Summer 2022...

A lot going on this summer. While recovering from my hand injury was top priority, I have continued my endeavor to grow as an artist. The injury left me unable to effectively grip anything with my left hand.  However, functionality is at about 95% now, and I'll return to completing those pieces beginning the 8th of August,

I've been reviewing a bunch of artist, including John Edmark and Leonardo Drew.  Applying for fellowships, residencies, and prepping to submit work for a couple of exhibitions.  Also, been spending time with other contacts I have in the art community.  I am expecting to have access to a gallery in Plano, TX this upcoming February and would like to have that be the exhibition that is part of my MFA requirement for such.

I have, also, enjoyed listening to a podcasts called The Artful Painter while I do my own work,

The interviews are quite interesting, providing many (sometimes conflicting) points of view on the art of being an artist. One very general episode I enjoyed is this one featuring Michael Chamberlain.

While that interview was not extraordinary, it included some key takeaways that were  points echoed by my art professors ad nauseum throughout my art education (and my therapist). One particularly impactful, yet challenging to adopt, axiom is that failure is an intrinsic part of the process that creates growth.

 On the other hand, one rather interesting interview is the Virgil Elliott interview.

Many of the interviewees, and perhaps artists in general, are quite something in character (sometimes leaning toward a common type of arrogance).  Mr. Elliott may be one case for my point, but, he made some very good points as to how confidence is linked to quality sometimes.

However, I have had plenty to turn to.  I've developed my engagement with the Dallas Makerspace organization, and begun developing relationships that will become quite meaningful with regard to my ongoing art making.  Also, I had been planning to investigate some 2D executions of ideas that I had created sketch studies of.  I've come up with an interim name for the form that I am using as the focal main character represented in my current work.  I am hoping that inpyha and empyha will work.  I have to do some writing and test this out.   A pyramidic geometric form is a mathematical or technical description for the form that is a core component of my artwork, however, I feel that I need to create more of an identity for it.  The name will aid in that process, and ultimately aid in the story/message that it supports.

My summer's investigation into how I can expand a 2D concept I had, culminates with these studies which include a video titled To Be Black, and,a series of print studies, exampled below.  Getting the levels right for the current audio is proving to be quite tricky even with my extensive audio recording engineering experience. I no longer enjoy sharing unfinished work, however, this post is for the benefit of my MFA committee, in order to facilitate some summer's end discussion.

My next rendition of the video will be landscape in orientation and audio-wise will most likely feature the current audio track adjusted  to sound like it is deep in the background, and I will record a flattened narration of my voice up front in the audio track.  I am writing the narration text as soon as I complete this post.

Also, as I work toward resolving some of the problems that I see, I will favor the higher resolution example (bottom row left two images), Modifying the images to be 16:9 or 4:3, have to test print.  Also, still working on better result for the text version of an inpyha form (the red background image).