Much of what I've done since starting grad school has been a series of experiments. This past semester was particularly focused on printmaking processes. But when it came to thinking about my thesis topic, I began to freak out and struggle with finding a subject matter. It's not that I didn't have any ideas, but that I had too many and couldn't decide where to focus. But then it came to me that the reason I make art is not about the subject matter, but about the process. The hands on, the tactility. The experience of experimenting and discovering new ways to create an image. The mistakes and happy accidents.
For me, art doesn't start from a theoretical idea or problem. It's not contingent upon obscure concepts. The concept is that there is no real intended concept. It's an intuitive response to what I see and feel.
I discovered this summer that there is a cathartic element to creating. I want to explore that more. I think I also need to pay attention to what I'm feeling as I'm working and try to put words to those feelings. Responses to the process being used and why I'm choosing to use that process.
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