Blog — Mallory Donen

process

Fall Exhibitions!

I'm excited to share that I will have two exhibitions coming up this Fall! The first is a group show with some fellow classmates, Julie Epp and Kendra Schellenberg, we all received our BFA degrees from UFV. The exhibition is titled, Horror Vacui, which simply means the fear of empty space. As you can imagine all the works in the show are extremely detailed and obsessive in nature. The show will include works created individually, as well as a collaborative mural we will be painting/drawing directly onto the gallery wall. Read more to learn about each of our inspirations for the show, as well as the exhibition statement. 

Horror Vacui

Horror Vacui is the fear of empty space and the filling of emptiness with details in a work of art. This visual art expression is an important source of inspiration for artists Mallory Donen, Julie Epp, and Kendra Schellenberg. Each artist struggles with issues of fear, joy, and acceptance throughout their creative process. Donen’s practice is driven by the conflict between order and chaos, and explores the infinite nature of digital imagery. On the other hand, Epp’s process is a battle with fear, inner thoughts, and a search for calm in the mundane creative process. Lastly, Schellenberg uses the overwhelming visual aesthetic of horror vacui to engage in conversations about gender, beauty standards, and acceptance. Everyone struggles with inner conflict; Horror Vacui visualizes the mental chaos of life. Art allows us to engage in moments of deep consideration and at times can be a gateway into a numbing calm, empty of worries or thoughts. 

Mallory Donen

My process fluctuates between spontaneity and my obsessive need for control. I find comfort in keeping things in order, but at the same time when things become too controlled there is little room for growth and change. That is why I am always pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and intentionally creating moments of disruption. This struggle between chaos and order is the driving force of my art practice. I am constantly introducing ways of relinquishing control throughout the artistic process. But I inevitably end up back where I started, in an ordered, restrained system of creation. My work explores notions of obsession, control, chaos, infinity, and absorption. Inspired by the theme of horror vacui, my art reflects on the infinite calming chaos of digital imagery.

Julie Epp

03Epp_Julie_Mandala 1.jpg

In an age where lives are lived through online experiences, my brain has become over stimulated. Multitasking, my old friend, is an enemy of productivity; I must embrace the mundanity of focus. My artwork is likely the only consistent focus I’ve had. My mandalas sit inches from my eyes while I draw, and though I am focused, my brain is crashing, burning, bursting with thoughts. It might seem like a good opportunity to be thinking; a chance to be inspired. But the thoughts hang dramatically over me like a creature ready to crush. They are ideas and aspirations but they are also pressure and panic. My work is a chance for me to focus my energy, and it takes a lot of work to get into a headspace where something good comes out of it.

            My mandalas are a product of years of disrupted focus, followed by relief. The sculptures are the opposite: they are a product of intense concentration followed purely by thirst and hunger. To me, horror vacui is about the fear of allowing empty space to be filled by anything but artistic joy.

Kendra Schellenberg

I have always been drawn to work that contains a lot of detail. When I am creating my own work, there’s always a part of me that needs to prove that my art is worthy of attention, and my solution to this is often to fill it with detail—as if this somehow proves that I care about my work, that it is something of value—because I’ve spent a lot of time on it. At the same time, my art practice is an extension of my feminism, and is a way for me to engage with issues that trouble me. I saw an opportunity to use the overwhelming nature of horror vacui as a means of conveying the overwhelming feeling of needing to conform to gender roles and beauty standards. By incorporating imagery I’ve tapped into in previous work, I hope to dig further into representing the affect of the socially-constructed gender binary that is so prevalent in the media we consume.

The second exhibition is a solo exhibition, which will feature my new work titled Glitch Series 01. The show will also include a select few works from my MFA Thesis Exhibition. During the opening reception of the exhibition, on Friday, October 27th, I will also be giving an artist talk discussing ideas from my thesis and how it influenced the creation of this new body of work being showcased in the solo exhibition. The talk will also include a slideshow of images that give an even more in-depth look into my process and my hard drive of digital files. 

Glitch Series 01

Since returning home after the completion of my MFA thesis I've been taking it pretty easy and trying to allow myself some sort of break. I've recently completed a new project titled Glitch Series 01, which involved converting a series of digital image glitches (sourced from images generated in Photoshop) into a cross-stitch pattern which was then completed as a cross-stitch work. 

The images used for this project were a series of glitches that occurred one day while I was working on another project in Photoshop. The file that I opened did not appear the way that it was supposed to, instead it was a collaged mashup of several files which I had opened within the past week or so. Instead of dismissing this unexpected moment as a computer failure, I accepted it as a gift. It was as if the computer had gotten frustrated with the overwhelming amount of information and data I had given it within a short span of time and this was its way of materializing that frustration. The computer had spoken and I wanted to savour every last moment of it that I could. 

I proceeded to save and alter these strange glitches that reloaded and occurred each time I saved the file. I adjusted the curves and colourations of some of the images before saving them, in order to enhance the artistic, almost painterly qualities. In the moment it was a highly energized, playful interaction, a constant wave of communication that fluctuated between myself and the computer.

