I worked on printing out some more reference images to work from. Printing the images is tedious, I just have to sit there and choose the images I want and then wait for them to individually print out. Usually to occupy myself while I wait for the images to print I’ll do some other menial work on my computer. Today I started sifting through all of the digital images that I’ve been collecting for artwork. Although a lot of projects are definitely very far in the future, sometimes I’ll start collecting the images just to have them, even though I know I won’t be using them for a while.

I have a folder labeled “carrying” which features images of figures carrying various objects. This got me thinking that was was interesting about this future project was the mystery of the boxes, bags, and pouches that the people were carrying. Every time I look at the images in this folder, I love thinking about what those bags might contain and the ambiguity of it. I started thinking that one day I might want to do a project just based on stuffed garbage bags. It doesn’t sound that interesting at first, but the more I think about it, the more I’m sure that it could be very engaging on lots of different levels. I’ve become very compulsive in the past few years about how to manage my trash, and it’s something I’ve made a conscious effort to be more aware of on a regular basis. I started composting all my kitchen scraps a few years ago, and its amazing how little trash I have now at the end of the week; the bags I throw out are at least 50% smaller, if not more. I also think that the garbage bag could represent so many other things from a metaphorical point of view, especially if I play around with size, scale, and amount. I like that it can simultaneously represent such a wide range of interpretations.

A project like that would be a really big departure for me; generally the majority of my work has focused around group figure compositions, and I have to say this is the first still life object that I’ve shown any interest in for several years. I don’t see it as a full blown long term project like the ones I’ve been doing recently, rather I see it as a small side project to explore some day.