They Say “Leap With Your Heart” (Group)

Group Member: Nina

For this stop motion, we were all prompted with creating our videos based around how we are currently feeling with Covid. Nina and I discussed what it is like returning to in person classes, how our mental health has been affected, as well as the social displacements we have faced. We talked about having desires to see our friends, and take up opportunities of being in college, however we have felt that we ultimately need to prioritize safety for others as well as for ourselves, thus weighing our hearts and our minds. I was thinking a little bit about Egypt’s Weighing of the Heart Ceremony when brainstorming and thought it would be really cool to try and create a balance scale with the materials we were offered. We had a hard time figuring out functionality, especially when the heavy clay pieces were added. If we had more time, I think it would have been worthwhile attempting a more secure beam.

Mental Health in a Pandemic (Group)

Group Members: Olivia, Danielle, Margo, Dee and Sean

I really enjoyed this video. Because we all had such strong , as well as sensitive, emotions toward this subject, it was not very difficult to bring together what we wanted to convey. We did have to call a break as this was very emotional to all of us. Though this project conveyed only a glimpse of our thoughts, I feel this stop motion really wrapped up every thought we had. We started out with earth floating in a starless space and introduced our character. In the beginning, he begins to show signs that can be physically identified by an outsider, such as a lack of hygiene. We also introduced a mask to indicate the pandemic and bring in the topic of how mental health has recently evolved, and how it is finally starting to be recognized as a larger issue than how it was presented before. We then began to dive into his mind, something internal that we wanted to visualize for others. We wanted the hallways to suggest a psychiatric hospital which would ultimately lead to Danielle’s interpretation of hell. I had a chance at working with some new materials, like the powdered graphite, as well as see everyone’s individual art styles incorporated.

New Paltz Water

For this stop motion I was really inspired by August Lamm’s work and wanted to bring some of that to life. She focuses primarily in printmaking and often depicts figures looking through glasses. I have always loved the way she depicts the fragmentation. I wanted to explore the idea of curiosity and also wanted to tie in a bit of a relationship to the water crisis some of us experienced in New Paltz a few years ago. That may have only been brief, but a lot of people make sure to always have extra water or a filter because it really taught us a lesson about the safety and accessibility of our resources.

Candle

For this one, I primarily wanted to focus on understanding the app. I set a timer so that I could use both of my hands, and I was really excited about how the smoke would move. I also think incorporation of candles can create either a relaxing or uneasy setting and I wanted to be able to play on both ends at the same time.

Ivy Growth

For this stop motion I have been documenting my Ivy plant and a budding flower on it over the last few days. I really enjoy nature and growth, and wanted to focus on a time-lapse feeling. I had some issues with lighting and had to remove pieces that I took at night.