Ananya Agarwal

This project had multiple parts. For the first part, we created fields of abstract marks in a gridded layout. Using different materials we explored the effects marks have on the viewers and came up with a variety of different kinds of marks. Drawing upon what we had learned through our mark-making grids, we were told to create pairs of abstract marks that represented opposite emotions. We were encouraged to use multiple media to convey volume and create a sense of space. These word pairs were judged on the basis of our use of various media and how well we employed them to evoke the concepts. I chose the words, Rage/Terror, Certainty/Confusion, Ecstasy/Grief, for my word pairs. I used a variety of media including Charcoal, acrylic paints, microns, and watercolours to express the emotions represented by my chosen word pairs. For example, I used charcoal to represent terror because of its dark and messy outcome. Just like terror, controlling charcoal can be very difficult. Similarly, I used sharpies and microns to represent certainty because of their clarity and neatness. In the final part of this project, we were to create a Value Scale of 9 steps, each step of the scale made up of marks, that formed an even progression. For this I used a print I created using black diluted watercolour and a pencil, to create a progression of cut triangles.

I created a pattern by rolling the painted surface of a pencil on paper, putting different amounts of pressure to create variations of light and dark. I then cut this print into triangles and pasted them in a progression. I really enjoyed this project since it introduced me to mark making and how we can convey diverse emotions through the use of marks and patterns.