Week 6 (Body)

I covered the bust of my dress in a solution of glue and water with a sponge (1 part glue, 2 parts water) and it did not keep its shape after it dried. It seemed like the glue and water didn't soak through the yarn of the afghan.

I brought the bust home and mixed a solution of glue with 2 parts glue, 1 part water. I completely saturated the front of the dress with the solution on 2/20 by dipping it in the solution. The dress was still was not dry in the evening of 2/21. I put a fan on it to wait for it to dry.

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The new glue solution worked and it held it's form. I made a armature for it out of armature wire to help support it.

 I was super interested in how many people were involved in making the dress, because at least one person made each afghan. In order to get this done, my sister, boyfriend, and cousin all helped me sew the dress together which added to how many people were involved in making this dress.

Week 5

Over the weekend I bought afghans from goodwill, and made a duct tape bust of myself. I will stuff it and make some sort of stand for the bust, and start some construction and tests on the material.

This is the bust after I stuffed it with newspaper:

Week 4 (Body)

          I want to create a dress out of knitted and crocheted material for my representation of the body. The bust of the dress will be a sweater, preferably a turtleneck, and the lower half of the dress will be made out of crocheted and knitted blankets, such as Afghans blankets. I will fabric cast my own body for the bust of the dress and the rest of the dress will be draping and free-form. I will make a cast of my body, I plan on using duct tape for this, and will soak a sweater in a solution of glue and water to put on the duct tape cast of myself. After the sweater dries, I will release it from the duct tape cast and the sweater will maintain the shape of my body. The dress will be very long and presented with the skirt of the dress spread out around it. I plan on suspending the form from the ceiling by attaching fishing line to the ceiling and to an armature I will make for the dress, as to support the cast of the shoulders, bust, waist, and hips.

            Last semester I collected hand-embroidered textiles I found at thrift stores and would embroider on top of them. There is something very sad about finding handmade textiles abandoned at thrift stores and I want to reclaim them and use it in my own work. For this project, I will collect handmade knitted and crocheted blankets and use them to make the skirt of the dress. The dress will be an obvious representation of my own body, but also a representation of all the individuals that took part in making the dress by making the blankets. Additionally, I am really interested in juxtaposing an elegant form of a gown with the bulky and heavy material of knitted and crocheted textiles.

Documentation

For my installation, Sundowning, I wanted for convey the feeling of returning somewhere to connect with loved ones before night takes over. The viewers were invited to sit in my car; inside were monotype prints I made of my family projected onto the windshield. The outside of the windshield was covered with transparent mylar so the projection shows up, yet the windshield was still translucent. The car was running and the heat on; the viewers heard voices faintly coming from the radio--which were recorded and compiled nightly check in calls to my family members as I left Grinnell. The car had a welcoming smell of cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, apple pie, and various other baked goods.

The imagery I worked with were monotype prints I made of my family members while they were doing some activity during nighttime—such as eating supper. Initially I wanted to shine my headlights through monotype prints on clear plastic to project the image onto a wall in front of my car. Viewers would sit in my car and see the monotype prints. I made a prototype to test out the projection and it did not work. Miriam and her team suggested the headlights distributed the light too much; they recommended I try something else. I asked if I could use their Pico projectors and they agreed. I made a shelf between the front seats of my car and draped it in black cloth. After, I mounted the projectors to the shelf with black electrical tape. I edited the monotypes so they fit my windshield. I also took my rearview mirror off as to not distract from the monotypes.

The viewers all gave fairly positive feedback; however, several of them said they wished they could have spent more time in the car and it might have been a more meaningful experience if they would have. Many of the viewers commented on the smell, and described it as smelling “good,” “homey,” and “sweet.” Miriam and her team suggested I add a component of smell and I am really glad I did, as it was one of the most commented on parts of the installation.  

Week 3

I have combined the monotypes I made for this installation with some previous monotypes I have done and edited them to fit to my windshield. I have also burned a CD of my nightly check-in calls--it is 53 minutes long.

I also tested out the Pico projectors to see how long they will last in my car in the cold. They lasted around 45 minutes. They will be full charged and loaded with my edited images.

I constructed a mounting onto my car seats to support the Pico projectors out of cardboard, tape, and fabric.

Still trying to figure out smell.

I tried to fit my monotypes to the windshield. They don't quite fit. I am going to mess with them a little bit more.

Week 2

My attempt of making a headlight projector did not work. I constructed one out of cardboard to fit my headlight. I covered it with black blankets to darken it. After, I covered the inside with tin foil to see if it would make a difference. Neither ideas worked. Miriam and team have provided me with Pico projectors as a "plan b." We have tested them out--both in the day and at night--and have decided that we will use two of them to project onto my windshield. I will put mylar onto the outside of the windshield to allow the projection to show up, yet still be transparent.

This is my failed headlight projector. Cat for scale.

These are the two monotype prints I have made for this installation:

Week 1

Lauren Roush
Email: roushlau@grinnell.edu

I'm interested in my nightly routine and the urgency I feel to return home from Grinnell before it gets dark. This is partially due to the dangers commuting on Highway 6, such as deer or icy roads, but also because I want to see my loved ones before I go to bed. The urgency I feel to return home when the sun sets reminds me of the anxiety and irritability of the individuals that I have worked with exhibit around the same time. I have worked for disabled adults and children for around 6 years and some of that time was spent working with dependent adults with dementia. I have had Alzheimer's and dementia training and have worked in a facility that had a "locked unit."
           Dementia causes a phenomenon known as "sundowning." Symptoms caused by dementia increase throughout the day and get worse as the sun goes down. Persons served with dementia will often become confused, disoriented, agitated, and often even combative when the sun sets. The individuals I worked with would often urgently insist that they needed to "go home" as dusk set in. Although the assisted living facilities and nursing homes house these individuals, they are not home—home is where their loved ones are, or at least once were.
            For my project I want to convey the feeling of returning somewhere to connect with loved ones before night takes over. I will make at least one monotype print of my own personal genre scene. After, I will scan the monotype and print it on some sort of clear material—possibly mylar. The clear print will become the face of the box I make to fit around the headlights of my car. As the light from the headlights shine through the monotype print, the image will project onto whatever is in front of my car. The viewers will be invited to sit in my car to experience the installation--the same seat I sit in every evening as I travel home to loved ones.

            I am considering sound for my installation and have been pondering what sounds I should incorporate. I make nightly “check-in” calls to my family members to see how their day was, if they made supper, etc. I am entertaining the idea of recording these nightly conversations—complete with the sounds of my car and the road as I drive home—to play through my car speakers. This will be an acoustic addition to my projection of my family members.