The Last Few Weeks –

I’m currently sat on a train to London. The act of staring out of the window means that now is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the last few weeks.

Since writing my last reflective blog I have been experimenting with a number of ideas and images. I have also been steadily working away in the background on a variety of software tutorials.

As usual I will answer the following questions to help with the reflective process:

1. What have you done so far?
2. What have you discovered so far?
3. What will you change because of what you have discovered?
4. What will you do next?

Reflective Video

Before I answer the above questions I wanted to add this little video which I felt complemented my reflective process. The video is a time-lapse looking up at the sky through one of our sky lanterns.  I’m interested in the passage of time and if you look closely you can see the clouds as they whiz past.  I find the movement of the clouds as they pass overhead quite fascinating. A time-lapse speeds up the passage of time so it is possible to appreciate more fully the motion of the clouds.  I shot the video and placed it here as I believe looking up at the sky gives an opportunity for deep reflection.  This video is much too fast and upbeat for any meditative process, so I plan to revisit this as soon as an opportunity arises.

What have I done so far?

Here is a quick rundown with links as to what I have done in the last couple of weeks:

• Zoom Meeting 6 – an ‘Elusive Taxonomies’ discussion alongside reading and preparing a small presentation.
• Network Patterns – I looked at the patterns made by node networks. I also concluded that these were perhaps even more interesting than the imagery they were generating.
• Chladni Patterns Revisited – I further explored and filmed some of the sound patterns created by my Chladni kit.
• Liquid Glass – I completed a Touch Designer ‘Liquid Glass’ tutorial. I used the images from this tutorial to generate collages. I also ‘fed’ the images into ‘Dalle-2’ to explore alternative versions.
• Tiny Breakthrough (Rectangles to Circles) – I completed another Touch Designer tutorial. This time I felt that I was beginning to understand the workflow a little better. I also explored patterns, collage and I made a video of the resulting images.
• Coloured Waves – I experimented further with Touch designer to create a video and a collage of images.
• Amazing! (The best Touch Designer Tutorial Yet) – I knew that pushing myself to work through harder TD tutorials is the only way to learn so I took the most complex one to date. I was pleasantly surprised at both my level of understanding and the final results. Again I experimented with still images and collage.
• Zoom session 8 – I have begun to think about how I can use ‘existential creativity’ in my art practice. I also documented my latest ‘zentangle’ image. This is a little weekly indulgence that I allow myself and I explain more about this here.
• Line in the Sand – I shot a time-lapse of my sand pendulum unboxing.

What have I discovered so far?

I have discovered that I’m definitely getting better at Touch Designer.  I enjoyed working with my camera again when I shot the new Chladni patterns in the Chladni Patterns Revisited blog post.  I really do enjoy my zentangle indulgence. I am fascinated by my sand pendulum. The more I explore the more I want to explore! I’m probably having way too much fun with all of this 😊

What will I change because of what I have discovered?

I will continue with my Touch Designer tutorials but I want to build in more physical work with my camera.  I need to become more familiar with artists working in the same kind of areas as me and do more research. I am having way too much fun doing my own work experimenting as evidenced by my tag cloud.

What will I do next?

I will document those artists who I think will be relevant to my project work.

Extra Questions

1). What was the best thing I did? Why was this the best thing I did? How do I know that this was the best thing I did? – The best thing a did was the flying box and lights tutorial because it was challenging. The end result was not only pleasing it showed me that I can do this. The next best thing was my Chladni pattern video. This proved that I still love my camera even though I am experiencing 2d disillusionment in the wake of Stable Diffusion.

2). What worked least well for me? Why did this not work well for me? What have I learned about the topic concerned from this not having worked well for me? What have I learned about myself from this not having worked well for me? What do I plan to do differently in future as a result of my answers to the above questions?  – I had the least success with moving my project thinking forward. I’ve learned that I need to take some time out from my experimenting to do more research. I need to encounter the work of more artists in my field of expertise and enquiry. I love experimenting but moving forward I will switch my focus from doing to researching.

3). With hindsight, how would I go about this activity differently if doing it again from scratch? To what extent will this activity influence the way I tackle anything similar in future? – if I was to go about these activities from scratch I would ensure that I had more planning and reference material behind me. I feel that my work could benefit from being more informed by the work of others.

4). What did I find the greatest challenge in doing this work? Why was this a challenge to me? To what extent do I feel I have met this challenge? What can I do to improve my performance when next meeting this particular sort of challenge? – The two most challenging aspects of my latest projects were my lack of confidence. I had already assumed that my ‘Flying Box’ touch designer tutorial was beyond me. I was also sure I wouldn’t be able to produce any Chladni patterns. I was pleasantly surprised because I was wrong on both counts. To overcome this challenge in future I need to have a little more self belief.

5). What was the most boring or tedious part of doing this particular task for me? Can I see the point of doing these things? If not, how could the activity be changed to be more stimulating and interesting for me? – The most tedious part of doing any tasks is optimising images before upload. This is such a necessary task but it really is tedious and boring. Sadly I can’t see any way round this at the moment – suggestions on a post card please 😊

Did I meet my challenges from last time?

Here’s what I said I would do – the green tick ✅ indicates what I actually achieved.

• I will add my tentacle-like patterns to my blog. ✅
• I will read material on Ai for a presentation. ✅
• I will add my early Chladni kit experimental DSLR videos. ✅
• I will do another Touch Designer tutorial with time-lapse. ✅
• I will do some experiments with the Sand Pendulum. – I’ve completed the unboxing video.
• I will attempt to explore the term ‘Elusive Taxonomies’ and read material from zoom meet 6. ✅

Conclusion

I have pretty much done everything I set out to do from last time. I still need to explore a suitable and reliable backup method for my blog. However, other than that I have achieved everything I set out to do.

My coming task list for the next couple of weeks is simple:

1. Research, Research Research!
2. Continue the Touch Designer Tutorials and time-lapses.
3. Document my forthcoming London trip including gallery visits and Saatchi Gallery activities.
4. Sort out a reliable backup.