Writing at length seems to be my go-to method of organizing my thoughts. I meant to post more frequently in June and July, but they turned out busier than expected.
Topics to touch on in this log include…
I think I’ll just power through the list, top-down.
With CHROMA less than a week away, I thought I’d tie up some lingering thoughts on my faculty critique session from last Wednesday, Thorn Village as a project, and set some loose goals for the summer leading into thesis year. Shall we? Continue reading “012: Semester Wrap-Up”
The end of the semester is fast-approaching, the weather is finally warming up, and I have some progress images of Thorn Village that I forgot to share sooner! Let’s dive right in… Continue reading “011: Thorn Village Progress”
As I mentioned in my last post, I draw most of my inspiration from video games that celebrate imaginative exploration and casual interaction (Animal Crossing, Proteus). If you play through my first digital game release, Walk With Me, these aspects should manifest. I hope so, at any rate! Moving forward with Thorn Village, I’ll be exploring these preexisting worlds with a more critical eye, and supplementing the creation of this new space with world-building readings from a few of my bookshelf texts. Continue reading “010: Source Material, Research”
I received some good feedback last Wednesday, and it made me realize several points in my previous project goal that were unclear. My critique group got me thinking about scale (physical size), and how to best represent my ideas of comfort and accessibility. Reflecting on these points, the roundabout method of “silkscreen animation” was especially difficult to explain in a concise manner…even to myself. I needed to hone in on methods that would encompass “comfort” for me, as well as my audience. Continue reading “009: Comfortable Space & Virtual Reality”
It’s tough breaking out of a marketable-final-product mentality, but this really is a time for experimentation and learning. Bouncing ideas back and forth with my sister helped me narrow down my focus to incorporate both 2D and 3D elements into a bigger exploration of fictional characters, with some game design goals on the horizon as I move towards thesis. Continue reading “008: New Semester, New Project”
It’s been two weeks to the day since the Fall semester ended. There are several things I need to work through, and I’m still processing the term as a whole, so this post might seem odd or fragmented as a result. Some things I’d like to address: my art-making workflow, my mentality on art and what makes “a finished piece”, muddled goals, and what’s coming next. Hope everyone had a good holiday! Continue reading “007: End-of-Semester Reflection”
It’s been a couple weeks since my previous post, and I’ve been sitting on the subject of my first MFA critique for too long.
Some particular points of discourse from my peers and professor that I found compelling are as follows:
The comments about constructing physical environments for the dolls and audience participation really resonated with me. While these types of dolls are difficult to sculpt, mold, and cast by hand, I want other people to be able to interact with and handle them. If possible, I would ideally have diorama setups as well as a separate space for people to “play” with the dolls.
Conceptually speaking, I’m interested in the subject of body positivity and how difficult it can be to accept/celebrate parts of your physical self (like weight, skin color, etc.). In conjunction with interactivity and “mark”, I thought, “What if others had different colors of ink or paint on their hands and then touched the doll?” Having a doll nude (or only partially clothed in white) would add that layer of vulnerability that we so often find in ourselves when considering our bodies and our “imperfections”. And with those marks and fingerprints literally painted onto her body…I’m curious as to how people might interact with the dolls in that context versus general play.
Further progress under the cut. Continue reading “006: Post-Critique #1”
The parts below are what I had forgotten last post: hands, feet, and first head. I feel as though I’m unintentionally working in 1/4 (MSD) scale rather than my intended 1/6 (YoSD) scale doll. Maybe because the bulk of my current doll collection is MSD…? Or it could be that I’ve been having trouble working smaller than this by hand.
Continue reading “005: Bits ‘n Pieces (and some little friends)”
I had some Sculpey lying around my studio, so I decided to test out sculpting with polymer clay as opposed to the oil-based Claytoon. With lots of referencing my current doll collection and my own hands, I think I’m finally understanding how to manipulate the clay to make recognizable body parts. The paler pieces below are the newer Sculpey hands, which I’ve been refining along with some feet.
Kayleigh Fogle 