwritten communication, Kodi wanted
to examine transitions through life. Together, our powers combined, to create
an art force to be reckoned with. Who knew handwritten communication and
transitions in life could become the most dynamic of duos? Through much
deliberation, we developed a process in which we would ask different questions
to a variety of people at different stages of life. Using the question, “What
do you want to be when you grow up?” for younger children; “Where do you see
yourself after college? What do you hope to accomplish?” for college students;
and “If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would it be
and why?” for adults, we were able to track transitions through handwritten
communication. Participants were asked to interpret these questions by writing
or drawing their responses on a blank sheet of computer paper with their choice
of colored markers. We kept the responses anonymous and asked each participant
to exclude their name. After gathering approximately 300 responses, we then
took a picture of each to document their initial form. After documenting each
response, we then placed the paper into a shredder. Despite belief that we were
intending to crush people’s dreams by shredding their responses, we hoped to
form our own interpretive art reaction to each of our individual inquiries.
From here we invite you to view our individual works that stemmed from the same
beginning process.
Going to college so far away from home, I have tried
to stay in touch with my friends and family. Sometimes phone calls, text
messages, and emails seem too impersonal. I started writing letters. However,
this year, as my course load and co-curricular activities increased, I felt
like I had less time to dedicate to staying in touch that way. Through this
class, I wanted to reexamine the disparity between handwritten communication
and the current technology that we use. In my artwork, I wanted to explore how
we connect through handwritten communication, based on my previous experiences.
In today’s society, I think that we are too often looking at a screen or
sending messages through a phone. I wanted to see how people interact when they
must stop, think, and concentrate on the words they are writing. In the
collection process, people interacted with their own thoughts and that
experience itself was part of my work of art. Their experiences told a story
and their reflection papers are just the evidence of this. Their reflections
were shredded and encased in wax to symbolize the collectiveness of dreams,
regrets, and hopes. I chose to use encaustic art processes to show that
people’s reflections are true for this time, but might be different tomorrow.
It may not have turned out as great as I wanted it to, but it was the process that was important. Art is something different to everyone. It doesn't have to look beautiful and put together for it to be important to someone. It's more important for me to make something than to have people like it. And I can call myself an artist because of that.
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