suzannemichal

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Please follow my new blog for our Final Major Project

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/woodfmpsuzannemichal-blog

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One final bit of evaluation and self-critic on my zine and portfolio.

I think that my choice of paper material (tracing paper) to do my zine allowed me to take powerful statement images of my zine on my SAD lamp.  The way the paper held a shape when half folded also rendered interesting and unusual photos of a zine. 

For my portfolio, my choice of selections reflects a wide array of what I have been doing for each project in terms of materials, ideas and outcomes. 

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Still researching for contemporary artists who use feathers in a non industrial quantity material. Found Chris Maynard. Needless to say that I love this as his work uses feathers in a, what I would call, much more sacred manner. Conscious that it is an animal based material. 

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Researched live installations using nude bodies as in some of my installation I have used my nude body as an art material. Found this artist Spence Tunick who in September 2020 used nude people socially distancing, only wearing a face masks to convey strong messages. 

#installation art

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Beyond my nest multimedia sculpture and live installation research.

Researching installation artists. Starting wit Rebecca Louise Law which I researched for my essay. Although she works with flowers, she also works with sheer amount of plant based material. Somehow it is less disturbing than Suzie McMurray and Kate MccGwire extensive use of industrial quantities of feathers. Similar principles of using a specific space, hanging, using wall space...

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Used another filter here. I like how it makes the quills more striking. 

This is the first time that I explore photography as a proper material rather than just a tool to show my work.

This is a live installation as the trees are an intrinsic part of my presentation.

#artists on tumblr

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Uterus Blessing

I am exploring further the potential of my photos to present my work. Put a black and white filter here. 

As Trish said some of those photos of my nest are powerful. They could be presented in an exhibition projected onto a white screen whilst all my different versions of what I could do with my nest sculpture.  See PPT.

#photography #beautiful photos #installation art #fine art #sculpture #feather art #shamanic art

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Experimenting with shadow effect and different angles and light exposure.

I now need to look into environmental artists who use feathers.

I am going to melt my sculpture to be able to reuse the feathers and hopefully in the near future in the studio create it with ceramic slit and use is as a piece of shamanic art and the base of other shamanic art. 

#shamanic art #shamanism #environmental art

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i would love to explore more taking my feathered sculpture in the wild and placing it in trees, dead trees.... in situ message/art....

#environmental art

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Exploring further how my sculpture can be used and exploited creatively.

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Mother Nature Live Installation

Back to how I started with putting a bird’s nest on my body above my uterus. Exploring how my uterus is my nest, my container of life. Some weeks later, here I am. I have done it!! Phew... what a process of observing the real nest, painting it, feeling it, finding an alternative to ceramic slit, doing samples, hitting an absolute creative blockage that made me realise I had done my samples the wrong way..... observing a magpie building her nest.... and understanding how the nest should be created.... being in some sort of trance whilst the feathers worked me.

#female artists #artists on tumblr #multi media artist #multimedia ceramic #ceramic artist #feather art #shamanic art

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The sacredness of life contained in bird made nest and man made nest.

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Mother Nature Installation

Putting the bird’s nest on top of my feather nest.

Animal and Plant Nest.

Container of Life.

Exploring how I can now take my nest sculpture further. 

#ceramic artist #multi media artist #multimedia ceramic #female artists #feather art #feather #shamanism

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The next day,  The sculpture is dry and set and it worked.  The nest is 70 cm across. 

I am starting my installation process. 

Self-critic: some of the chocolate/sand mix shows. I put too much mix in fact. The feathers are too much cemented together. So learning curve: another time, I would be much much more careful when applying the mix and I would far less.

In a way, this is also a sample as I would like to do the same nest using ceramic clay slit. 

Looking at it now, I would have also integrate the two white feathers on the layer below the final one so they would be more discreet.

#feather art #feather #multi media artist #multimedia ceramic #shamanic #shamanism

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I covered the nest with some more baking paper in order to the paper not to stick to the chocolate/sand mix when drying. I also put a small weight in the middle to press the feathers in place and a book. 

I laughed when I saw which book I chose as weight. Pretty apt really. 

I estimated roughly a 12 hours drying process. 

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I finally figured out the best way to apply the chocolate mix. In a spiral above each layer of feathers. I also dipped the point of the feathers in the mix.

At this stage of the creation, I wasn’t sure how it would all stick together to become a feather multimedia sculpture. Looking back, again lack of samples on the soft part of the feathers.

At the end I placed the only 2 white feathers I did find over two months of collecting feathers. 

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After my two unsuccessful but useful attempts in the morning, I went for a long walk to daydream and figure out how to improve and solve this issue on how to create this 3D piece. This walk was my solving the problem of a creative blockage.

I also sat on my sofa and caught myself spending quite a lot of time looking at a magpie on a tree chosing, picking, breaking, losing, starting again, hoping along and finally breaking and fling away with a twig in her beak to build her own nest. This is went this second day dreaming whilst observing the bird that I figured out how I was going to proceeded.

I figured out that I needed the quil part of the feathers all on the outer structure of the nest for several reasons. 1 because they are super thick and really tricky to arrange. 2 to use the soft part of the feathers for the inside of the nest made more sense, especially as this nest is going to end up as a live installation on my belly as a symbol of my own nest: my uterus.  3. I figured out that the quills all facing out would give a pretty dramatic effect. Which they do!  

I also figured out that I need to nice side of the feathers facing up so I needed a structure under the nest to hold the concave shape of the feathers. I folded a ring of baking paper for that effect. 

I still struggled to find the best way to apply my ceramic slit replacement. 

A further critic on my samples made with the chocolate. I only applied to the quill part of the feathers not he soft part. So, as I created my nest I didn’t know how the chocolate would set in that part of the feathers. 

#ceramic artist #multi media artist #multimedia ceramic #feather art #feather #female artists #artists on tumblr