Finals fast approaching

This past month has been a whirlwind. It feels like the semester was crawling by, but now time is flying. Between final projects and weekend trips, the students have been very busy. I myself am off to Paris for the weekend. I am of course super excited, but four days out of the studio seems a bit crazy. 

I've been putting in extra hours trying to get ahead before taking off for the weekend. Below is progress on my final painting:

In Flux

For my first big drawing project, I decided to animate from life. The idea was better in theory than in execution, because, ya know, that's a lot of drawings for one project. I'm pretty happy with how the film turned out, so the long hours in the studio were definitely worth it (as they always are)! 

In Flux is an experimental piece exploring the influx of media as immersive and contaminating. The presence of misinformation pollutes the individual, spreads to the masses, and results a loss of self.



In Flux from Casey Follen on Vimeo.

Below is a little video showing a few of the drawings used:


In Flux: Process from Casey Follen on Vimeo.

Adrift

The first few weeks of life studying in Ireland have been pretty spectacular. As a class, we’ve been traveling all over getting to know the countryside, as well as the bigger cities like Galway and Dublin. On top of getting to know the landscape, I’ve been digging into some pretty fun projects.

My most recent project was for my Mixed Media class. We were instructed to take a journey and make a work based on that experience. While visiting the home of another student in Connemara, we took a boat ride out to little island that contained the ruins of an old monetary. The island was lovely, but it was the boat ride that resonated with me and informed the work to follow.

While on the lake, I felt at home. I felt a strong nostalgia for the countless days I spent out on the lake growing up—for simple grace to Michigan summers. My life is marked with transience, but the memory of home keeps me afloat. The rowboat is a symbol of my childhood, and is furthermore a metaphor for my personal identity as I navigate the sea of adulthood in the photo series, Adrift.

Below are several images from the series: