I Think It Was Yesterday

In the Spring of 2019, I taught a course on Information Visualization, where students learn how to use visual elements to create graphics that help people understand trends and patterns in data. While my students were working on their final projects, I offered to create a data visualization chart of my own, which they quickly endorsed. So, I chose to visualize my waking hours.

I divided my time into ten categories ranging from relationships to teaching to working in the studio and kept meticulous records for one month. I Think It Was Yesterday is the first of two works of art visualizing my collected data. The components resemble figures in a graph, but they are broken, rearranged, and stitched together to reflect the changes and fluctuations in everyday life. The vertical design reflects short time spurts of the given categories of data, while the blue-colored rows represent a bit of calm in a busy life.

The monoprints are a mix of woodcuts and monotypes on Nishinouchi paper using oil-based inks. This process is very fluid, and I often work on several prints simultaneously. In addition, quartering and stitching the monoprints together enables me to create a larger sculptural work that someone can view from all sides.

Time Well Spent

Time Well Spent is the second of two works of art visualizing the collected data of my waking hours. Initially, I tried to make visual sense of the data, but I quickly realized that daily life is messy, erratic, filled with short spurts of one data category that can quickly turn on a dime and move to another. Therefore, the components of this data resemble a graph, but they are broken, rearranged, and stitched together to reflect the changes and fluctuations in everyday life. The bentwood frame that holds the paper structure represents the length of a day, sort of like following the sun.

The monoprints are a mix of woodcuts and monotypes on Nishinouchi paper using oil-based inks. This process is very fluid, and I often work on several prints simultaneously. Quartering and stitching the monoprints together enables me to create a sculptural work that can be more organic in shape and allows someone to view the work from all sides.