I stored these glitch images in a folder on my hard drive, unsure of my future plans for them. It wasn't until I began integrating cross-stitching into my thesis projects that I realized this is what the glitch series would become. 

I selected 9 cropped sections (below) of the single glitch image (above) to create a series of images that would then be converted into a series of cross-stitches. 

The 9 selected images above were then uploaded onto a website called StitchFiddle.com, where they were converted into cross-stitch patterns. Below are the resulting cross-stitched works.

Each piece is approximately 3.5" x 3.5". I'm still working out the kinks for final display but currently my plan is to frame each digital image with its corresponding cross-stitch partner in a 20" x 20" frame with a double window matte. Below is a rough mock-up of what each of the final pieces will look like framed. 

This project evolved and developed over a long period of time, but I am extremely happy with the results. I wouldn't be surprised if I continue doing more cross-stitch works with a digital aesthetic in the future. 

Summer MFA Studio Progress

Although I am home in BC for the summer and trying to have as much of a "summer break" as possible, I am still expected to continue working on my MFA studio work and thesis. This is a look into the work I have been creating over the summer. 

First I began by creating source images based on three themes or areas of focus. In my last blog I shared images of the first theme "Leaves/Nature". The other two themes I've been working on are "Ocean Life" and "The Human Body". 

Below are the drawings/paintings I created from referencing a documentary film on ocean life.  

Below are drawings/paintings I created by referencing my Human Anatomy textbook from University. 

With these source images I finally began to work back into Photoshop to create digitally produced works of art.

Below I will show the source images first and then the resulting digital artworks that have been formed from the initial image. 

Tulip Tree Leaf

Puffer Fish

Leg Muscles and Bones

Deltoid Muscles

Fish (no reference)

Coleus Leaf

Abstract (No theme)

It's been an interesting experiment trying to incorporate more specific reference images into my source drawings. There are aspects that I find pleasantly surprising, but mostly I find myself falling back to my comfort zone of abstraction. When I create abstract works its seems less straining and forced. I feel that my best works are those that flow naturally from within and are created based off an intuitive process, which I find is a much more relaxing and easing approach. 

From the Studio to the Computer: Making Patterns

This semester I've had two courses that have kept me very busy with lots of reading. To be honest I haven't spent a lot of time in the studio. This is also due to the fact that I've been creating a lot of work from home on my computer using Photoshop. But the day before open studios I found some time to be in my studio and play with all sorts of different materials and processes. I decided to use this spare time to let go, relax, have fun, and experiment with whatever I had lying around.

I had some pre-mixed paint that I had been storing in some old tupperware containers for a couple months and I was going to clean it up. I then proceeded to use paper towels to scoop out the old paint. But instead of throwing out the paint, I used the paper towel similar to the way I would use a sponge to apply texture to several sheets of bristol. I also mixed some paint with crackle paste medium and used a palette knife to create shapes and textures on cardboard and card-stock. Lastly I ripped a small piece of canvas and collaged it onto a sheet of stonehenge with some of the paint and crackle paste.

Although I was creating with little intention, in the back of my mind I knew that I would be able to use these small pieces as sources to create digital patterns. The next day when everything had dried I scanned all the images using a flatbed scanner at the school. Below are the patterns that I created using the above experiments. Each source image precedes the patterns that were produced using that image. 

Patterns really can be created out of anything and everything. The world is my oyster! I'm feeling so inspired these days and I don't see it ending any time soon! 

- Mal 

MFA Studio Sneak-peak

Sunday, November 15, 2015:

I know that I've been slightly MIA lately, but I promise it is because I have been working extremely hard in my studio at the U of M. I'm inspired everyday by my peers, faculty, and my surroundings. It seems like I'm constantly writing down new ideas for projects in my sketchbook. So here is a sneak-peak into my studio and what I've been up to these past couple of months. Enjoy and feel free to share! 

Daydreaming is a series of painted photographs, 
click here to see more of this project and the process of how they were created.

Daydreaming (series in-progress), 36x28", Acrylic on canvas photographic print, 2015, Mallory Donen

Remember my project Freedom Versus Control? Well I am currently recycling it into a new project. I've been cutting out shapes with an exacto knife and doing various things with them. I started out thinking I was going to use them to make collages, but then I began rolling them to keep them from curling and I discovered that they make interesting sculptural objects. That's when I started to glue them and create rolled paper sculptures. Here is a glimpse into what they look like, but you'll have to wait and see the photographs that I shot of them in the studio the other day (I need time to edit them). 

I've also shot a couple rolls of film since I've arrived in Winnipeg. I haven't had a lot of time in the darkroom as they took a while to get everything set up in the new building. But here is a look at some of the photographs I've taken around downtown Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba campus. Some of the photos have been manipulated in either the darkroom or Photoshop.

Here are some photos I took one day in front of my studio mural titled Fiesta. Click here to watch a time-lapse video of how the mural came together. 

That's all I am willing to show at the moment, until next time.

Check out my 2016 Calendars if you haven't had a chance!