Research:
There were four ways outlined in class detailing how to conduct slow looking. The four are:
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- Categories
- Open inventory
- Scale and Scope
- Juxtaposition
In order to conduct a slow looking excursion along my path, I decided to try the open inventory method, focusing on one of my five senses and detailing my experience each time I traveled it. I walked the path three times more (I did not feel it appropriate to use the taste of touch), detailing what I felt.
Once I was finished conducting an open inventory of my chosen journey, I needed to portray it using descriptive words that hold meaning and provoke feelings. Due to my prior experience with mental illness, I decided to convey the path from Hayes to the Amphitheater using my own experiences on campus in 2019, but framing it as a fantasy story.
In order to create a fantasy map, similar to those of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, I needed to conduct research into what basic features I needed to include. I looked at maps from the Hobbit and the three Lord of the Rings books in order to know what icons I should use, how to draw them in the style of map, and what format I should use for lettering. I started by making a list of icons I could use to portray certain landmarks on campus. The list I gathered is as follows:
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- Mountains
- Castles, Dark/Evil castles
- Trees, Bushes, Grass
- Bridges
- Lakes, Rivers, Waterfalls, Rapids
- Compass
Map Sources:
Exercise 1: Written and Non-Visual Directions
View Exercise 1 at Exercise 1 – Space and Time. My iteration of Exercise 1 included the details found from slow-looking and in depth observation.
Exercise 2: Visuals Along Path
Iterations:
The first step I took was to outline what I wanted each landmark to stand for and how I wanted to represent it. View this list at Iteration Ideas.
I have many different icons that I wanted to include on my map, so I broke them down into two categories: castles and other formations. With each category, I wanted to base the icons off of real locations around the oval, while also including some elements of fantasy.
I wanted to create three castles along the edges of the oval, evenly spaced, each from slightly different perspectives based on their position to the center of the map. Shown below are the notes and drawing of each castle, and the building they are based off.
In a similar way, I needed to base the icons for the other forms off of real things. Shown below are the other rough icon iterations I will use to portray landmarks on my fantasy map.
Once I had all the icons sorted out and knew how I was going to portray each different landscape, I needed to mark out where all the boundaries were, separating mountains from trees and rivers, etc. The map indicating the different boundaries is shown below.
After I completed outlining the boundaries, I started sketching the final copy.
Production:
I started sketching the map on drawing paper, beginning with the natural features, then moving along to artificial structures, such as the castles and the compass.
From there, I draw in the rest of the main features and icons, and outlined the main lines in micron pen. I added some texture by shading shadows in the bottom right side of structures and forms. Once I was happy with my initial texturing of the map, I sealed the graphite to the page by spraying the sheet of paper with hairspray. Below is an image of the map right before it is detailed with micron pen.
Next, I added a grid-like pattern using pencil to give the map the illusion that it had been folded and weathered. I furthered the aged illusion by smearing graphite along the aforementioned grid pattern, and along the edges of the sheet. Once I was happy with the weathering look, I colored in my path from the beginning to the destination, adding texture to the path markers. I once again sealed the map with hairspray to trap in any loose graphite.
After the assignment was graded, I chose to further texture the map by carefully burning the edges and outlined ‘fold’ marks. The resulting map is shown below.
Link to Portfolio Project:
View the Space and Time Walk Project at Space and Time Walk.