Explore: An Exhibit about Process (an Intro)

Without further ado (*cue drumroll), I introduce “Explore: an Exhibit about Process”. Now, the thing is, “Explore” might not be worth a drumroll. I don’t mean that in a self depricating manner, but rather honestly in fact. I haven’t actually created any work for it yet. And that’s kind of the point.

I found myself on the phone the other day with a fellow artist friend. She asked me how my design work was going.

“Well, I don’t know,” I said. “I feel more confident than I’ve felt before but I feel like I keep making a lot of similar things. But the thing is, I don’t want to stop making those things. Sure, they feel a little repetitive, and sure, I want to create some fresh new work that feels totally different from the rest. But I just feel like I have to let all the rest of this stuff run it’s course first. Shouldn’t it be an organic evolution?”

I could hear her fill with energy, and I’m quite sure that if we were sitting face to face rather than over the phone, she would’ve smiled wide and shrugged her shoulders upwards in excitement. “No, that’s so great! What you need to do is just start making. Like a lot of things", she said.

That’s quite a commission for a perfectionist like me. Isn’t everything I make supposed to be portfolio-worthy? (This is rhetorical, and I’m rolling my eyes over my own crazy antics at even the suggestion). I told her about the idea I had for this little digital exhibition of sorts and she loved it.

So what exactly is this digital exhibition? It’s a time for me to make some work and share it. Period. No matter how unoriginal it might turn out. I want to shift the value to the process of making and the exploration, rather than the product. So frequently I feel bogged down by the weight of creating something fabulous, but I’m still a student! I’m still learning and growing and exploring, so maybe that should be the focus for a change.

Explore will take place over the next few weeks as I share my ramblings from my exploration across a variety of different areas of focus and how it relates to design. Each week I will approach a different area and dive in headfirst to see what I can find. I’ll share some photos of what I’ve made and write a little bit about my exploration that week. If I ever stumble across an article that feels like it really informs my process, I’ll through it in there along with any photos for inspiration. This is a mindset shift for me, but one I’m excited to take on. I hope you’ll follow along on this exploration of process!