hana-creates

[hana-creates]

Further exploration of the Portugal photos. Tried something more illustrated than abstract, and while I do enjoy this, I think I find abstract work more interesting. 

Revisiting paper color options.

And upon looking into more abstract artist, I came across work by Helen Frankenthaler (last 2 photos) and was further persuaded to return to more abstract forms to interpret my photos of Portugal’s landscapes.

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Summer project mood board and further explorations of film photos. Focus drifting to Portugal more than the rest of the locations (Italy, Turkey, England)

Exploring mixed media (watercolors, markers, pens, soft pastesl, oil pastels) with lines and smudges and some abstracts VS illustrations.

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Summer collection. 

Artist inspiration. Revisiting the landscape film photos from last summer. Evolving a color palette I discovered from the exploration and creative process of the last project.

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Test prints leading up to the final pieces, with a black and white version in the back of my head for later in the fall season.

5 different color combos/variations of Lino prints.

The collection is titled Bloom, to honour the intuitive self I’ve mentioned earlier and remember to trust it rather than overthink and doubt, just as nature trusts its own course without doubting its abilities to bloom on time—when it’s meant to.

[hana-creates]

To me, my abstract work is a practice and result of trusting a deeper sense of self. It’s like following an intuitive feeling and trusting my gut rather than over analysing and overthinking while I’m making. That same higher self is where I try to tap into more and operate from. It’s the self that has steered me to where I currently am in terms of being a better me—physically, mentally, and emotionally. My work in the past few years has also become a lot more influenced and inspired by nature because it is such a wonderful example of growth, development, and the universe’s intelligence. It is believed in many cultures / faiths that this intuitive feeling or higher self comes from the universe itself and that it is even one with it, and one with nature. I am fairly spiritual (and I don’t just mean “religious”) so I am incredibly fascinated by all these connections in our universe and in nature, hence my obsession with the moon. This same approach is carried into this new body of work I’m currently exploring, and here are a few smaller scale prints I’ve been experimenting with while maintaining that same method / approach. 

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Spring project.

Moodboard, color samples, test prints and compositions.

I don’t normally tell people this but my work is often tied with my perception? of myself. Or my self experience? I’m not sure how to put it (maybe that’s why I just make the work instead). But I guess the best way I can put it in is that my work is often an alternative form of “me”. (Do excuse how pretentious this potentially sounds. 🥴) Though, truly, this is why I would hold back on a lot of my process and motives, because I felt I’d be too exposed if I shared everything about my thought and work process. Because sometimes, the reasons behind why I create the work can stem from the most personal of places. My last big project, Luna, revolved around an obsession with the moon, yes. And on the surface, it seemed—well, superficial. But why did I become so obsessed with the moon? I never openly shared that with my tutors or anyone really when I was working on it. The extremely summarised version is due to a journey with my mental health and self development and such intimate and wonderfully influential conversations, many of which were related to “moonology”. I then compressed all of that and turned it into something light and playful such as surface pattern designs on pieces that are meant to be enjoyed. This new project is not too different in a way. I’m trying to get better at sharing my work and being more vulnerable with the reality of my process. For that reason, I’ve recently shared a post regarding my “transformation” and tying it to self discovery. The body of work I’m currently working on explores a lot of these ideas of the self. What it means to be who we are now and who we can be. To do things differently this time around, I thought it’s important to give some context to the work that I will be sharing the process of. (Refer to my last post for more details and context.) So even though the work is in a relatively early stage of making, here are some color swatches and samples for this project. 

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Craft market participation with the Luna collection

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Exploring landscape photos I took over the summer on 35mm film with mixed media

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Artist inspiration

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Artist inspiration.

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Artist inspiration.

I think I’ve been having a slight identity crisis when it comes to my work. It’s as if my BPD (yes I just dropped that) transfers just as much into my work. I’m trying to find a balance between the artist, the designer, the painter, the print maker, the ceramicist, the illustrator, and the abstract creator in me. For that purpose, many of the creators I look up to happen to explore mixed media, such as Aftyn Shah.

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I call this thread Fresh Graduate Trying To Figure Her Next Project Out (& her entire life & next steps, for that matter)

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All done.

After assessments, I will have resolved the online store and selling situation as my next step after creating the products so that I have a system for people to buy work before the online store goes live and to know where to buy the work exhibited and the ones that aren’t later online as well. As some of the work is technically already sold, I will also label the ones that are, and might put a little price tag on the ones that aren’t.

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Considering this entire project focuses on my handmade work and craftsmanship, it seemed appropriate that I handmake my process books too. I’ve ordered 160 gam paper and cut each one down to 21 x 24 cm (w x h). Printed it all at home and perfect bound them myself using pva glue and then finished it off with a silver tape I also bought to match the slight grey tint in the cover and the bits of silver that sometimes run into the collection of work I made. In a folder I’ve included the most relevant film photos I took and developed myself of my process and labelled it “The Lunar Archive” as it had a feel of moon missions to it. And for the second copy of the process book I photo copied the images on the same paper I used for the process book

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THE GLOSSY WHITE WORKED AGAIN!

had to now glaze the last batch and fire them and they’ll be ready to take out next week!

Also, because of the time I’m going to leave the on-glazed ones as they are, however because I still don’t love the super matt bit caused by the messed up glossy white glaze, I might give them another glazed layer after the exhibition before I sell them. Some people mentioned they seem to enjoy the different textures, and although I usually do, I’m not so sure about this kind of texture. So I will use the exhibition as a little research thing and see what people think   

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figuring out exhibition display options