THE ACADEMIC TREADMILL (ZOE)

The basic conclusions made in critique this Tuesday were that I was thinking far too much and drawing far too little. I think that's fair. I think that's true. In an emotional and creative way, I know exactly what I'm doing. The ideas are coming fast even if my hands are moving slow and my excitement for the work is still present despite the constant beating of my head against the wall. But how to put this into words? How do I describe something that I understand emotionally, but can't manage to nail down verbally? 

Heather mentioned a strategy that Allen had for one of his pieces, never talking about the work itself but rotating around it and talking about everything that was tangential to the work as a method of getting to the work itself. That might be effective. But, to be honest, I have this desperate need to try and defend the work in a more concrete way. 

So, I started to research the way that textile artists talk about their own work. Designers talk about their work in relation to very concrete inspirations. I was inspired by Saami traditional outfits. I was inspired by the way rain drips off of things. I was inspired by the way my coffee cup stained when I forgot that I made coffee- that sort of thing. This might be a more satisfying method for my artist statement. It might also be useful to combine what I'll call the Allen Method and this more concrete Designer method. 

List of things that Inspire my work:

1) My childhood inhibition 

2) Working in an aquarium

3) Creating alternate universes and new worlds (DnD)