Thoughts After Residency

7/20/17

Now that the residency is over and I have set out what I intend to pursue as an overarching theme in my work, I want to also set aside time to create work that is not about music or inspired from music. In these personal works I often find inspiration to then spring from later. I want to remind myself that I am not confined to this theme of music even though my research will be geared in directions around it. The ideas I have for visual works typically come to me at times when I am partaking in an activity that generally has nothing to do with art. I have already found that if I push my work or concept too hard I lose personal meaning and connection within the art, making it a lot more difficult for me to create work at all.

One thing that was mentioned in almost all of my critiques is that I am not familiar with most materials I have recently used and intend to use in the near future but this lack of complete understanding allows me to use materials in ways they are not originally intended. Having this freedom to experiment as I create helps me to push the meaning of the work beyond the song it originally rooted from. A large part of the end product of a work is also about my own process. I like to leave room for myself to get lost in my work and feel comfortable doing things I had not originally planned for the work. Even though my work will become more refined throughout this semester, I do not want it to become too research based.

I look forward to exploring more works, artists, articles, and ideas within the field of music to then help me determine my own understanding and appreciation for music in my own work.