Artist's Statement

 

My Going in Circles series is an experiment in the physicality included in the creation of art. The series of eight pieces were created together in one evening, taking a total of over three hours to complete, beginning with the One-Minute circle. Each circle has an approximate diameter of 24" (61 cm).

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A short 2-minute break was taken between each circle.

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Beginning with the shorter timed circle made the completion of this series more difficult, as the longer I was creating the circles, the more exhausted my arm became. This forced me to pull strength from places other than the physical. Through the duration of this exercise, my mind travelled almost meditatively, forcing me to detach from the physical pain and exhaustion, and into a trance-like focus that allowed my body to overcome the pain and complete all eight pieces.

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The sound of the graphite scraping the paper created a rhythm to the creation of these works. I originally began listening to music while creating the circles, but mid-way chose to remove the element of music and focused on the sound the graphite stick was making on the page. This added to the meditative, trance-like mind-frame I took on while creating.

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Because of this series, I have a new appreciation for the mental and physical elements of art creation. Although I had created art for years, I never truly appreciated these elements of the creative process until undergoing this experiment.