it's been awhile. ...thoughts & images of a not-so-new semester:

Karla Hackenmiller: pieces of "LIMINAL SLICE" (collaged etchings)

...my inspiration!!

what a perfect illustration of the complexities & patterns of the mind. excellent.

PLANS:

a.) digital portraits on silk
b.) encaustic prints
c.) 3-D collage lights??
d.) THESIS!

CONCEPT: illustrating the human psyche (the mental/psychological structure & force of a person.)

-what does it look like?
-how does it work?
-can we understand it?

PROGRESS: Artist Statement...

• My body of work focuses on the illustration of the human psyche. As Webster’s defines it, the psyche is (in classical mythology), “a personification of the soul,” or in more modern terms, “the actuating cause of an individual life.” Behind our physical façade, each individual is wired with a complicated and complex subconscious. This motivational force drives us to be the people we are, and it is my attempt to reveal the inner workings and vast elaborateness of thought process.
  
• I begin by creating highly detailed linoleum relief prints that resemble innate, unreserved thought process. These “ruminations” are collections of designs that are drawn and carved in a rather free association-like way. They represent images or synapses of the subconscious mind. Printed on handmade, delicate Japanese washi paper, the material helps to emphasize their weightless and changing nature. The beeswax encaustic coating gives the prints a closer connection to thought process by giving them a translucent yet foggy quality. I push the medium further by ironing out almost all of the beeswax. This leaves just a sheen of encaustic remaining on the print, and it increases its transparency and delicacy.
  
• Secondly, I work from the design or style of these prints, as well as from scanned-in drawings and digital stylus drawings to create “intimate spaces”— highly detailed digital portraits. Though in actuality they are self-portraits, they are not meant to resemble myself in the end product— they are simply meant to portray anonymous thinkers. These portraits are originally taken from photographs which are then blocked out into simple colors. The drawings are added on top of the flat color to represent thought process and what might be going on ‘underneath’ the skin shell of a person’s psyche. Layers of texture, light, shadows, and color are then added to complete the image and add depth to the overall composition. Finally, the images are printed large-format on a silk fabric medium. This gives the print a highly moveable and flowing quality which incorporates the ever-changing nature of the mind and of thinking. These “intimate spaces” are meant to invite the viewer to take a closer look at this human’s inner workings.
  
• The digital images (silk prints) will be hung from the ceiling in an attempt to suspend them in a moment, just as a thought ‘floats’ or passes through our mind. This also will allow light to flow through the pieces, giving the work a living, glowing quality by allowing brightness to shine into lighter parts of the translucent material. This display method also creates a larger space for the viewer to see and experience the piece and allows the subconscious representation to be seen in a variety of perspectives. By moving the silk pieces away from the walls (they will be suspended with clear fishing line directly in front of the walls), the images will move slightly as the viewer walks by. The encaustic prints will be framed in clear glass (both sides), also allowing more light to flow through the print. By framing my printmaking pieces with clear frames, I intend to increase their translucency and emphasize the dramatic and complicated intricacies of our subconscious. Both sets of work are meant to stress and encourage contemplation on the complexity of the human psyche. My body of art as a whole will hopefully lead viewers to challenge their previous conceptions about the workings of the human mind.