Tricksters

I had to laugh when I opened the package from Whitney-Anne, just because it was the very antithesis of what I had expected from her. Never underestimate...her note even said she had some tricks up her sleeve. I believe it. Based on her past work, what I expected was something digital, with high color. What I got was paper, fabric and stitching, in a cream on white color scheme!

This brings me to a little anecdote about my philosophy and pedagogy class--it's a class about teaching art in college--we have to design a curriculum for two classes, complete with sources and references, and reading material for them, whatever we want. One book I chose to have as required reading for the students in my class, "Not Your Grandma's Watercolor" (for real, I named the class that) is Chromophobia by David Batchelor. "Chromophobia" is "a fear of corruption or contamination through color". It just makes me laugh when things are so topical and linked together; real life and art life. The Universe is such a trickster.

So needless to say, I'm going to get craaaazy with this, because I ain't afraid of color...watch out Whitney-Anne! This is her stitched canvas and paper piece...

Cycle 7, Round 1

 Whitney-Anne Baker to Shana R. Goetsch

Brixham, Devon, England/UK to Baltimore, MD, USA

I liked the stitching on the back as well as the front, so if I decide to use the back I will have to take a photo of it first (mental note). On to me and what I sent to England, which was something very colorful and simple, it's made of yarn on cardboard! I made quite a few of these during the months of August and September and this is one of them. This was used as a technique in an art workshop I facilitated with the kids and adults at the domestic violence shelter. It's somewhat about concentration and creating order, subconsciously. That aside, I hope Whitney-Anne rips this thing apart!

 Shana R. Goetsch to Whitney-Anne Baker 

 Baltimore, MD, USA to Brixham, Devon, England/UK

Next up, Artist Paula Phillips, also from Baltimore (I'm mixing it up).

Elemental

Recently, I was invited by my friend Jessica Wyatt to be a guest artist in her GTI class, Elements of Visual Thinking. Jessica is the GTI or Graduate Teaching Intern for one for these classes at MICA. I was graciously welcomed by the professor of the class, Colette Veasey-Cullors and all of the freshman students. The theme of the class was, you guessed it, mandalas!

Jessica and I essentially created a two day curriculum. We utilized the knowledge of one of our MFACA professors, Cinder Hypki, who gave a presentation on the background and symbology of mandala the first day. The second day, after a short, for lack of a better phrase, "artist talk" from me, Jess and I broke the class into pairs/groups. We then asked them to work together to create a finished mandala during class time. This was a workshop that was designed to get them in touch with other ways of working, and a way of managing an archetypal symbol.

Since the mandala is such a broad, universal topic, we really used a "top-down" approach to the lesson. Cinder's presentation revealed the universal - macro to micro - use of the mandala. Jess and I then brought it into the collective realm of this very blog project. We recreated a variation of the Art That Circles The Earth Project, the catch being, that the participants had to decide amongst themselves, HOW to work together.

Many of the students worked in tandem on the mandala, but several pairs took a different approach by taking turns, working on the collective mandala piece separately. Two of the students were quite radical, in that they used coding for the project. They created code on their computers for sound and the mandala. Their manner of working was interesting to me, in that they sat right next to each other, and worked on separate parts of the whole, while focusing almost exclusively on their respective computers. Their efforts came together well for their critique, in the form of a participatory piece, which we all had a hand in.

Since I consider the mandalas more of a "sacred space" and we really wanted them to inevitably create personal art, their assignment (working on a personal mandala piece) was not critiqued, but the group work was. After the collaborative mandala critique, one of the students rightly noted that it was difficult to critique the collaborative pieces, which I completely understood.

But this lesson was really to make them understand that artmaking, critique, being an artist, might take many different forms throughout their career. Their role as artist may be expanded, or conversely, contracted, depending on the manner in which they work, the challenges they meet, or their own intent for each piece of art. So, we presented them with a challenge or two, and they made it through their collaborations with flying colors, and not much grumbling.

Some of their personal work was shown, but the students were not pushed to show it or speak about it. Everything was voluntary as far as their personal mandala assignment was concerned. I am glad that many still took this assignment to heart, even though they were not obligated to speak about it or expected to share it with the class. My time with them showed me that they are willing to try new things, are thoughtful about their artmaking, and really "got" the idea of "personal art" through these explorations with the mandala.

More photos of the students working together in class are below...

FOOD!

The mandala that Jess and I made together...

On the day of the critique there were a few unique surprises. A piece that glowed...

And a piece that was generated by participants...

 

Although this is a screen capture (below), it does not, in fact, "capture" what was going on here, nor the movement of the whole when it was finished. Both of these pieces, along with an audio piece generated from the sounds of us all talking in the workshop session, were very transitory. They existed only under certain conditions; in the dark, or upon audience participation. 

"The idea of mandala seems extraordinarily abstract. We see it as a metaphysical or philosophical principle. We cannot learn anything about it unless we see how the mandala principle is connected with a learning process or a practicing process. The Sanksrit word mandala literally means “association” or “society.” The Tibetan word khilkhor means “center and fringe.” Mandala is a way of looking at situations in terms of relativity: if that exists, this exists. If this exists, that exists."   

