I remember while I was studying abroad in Japan, I took a calligraphy class. In it, we learned how to use traditional ink and bamboo brushes to do Japanese calligraphy (both in the standard alphabet, Hiragana, and the more complicated symbols, kanji). While I initially thought that it would be just like painting, I quickly found out that it required a specific technique/protocol. There was heightened awareness of your own body movements, and only one way to hold the brush. But I found it so relaxing to do, to focus on my own movements and become more aware of how the way I move affected the final “word” I was writing.

I remembered this relaxed feeling I felt and one thing lead to another and I got this development of paintings. What started out as a simple black kanji for fire became a study of my own movement with the paintbrush and later on, how the interaction of color became part of that result.

Here are some detailed shots of them.

School began just last week and it is already extremely overwhelming. On my first day alone a student had a seizure, I have been placed in charge of busing the students in the afternoons (one student was left by a bus and another was on the wrong one), and I have also been assigned more lower-functioning classes than I had last year. I want to do so much with my students, but it is hard to believe I truly can with some of the student I work with when my largest concern is if they are going to have a seizure, eat the materials, or harm either themselves or others (including myself) in the classroom.

Oddly enough, last year, even as a first year teacher, was not nearly as overwhelming. I was never planning on staying at this school for long, but it honestly has crossed my mind to find other employment before the year is over. The more I read and learn in this program, the more I wish to be able to do more which, unfortunately, I really cannot do in the place I am now. I hate this feeling of giving up, but I also feel like I have to do what is best for me, both personally and career-wise to enable further growth as a teacher.

I anticipate this year having little personal time for myself as well. With waking up at 5:30 in the morning and not getting home until anytime from 5-6 at night, I’m both physically and mentally drained. Because of the stress I am under, in terms of my own studio research, I am seeking out art practices focused on simplicity and that can be relaxing through the process itself. Conceptually, I think the ideas of multiple perspectives and perceptions of the artwork are extremely interesting. Rather than just having one concrete understanding of the work, it would be nice to encourage diverse thinking and interpretation from viewers.

Immediately after reading, my mind was drawn to thinking about the visual itself of objects in spaces they are found.  In choosing to portray an object, it makes the artist think deeper about it- why is it there? What purpose does it serve? Is there thought to the visual design of the object? Who put the object there and will anyone move it, or take it away? It leads to the ability for further inquiry and a need to gain better understanding of what is actually being viewed.

I have never really done much art that is like this before. Often times, I go into detail and would also include shadows to add depth and a sense of “realness” to the image.  I look at the image I made to be more abstracted and minimalist to what I would normally create.  Working in an environment as stressful and chaotic as the one I work in, I honestly found myself more drawn to the idea of utilizing more simplistic ways in art making to allow for deeper thought and comprehension of the space and visuals.  I was ultimately able to think more about the power of simplicity.  Even the simple act of flipping the image to its side can change the perception of what it is a picture of and how it may be perceived by a viewer.

While on break, I went out West to Utah and took a side trip to Yellowstone. While I was there, I was photographing as normal, but then began to focus on really zooming in to the different things around me.  Everything from rocks, clouds, and the geyser basins was so fascinating to observe up close. The photos I ended up taking were primarily focused on the textures and colors, rather than the context of the image. This lead to the idea of removing things from context to present to a viewer to make their own judgements of what they are observing- something I realized I have been drawn to a lot, both in my teaching and art practices previously. I am interested in possibly pursuing this idea of displacing images from a known context to leave it up to the viewers judgement and interpretation.

Below are some pictures taken from the trip.

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