Michaela on Art and Process

During the college application process, I wrote pieces that allowed me to discover my unique way of writing.  My tutor Sandy Charlap gave me words including "process," "time," "unbroken," "control," "tendrilling," and "memory" to describe freely. She also gave me questions, but once I felt comfortable I took control and continued this process on my own by asking myself questions. That’s where I found my voice with words and that voice interconnected with art. 

I’ve always had a feeling for art, but I never really experienced it. In the tenth grade, I learned art can be something bigger than what I expected.  I started by drawing boxes, learning about line, proportion, and value structure. I shifted from just making art to having an immense understanding and desire to be an artist. Exploring different ways of working, collaging, stamping, incorporating wallpaper, paint, pastel, and charcoal in unfamiliar ways.  I always ask myself, "What happens if I try this?" I am not afraid of the unknown. I actually think those moments of not knowing are the best ones. Not knowing where an unbreakable work of art will take me is fascinating. Some art work effects me and my passion for creating by transforming into the unknown. The experience of not knowing is awakening, an adventure I am willing to take. Every day is a process of transformation. I am becoming a strong artist by taking what I have learned into my voyage.  For me that evolution is tendriling. The light ahead of the tendril, uncoiling. I am the tendril, uncoiling into existence. My tendril is moving toward abstraction.

I have been forming a collective of artists who I am influenced by like Henri Matisse, Cy Twombly, Joan Mitchell, Brice Marden, Bonnard, and Judy Pfaff.  I have learned how to “steal like an artist” by taking ideas and making them part of my work. Judy Pfaff, as an artist, influenced my determination to move in new directions. Last year, I developed an installation called “Deep Space.” My interpretation of the universe. Having the freedom and space to create is meaningful.

I have the ability to want, have, or leave it.

And the last ingredient is time……
I process slowly, and it is not always easy to express myself in words. My art is my voice. I am quiet but my mind isn’t. My art speaks in ways my voice cannot. Being in the studio at my school and creating is my sanctuary. It is a place where I find my true self. Escaping in a world where I have power.

One piece of work for an eternity.
giving me the time and freedom to explore.
but my most precise and powerful work is shown when I am given time.

I take my time and present with my best effort. 
When I am creating, I am not worrying about time.
It flies by like a streak of wonder.
The urge and motivation to not stop creating.

I suffer displeasure leaving my work in a rush of swirling ideas. 

I have become independent, by making my own decisions in art by allowing my strength to come forward. I create my own choices with out having a specific ending in mind. My process reveals what comes next.

I applied to seven schools and got into every one of them with scholarships!

 

All photos (and the artwork presented therein) created and shared by Michaela.

Michaela Dives into Dream Theory

Michaela's mind-map on memory.  Picture taken by the Edge Team.

A two-year veteran of the Edge / IP program, Michaela did not take long to identify her focus for the year.  Having researched artists such as Henri Matisse, Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly, and Judy Pfaff from 2014 to 2015, she entered September by pausing to consider her relationship to her influences.  Michaela concluded that those artists form a sort of artistic "collective consciousness," or memory, that she can tap into in order to inform her future work.  Inspired by this revelation, she embarked to trace the mechanics of memory by researching notable researchers including Franz Joseph Gall, Herman Ebbinghaus, and Karl Lashley (as well as their theories concerning phrenology, the spacing effect, and engrams, respectively).  She has compiled her inquiry using a mind-map (presented at right).

A metaphorical representation of Freud’s
conceptualization of the conscious and
unconscious mind.  Image located at
www.simplypsychology.com.

Most recently, Michaela has begun to explore the theories of Austrian neurologist and father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud.  During a recent meeting in Edge, she explained to the faculty that she was interested in Freud's theories concerning the conscious and unconscious mind.  She pulled up a web page via Simply Psychology that she was using to analyze the two parts of mind; she also highlighted a visual metaphor from the site that allowed her to better process the two (presented at left).  The Edge faculty then pushed her concern further by asking about her dreams.  This question prompted a discussion in which Michaela recalled her own recurring dreams, elaborated upon her process of lucid dreaming, and began to interpret not only her own reveries but also those of the Edge Team.

Moving forward, Michaela has declared that she wishes to explore Freud's thoughts on dream theory more deliberately.  Who knows? Perhaps dreams will form the basis for her third and final exhibition at Kildonan...?

Stay tuned for more on Michaela's journey!

(If you have a thought or resource for Michaela, please post in the comments section below.  We would love to hear from you. Also, for more on Henri Matisse, check out his Artsy page here! )

Micki's Growing Installation

Since securing her installation space, Michaela has spent little time in the IP building.  Instead, she has frequented her studio.  She has repurposed existing pieces, explored artists such as Henri Matisse, Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly, and Judy Pfaff, and experimented with motifs and styles.

Michaela has produced truly thoughtful work, and it is to protect her process and build suspense that we refrain from saying more.  Kildonan community members - and otherwise interesed readers - may view her exhibition during its May unveiling.  In the meantime, please enjoy the indistinct snapshots and the "cryptic" updates that follow this post.  We hope that we have whet your appetite.

Description of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd images:  ?.  Photos taken by Michaela.

P.S. For more on Henri Matisse, check out his Artsy page here!

Micki: Cosmology & Art

Micki: An Installation Space Emerges

Micki is increasingly exploring the universe and cosmological entities (such as supernovae and black holes) according to her strengths:  visual art and poetry.  Her inquiries have provided her - and the IP community - with profound artistic representations of the unimaginable. Now she wishes to capture the same experience for Kildonan students, faculty, and community members.

Micki quickly realized that she needed a small room, a studio with which she could realize her vision of three-dimensional experiences.  After some initial inquiries, the IP faculty are happy to report that a space has been located!

Kildonan's administration has proven gracious by granting Micki exclusive access to a room that the IP community has affectionately termed "Room 9 3/​4" (a sly reference to Harry Potter).  This area is located next to Ms. Gross's Spanish class (Room 10) on the second floor of the Schoolhouse.  The pictures accompanying this post were taken during a recent exploration of the room by Micki, Ms. Charlap, and Mr. Bisson.

Do you have thoughts on Micki's space or research? Please post in the comments section below.

Micki: Neil Harbisson's "I Listen to Color" (2012)

Undoubtedly, inspired by her tutoring work and by her explorations into color phenomena during last year's installment of IP, Micki is currently considering a sort of technological synesthesia via the TED Talk below.  Perhaps a "colorful" poetry reading or song is forthcoming...?

"Artist Neil Harbisson (@NeilHarbisson) was born completely color blind, but these days a device attached to his head turns color into audible frequencies. Instead of seeing a world in grayscale, Harbisson can hear a symphony of color — and yes, even listen to faces and paintings."