todays' drawing notes

Today I worked with ink and a brush, at a larger scale than what I had been working at for a while. Following with the sketchbook of loose figure and form drawings that had proved the most fruitful / enjoyable and most practical in engaging in new visual symbols, I continued in that way of working. That is the indulgent/ 'selfish' aspect of the project.

Texture as well as figure continue to be of interest to me, or rather, how the medium can dictate the final outcome, and not working against that. Accepting the brush and ink when filled or running out.

Here are a few examples, the rest of these drawings are documented on this archive, and will be presented physically for submission: [link here]

due to loading of computer sometimes not all of the posts show up in a tagged search 

composition sketches

I was concerned about not making more considered pieces, in regards to technique but also compositions. Playing with forms is great but how can it be integrated into an image? So I've been working on some small composition thumbs, as well as more playing. To engage those stranger forms into compositions feels finalised, but honestly, not entirely necessary either.

Here are a few examples, the rest of these drawings are documented on this archive, and will be presented physically for submission: [link here]

due to loading of computer sometimes not all of the posts show up in a tagged search 

concertina painting sketchbook

In this sketchbook I had a similar approach to the last, but wanted to develop a new skill a little more, or try something differently media wise. I'm not a stranger to gouache, but even here my painting continue to be of a 'paint by numbers' feeling (filling in spaces, rather than rendering them).

Although I like the idea of more finished pieces, I struggle to make them when I feel like I could be (having more fun) making lots of smaller things much quicker.

The sketchbook has become a note for later, for something that will not be fulfilled.

But, to get into the Outsider mindset, why do I care about this?

Here are a few examples, the rest of these drawings are documented on this archive, and will be presented physically for submission: [link here]

due to loading of computer sometimes not all of the posts show up in a tagged search 

odd notes from practical investigation

So far so good. I was finding it hard to work on the project in bits and pieces. Now I have assigned myself a longer period of time to just concentrate on this, it flows easier. I'm working quickly, which may be detrimental to any ideas/ processes. In honesty mostly for fear of the deadline.

I am going to scan and digitise every single piece I make. I'd like to put them together on a  website, as a digital archive. This could go towards the proposed exhibition, but is also an easier way to monitor it. 

It would also be much easier to view the images on, than the clunkiness of an Issuu document. 

• To engage in art privately felt like I was dismissing the very notion that art is communication, and in turn, constantly fed by the direct and indirect communication of others.
• Sometimes it can be fruitful to disengage with others creativity for a while, to not be held under influence of likes, compliments and trends.

• Learning to stop seeing a sketchbook as a product in its own right, and not just a collection of ideas and mistakes from different sources
• But in learning that, I engage it in it fleetingly, with little time for real development (skill wise)
• The images in the sketchbook become a note for later

• In my experimentation I would develop new visual languages and symbols, of which I would become reliant on again. It's a natural course... does being conscious and aware of it (and taking action on that) affect this project? But regardless, how can I not?

• I was never under the impression I would replicate the thought processes of an outsider artist, but truly, the way I react to image making is considerably different and much more tied up in ideas of form, composition and "good image" because that is what I'm trained to do. It's inescapable and affects it so much.

• Is it the repetition, my introspection, or the privacy that moves my project (most) along?

email to send to The Gallery of Everything

I would like to approach someone for an opinion that may be more positive than what is often quite doom and gloom in regards to the exhibiting of outsider art.

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Hello,

I visited your exhibition, Journeys Into The Outside in November. It came as quite a surprise to me as someone who had recently watched the corresponding documentary with no idea of this, and it was so lovely to see these pieces in real life. As I'm sure many other people are, I'm particularly fond of the Finsters.

As someone currently writing a dissertation on Outsider Art, but also very much with an interest in it regardless, I would love to ask you, the curators, a few questions. In researching Outsider Art in an academic sense I noticed a lot of dialogue in regards to the act of exhibiting of Outsider Art- and very much a lot of conversation about how it can be problematic. Some people have brought up about how the discussion of Outsider Art is overwhelmed by the focus on the artists' identity themselves, or how the idea of Outsider inevitably creates a divide between them and the 'inside'.

I did not sense this so much at your exhibition, and was wondering if you had any words on the subject. Was this exhibition curated with these ideas specifically in mind? Personally, what is your intention when showcasing Outsider Art- or/and is it, for you, indistinguishable from any other kind?

I appreciate you will be busy around this time of year, but if you would like to respond, that would be much appreciated, and I will be interested in anything you have to say on these notes.

Thank you,

- Molly Fairhurst

designing an exhibition / PLANNING TIME

I don't want to get too caught up in this because at the end of the day my focus is on my practice in image making, but there's no reason that the exhibition plan cannot be wild and I have been encouraged to be playful with my ideas- especially as it as a proposal there's much opportunity to have fun.

The exhibition could be beyond the gallery- it could be a trail, outside etc!! Ideas can be sketched,  diagramed, photo manipulated and mocked up.

Display:

• I was reminded of seeing a Quentin Blake exhibition recently and his sketchbook had been scanned in and shown on an interactive touchscreen- a way of displaying a large amount of work in an immersive way without it being damaged. 

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OUTCOMES:

*** a body of visual development and work ***

there should be a cut off point to when this work is stopped so the project can progress in time. 

->

refined into three pieces, that examine what I have learnt through this personal process

->

a small booklet describing, in a casual way, the information and theory behind this research and exhibition. This has much opportunity to be illustrated. 

->

an exhibition proposal

Practical notes:

• To become engaged in the project I had to, personally, move beyond the idea that the work was just about making selfishly. I struggled to work to a project with no more motive than this, and began looking at this as a piece of research towards visual experimentation. (For my own pleasure)
• To my understanding this is reminiscent of FLOW THEORY in which to become engaged in a project truly a motive must be there (a challenge)
• This begins to move a little away from the original notions that tied this project to Outsider Artists, but continues with the idea of a practice that sustains itself very much because it is private.
• There must also be an understanding, in the "selfish act" of Outsider Art that the motive is not necessarily pleasure- more a need, or a way of understanding, or something further (I,e. Finster using art as a means of preaching).
• Maybe I struggle because my NEED to be creative is already being fulfilled in other endeavours (degree, work, personal work etc) 

• I am becoming increasingly aware of the input of social media/ sharing on my practice.  I have been sharing drawn images on the net for ten years now, it is very much innate at this point.
• Had a light discussion on how as children we show our family our drawings and they say well done and put it on the fridge. INSTAGRAM IS A SELF MADE FRIDGE AND YOU NOW HAVE 3000 MOTHERS APPROVING YOUR WORK, IT IS WEIRD 
• Of course, there is nuance to this, and the different types of feedback you receive and the value you place on responses from different people will vary, but ultimately it often stems to a simple and fleeting gratification

brief notes

compare the removal of oneself to social media as similar to the removal from gallery spaces

lookup:

Flow Theory- Csikszentmihalyi
Improvisation, by Ingold and Hallam
Steven Natchmanovitch on Free Play