The One Year Project

The layer studies that I've been working on lately have yet to be discussed or explained.  There are a lot of things that culminated to make me suddenly want to go this route and experiment in this way.

I recently was researching my father's ship he was on in Vietnam - the USS Higbee.  My father served as a cook on the ship and he has often told me of fun stories I adored when I was small about eggs running across the griddle while sailing the seas.  When I was older, he also would tell me about his ship being bombed by an air attack of a MIG-17.  Luckily no one was killed in this attack, though the pictures were absolutely amazing of how badly the ship was injured.  They were all truly lucky that day.  There are a lot of things that culminated to allow my father and his shipmates survive that day and be able to dock safely.

In my recent research I actually found a photo of the pilot who was flying the MIG-17 that day.  My jaw dropped, and I sent the image to my parents' email.  It was such a bizarre feeling looking at that man with a smile upon his face...the man that at one time tried to kill my father and his fellow service men back in 1972.  Upon seeing the image, my father was so intrigued to see a photo of the man that one of his friends was trying to shoot back at with a machine gun in a desperate attempt.   My father put it plainly, "He was doing his job, and we were doing ours."  My mother added to the man's defense of my confusion of seeing the pilot, "Well, it was war." 

We quickly began conversing about wondering if he was still alive.  Did he make it through the war like my father had?  Did he survive to have children?  Is he still thriving somewhere in the world today?  We would like to think so. 

The complexity of the roles we play in life and who we are in different situations for survival is so intriguing.  With time, we forgive ourselves and each other.  Old roles deteriorate like ships rusting away at the bottom of oceans. 

I began creating a drawing series based upon this event in my father's life, and the new photos I found online.  The following is the first drawing I did in this series...there are still problems with it that I need to remedy, but at the moment this is what I have so far. 

I was thinking that it would still lack something once it was in a more final, polished form. 

Then, I took a walk around Portland last week photographing texture/color/buildings.  I have been intrigued with the colors and textures of rust for a long time.  I thought that perhaps this is what was missing from this drawing.  The studies began.  I'm thinking that perhaps the studies could be a part of the piece - maybe along the sides of the drawing.  It will add a textural feel of the tangible along side the image.  I've also thought about a more direct application.  I think I will begin experimenting with that this week with an older drawing to see if it will work visually.

In addition, another idea went into the mix.  I have been researching graduate programs and actually visited one of the schools I was interested in.  The tour consisted of walking around the current students' studio spaces.  What I found to be true throughout the tour was the fact that exploration and experimentation were extremely encouraged.  Some students were gaining ground by working in a manner that they had previously ignored in their undergraduate work.  They were encouraged to stick with a certain manner of working for a year to grow in their practice and understanding of their own methods.  I left there thinking, why haven't I done more of that? 

So here it is.  I have given this much thought and have decided to explore the combination of drawing and these layer studies for one year.  I think I would have a lot to gain through this method and it would encourage me to grow in different ways.  Drawing skills would be improved, and creative problem solving would definitely be exercised in new ways. 

With that, I welcome you to my year long project of experimentation!  Are there any projects you would like to embark upon?  I would love to hear about your experiences with such projects that you have been through or ones you have in the works.  Thank you for reading!