During the month of June, I took a short trip back to my hometown of Orlando to visit my family and got a much-needed break from summer stresses. Visiting family is always a helpful contribution to my artmaking, as I feel more connected to the cultural influences that guide my ideas. I got to catch-up with my older sister, who grew up in Russia and immigrated to the United States when she was a teenager.
I am inspired by the way that she teaches her son the aspects of her background while also raising him in an American culture. His upbringing includes a mix of Russian and American food, media, and influences, and watching these interactions makes me excited reflect these experiences visually. I plan to continue researching and exploring cultural symbols in both Russian and American upbringings. Pattern and floral designs are an especially interesting subject matter for me, as it references the Russian folk handicraft called “Khokhloma painting”. Usually, these designs reference a folklore story or lesson, and get hand painted on household wooden objects. I am interested in the way I can use this technique to tell a narrative in my own work and intertwine it with American iconography to depict the mixing of cultures. I can utilize this technique as a way to integrate painting and sculpture as well.
This upcoming month I plan to spend more time in the studio and create a weekly schedule, as well as making sculptural tests and starting some paintings on canvas. I have been making some pattern sketches, and revisiting photos that I took while on my New York Research trip into my research journal . Some of the sketches that I’ve included in my research journal include observing the lacework of Anne Wilson from the Museum of Arts and Design and sculptural works from the Museum of Modern Art. At this point in my project, I’ve found that setting up studio time is crucial, and my next step to ensure my project is running smoothly is to setup weekly studio times to experiment with my ideas.
Since my last project update, I have been thinking about all the different directions in which my project could go. I find myself leaning more towards the idea that started my project, where I was curious about visually depicting the psychological states of immigrants and the process of acculturation. I find the contrast between American consumerism and the access to objects and media during the Soviet Union to be very interesting, and I have been continuing to look at research articles and make sketches for how I can intertwine these ideas. Some of my research interests at the moment include looking into the way that soviet labor affected design markets and some of the factors that affect the psychological profiles of immigrants from the Soviet Union to the United States. An interesting note about researching this topic is the information on health and disease prevention, as so far, I have seen information that the quality of healthcare playing a part in the migration experience. I am excited to dive deeper into my research and experimenting more visually in my work.
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