-“The Razor’s Edge,” in Orderly Chaos: The Mandala Principle, Chogyan Trungpa

Thanks again to Jessica, Colette and the students in "Elements" for letting me share the mandala with you, it has really informed my own thought process regarding my ensuing thesis work, as well.

Strength

Did I ever tell you that I've known Elbee since I was 14 and we were both very silly and little and got into a lot of silly little trouble? Well, I have, and she's been very kind to me over the years; one time, she even took a spirit possession for me (! for reals). She's still one of the strongest and wisest and oddest people I know. Also, she made this mandala with me... :) I think this piece speaks to all of her aforementioned qualities. This has the weirdest "ingredient" list of any of the mandalas so far: a bubble wrap envelope, watercolor paint, coffee, an unused heating filter, acrylic paint, random plastic objects, metal, lace and wood (and a little something pink, because that's just who Elbee is). Whew. You can view the entire process here, and then the finished piece is at the end. YAY!

Cycle 4, Round 4:

Shana R. Goetsch to Elbee
Milwaukee, WI to Tallahassee, FL

Elbee to Shana R. Goetsch
Tallahassee, FL to Milwaukee, WI

Shana R. Goetsch to Elbee
Baltimore, MD to Tallahassee, FL  

Elbee and Shana R. Goetsch
Mandala completed in Tallahassee, FL

Boomerang

I have just finished the piece between Momo Luna and me! This one is bright and glossy and pretty, specifically, it reminds me of candy mints. To finish this piece, I did a little painting and a small amount of printmaking. There were a few objects on this piece in the last round, which I removed and then printed directly on the paper in the spot where they were originally (they are the aqua spirals). I also put a light wash over the pieces, creating less of a white background for the faces. Then I painted some solid colors in designated areas, and added some bright red strips along the edges. I struggled a bit with resolving this piece, but I think it's really "there" now.

Now, let's take a trip down memory lane for the completion of this mandala, Cycle 5, Round 4...

 Moma Luna to Shana R. Goetsch

Arnhem, Gelderland, Holland to Milwaukee, WI, USA

Shana R. Goetsch to Moma Luna

Baltimore, MD, USA to Arnhem, Gelderland, Holland

Moma Luna to Shana R. Goetsch

Arnhem, Gelderland, Holland to Baltimore, MD, USA

 Shana R. Goetsch and Momo Luna

Mandala completed in Baltimore, MD, USA

It was great working with Momo Luna on this piece, and it still retains her distinct flavor, despite my working on it as well. Good show! I'll have another post in the works soon, because I have just received Elbee's last round in the mail today!

Over Land and Over Sea

Please help me welcome our newest contributor, artist Whitney-Anne Baker! Whitney-Anne is from Devon, United Kingdom. I must admit that I had to go look up exactly where that was. Now we all know. As you may have guessed, I know Whitney-Anne through the blogging world. She has two of her own blogs, Whitney's Weird Stuff and What Whitney Made Next. She also has a few thriving Etsy shops, Every Girl's Story and Scribble Domain which has THE COOLEST THINGS EVER. I'm sorry for shouting, but I think it's true, and that she should make these designs into wallpaper....so that I can hang them on my wall. Whitney-Anne seems to be versed in a lot of different media as well as digital, She sent along images of some paper pieces, which she described as being in her "old style".

 

 Paper Experiment No.1

Whitney-Anne Baker

 Paper Experiment No. 2

Whitney-Anne Baker

In her own words, "I began making art about 15 years ago although I had always made things as a child ( lego, lots of lego ). Over the years I have tried lots of different things; hand-made paper, artist's books, textiles, collage, abstract art, experimenting with as many different techniques and mediums as  I could. Being self taught gave me a lot of freedom! I loved it all but Photoshop is where everything came together for me. For my digital pieces I take lots of photographs, scan in found images and text, cut out shapes, use papers that I've painted to create texture, scribble with the mouse and generally mash it all up."

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Whitney-Anne Baker

Blue Collage 2

Whitney-Anne Baker

I really relate to this statement, especially the last little bit of it, "and generally mash it all up". I used to be more of a purist, in terms of technique and use of media, but over the years I've grown to really love mixed media work, and now couldn't imagine myself not mashing it all up!

I'm very excited about working with another artist outside of the United States. I'm hoping that Whitney is able to incorporate her digital imagery into this somehow. I may need help if it's on a digital file, but it's been far too long a time since I have said I wanted to learn how to use my Photoshop. The program is just sitting here on my computer, its power only used for re-sizing images and the most menial of tasks...maybe we'll get a work out, who knows!

In the meantime, Whitney and I are both mailing our first rounds this weekend/Monday-ish. I know that it might take a few weeks for them to arrive in the mail since they are going overseas and that stuff can be expensive to mail, shoot y'all....but please check back to see the results!