Synergist Progress

progress of Synergist, collaboration with Mandy Tsung

Excerpted from my sketchbook:

"Started on the metre-tall Synergist collab last night, made some good progress in my mind! It's a little frustrating working on something so finicky to approach in terms of easel positioning + finding stability for fine flowing lines. I need to be able to be fluid around the work, and I enjoy flipping it to hit whatever angles work best. It's a good learning experience in terms of me as an artist + my methods at the very least, + it's turning out excellent!

This kind of material practice is more educational that theorizing in school for me, and ultimately more profitable, as we are selling the result. My aim is to strike a balance between injecting a high amount of skill + attention into my linework, to focus on weaving, intertwining + depth, and to stay freeform + fluid, keep the creation process natural, spontaenous + fun. It's very rewarding!

I likened this flowing hair linework to meditation earlier, and yesterday it struck me how accurate a metaphor that is- it hurts my back, it's at times boring, frustrating + my mind wanders + I get perturbed when lines to fall into place, and I must work + focus to bring them back to order. But, there are these moments of illumination + clarity wherein my hand flows with perfect grace, the board fills up with detail, and I am connected with energies greater than my own. And those fleeting feelings give me fuel to overcome + work through any frustration.