Open Re/Search Personal Evaluation

I think I accomplished more than I thought I would during Wintersession. Although I changed my goals and produced two projects instead of three, I feel like I have gotten to a point where I am comfortable working with the methods and ideas I am proposing in my thesis study. 

ADAPTATION OF FIT

In the first project I completed during this open research period, I returned to a writing exercise which helped me to develop ideas about my thesis study. By applying the methods of visual systems and chance operation I was able to develop two clear, written expressions of my work. This project was a breakthrough for me. It allowed me to discover through writing and organization of thought through the graphic form and the written form. I am glad I finished this study, and was able to come to some conclusions.  

IN MEMORY OF...

This project is one I will continue with. I think I was just beginning to unravel a specific methodology and way of working which is not yet complete in this project. This study was mainly about process. I wanted to be able to develop a graphic form by letting each step in the process inform the next as well as moving back and forth between two media (writing and graphic design). This became an extension of earlier thinking I pursued during my undergraduate thesis study where I used graphic design and architectural design to inform one another to create form. 

Form making was taking place throughout the study and an unfolding of sorts led to more and more discovery. But I feel I still need to let the form go further...whether it is through the narrative or through the graphic form...there needs to be further development. 

I am also unsure if the form I created for the purposes of this course fulfills the requirements I had made in my mind for where this project should culminate. So for this reason I need to continue with it, to see where it can evolve. 

Ultimately, memory was the subject of this study. Why does memory exist? Why do we need it? and why does it fade? I started to answer these questions through the graphic form and the narrative.

WHERE I WANT TO GO

I want to push forward with the the ideas of working in multiple media and multiple methods. I find I am most content with my work and most surprised when I find connections between unlikely pairs. Finding the common ground between multiple areas of study is what is exciting me now. 

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN BEFORE MAY 15-16

I think I need at least two or three more projects (or project development) which will support my ideas about the merging of methods and the exploration of cross media creation of form. I have many projects which are either systems based or chance based, but projects where both are at hand are minimal in my collection right now.

I need to write more. I have started to do that a bit more during Wintersession but it needs to become a larger part of my process. I have things to say I am just always hesitant to record them. I need to improve on that.