Friday, March 30, 2012

Where the Wildflowers Are

 I realize I've been posting less and less, but that's because I'm working more and more, which doesn't always seem possible. Yet everyday I find several new messes to make in Megastudio.
 Today, applications for CIA's traveling scholarships were due. Graduating seniors (who meet a required GPA and have no outstanding credits) can apply for one of the six scholarships they announce at the BFA Exhibition reception. These scholarships, from $3,000-$4,500, go to students to further their career and fund their travels.
 To apply, you have to write a one-page proposal explaining what you would like to do with the money, where you would go, and what you might make. It's hard to fit everything in one page, but at the same time, it's a nice limit, and the lack of detail leaves flexibility.
 My proposal, naturally titled Where the Wildflowers Are, explains my wish to travel throughout the American West and use the almost infinite nature as the setting for a short film I want to make integrating a variety of experimental film and animation techniques.
 I made an envelope out of some chipboard, silkscreened my name & title onto it (and of course a couple wildflowers), and created a (wildflower &  string) clasp on the back. I'm a big fan of presenting everything cohesively, so even my DVDs are decorated.
 As dividers between each of the pages, I included pieces of tracing paper with xylene transfers of wildflowers: one of the techniques I want to experiment with, in animated form.
 And, since I had the screen out and my pigments mixed, I figured I might as well title my next sketchbook (since I only have a few pages left in the one I started just a few weeks ago!). I've become a big fan of coptic stitch. For awhile, I thought it was tacky, but I think that's because of the cover designs. The pages open really nicely and stay flat (nice for sketchbooks), and they look really nice as paperback. I'm hooked.
This weekend, my goals include designing another repeat pattern, prepping a screen, possibly silkscreening, hole-punching, and a ton of work on my handmade book project. Next week I'll be drawing until carpal tunnel gets the best of me.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Springtime Pattern

Here I am, 1am, at Megastudio, on the last day of my last Spring Break. Which means that I pretty much have 7 weeks until BFA. I've felt like I was gonna have a heart attack all day. Not knowing things and waiting to hear on others makes me feel like I can't get anything done, and not getting things done only reminds me of not finishing and ultimately failing. I'm overwhelmed.


At least my break was spent in the warm weather of Charleston with the boy I love. We made banana pancakes and rode motorcycles through the country and picked clover and laughed a lot, and I wore sundresses everyday. I can't wait to live there.


I got back in town on Friday, but I couldn't bring myself to go to the studio until today. I've been so anxious, waiting on BFA logistics, that I felt it was pointless, and cleaning my room was a much better use of my time. Not that I cleaned it. I relaxed. And trust me, it was well deserved.


But this is it. This is the last stretch. The last few weeks before everything changes. Tomorrow I'll start my day with extra espresso, some video editing, lots of drawing, and maybe purchasing another bulk amount of tracing paper.


Here's what I've been working on tonight. I've been designing a repeat pattern for the endsheet of my books I'll be making before the semester's up. There's still so much to do. There's always so much to do. But I like this. I'm glad I have this side project. 

(PS. 10 points if you can find the jackalope in the pattern!)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Sleep is not for the week.

Here I am, at the library, not sleeping, until it is time to go to class in the morning. Midterms are this week, which means I have a lot to do. And it means that in just a few days, I'll take a much deserved break to visit someone who deserves many kisses. And it also means that I have half a semester left of college. I mean, until I decide to go get my MFA.
Today, I looked at books about William Kentridge and John Baldessari and Kara Walker and Christian Boltanski. I worked on my thesis paper some more. I sketched out more pages for my handmade book project, and made a mock-up. And I did some more silkscreening. The above pattern, which I made for Joanna Simmons, is actually monochromatic in blue tints, and depending on how my extender-heavy printing looks in the morning, I may have to resort to dye-printing, which is much more of an inconvenience. We'll see.
This pattern was made for Nellie Lockhart, but more about her later.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Awesome Things

1. Yesterday, Debbie, Josh & I went to the Beachland Ballroom to see the Rumpke Mountain Boys, who were amazing. Even the opening band, JP & the Chatfield Boys, were great! There were banjos & mandolins & an upright bass & a fiddle & a guitar (which underwent 5 string replacements throughout the show), and in one song, the banjo player even played the saw! It was so great.

2. I'll be doing a good amount of silkscreening this week, which I'm happy about. I've already designed 2 repeat patterns, and the next 2 are in progress.

3. In four days, I'll be in the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina, enjoying sunshine and picnics and daffodils and Nicholas. And I'll be filming another set of scenes to rotoscope.

4. Today I got to my studio, checked my email, and found that several people sent me congratulatory messages, and links to the Plain Dealer. Here's why: Steven Litt, the newspaper's art critic, wrote about CIA's Student Independent Exhibition. In the Sunday edition. And here's an excerpt of what he said.
Standouts this year include Michaela Lynch, author of a captivating and mesmerizing hand-drawn animation called "Their Ghosts Remain Between the Pages." 
Lasting a few minutes but consisting of hundreds of individual drawings, the work weaves together images of a young woman reading a book with those of a pair of young people on ice skates, a woman riding a bicycle or running her fingers through her hair. 
What's truly astonishing about the work is that Lynch uses line like a scalpel to carve different types of space into the blank white surfaces of her pages. Sometimes she starts with the simplest of linear fragments, leaving it unclear for a moment whether we're looking at the inside or outside of a form -- or whether we're exploring the spaces between people and objects or the spaces inside. 
As the piece proceeds, it zooms in close or pulls away from the action, giving Lynch a powerful forum in which she displays a wonderful ability to draw the human figure at various scales and from a wide variety of angles. 
The images convey the impression that Lynch has used film or video as the basis of her work, but it's the selectivity and elegance of her lines that cast a spell -- and make you eager to find out where she'll go next.
HOLY COW. At first I figured my name was mentioned, and was excited just by that; I definitely didn't expect such a long description with so many wonderful comments. I'm still incredibly flattered, and so glad my work has been communicating all that I put into it. You can read the rest of the article here.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Not Weird Art

Mia: What are you doing?
Michaela: I'm in my studio, making art.
Mia: Oh! What kind of art are you making?
Michaela: I'm drawing patterns that I'm going to silkscreen onto fabric.
Mia: Oooh! That sounds lovely and not weird!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

On Repeat


birdhouse

birch_big

not_alone_winter_spoonflower

Tweet!

Paris Peonies

Katrien

Love Birds - Twilight Palette

Feathers

In The Thicket

Sentimuttal Journey

Feline Nostalgic

Woodland

Cupcake

clover patch

Autumn Flowers

marisa

Autumn Floral

Retro Glasses Frames

Time_for_tea_fabric

Tales of King Arthur - blue

Alice

ThisBikeIsJustRight_Aqua


Woodland creatures pattern - Cream pink green


Disfluency Toile

The Truth Bear Ad infinitum


'to kill a mockingbird' repeat

nautical tile

native american animals repeat

buried treasure tile

Forest Camouflage

Jackalopes Love the Sun

Unidentified Animals Pattern

I'm working on drafting some repeat patterns right now, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites I found while looking at styles I like. Click images for sources.