Routine & Repitition

Routine & Repitition


Well i am certainly not lacking in either one of these categories. Nothing like the 8-5 to submerse you into repetition and routine, however it seems i am continually attempting to keep things a little bit fresh through this project and other activities. These other activities include additional art endeavors, such as my involvement with the Open Field Artists, my normal painting and drawing, reading good books, being an outdoor enthusiast, watching movies, playing video games, being with friends, and i am sure much more. However all these things i just mentioned, also just become part of the routine of being Jonathan and keeping the balance between work and play. So although i say i use these tools to free myself from repetition, routine and the mundane, they also turn into a routine to combat and balance all the other routines...so all in all it is all connected.

With these thoughts in mind I am posting two images...one is more of an experiment the other is a kind of outcome of one of my routines.

The first image is an exercise in Repetition & Awareness. I repeatedly made the same marks over and over, which is something i never do. I thought this repetitive structure would allow me to focus my attention to my surroundings and the creative energy flowing through me, while also doing something "repetitive" as the topics implies. This drawing really brought me to the ground level of mark making, because that was all I was doing- making the same marks over and over with no fancy idea or conceptual premise. I felt i was able to hone in on the simple act of marking, which would then allow me to pay more attention to the actual flow of creative/ spontaneous energy.

Part of my routines in life as a Montanan is spending time outside in the mountains. When making this drawing i was up in the mountains outside of Missoula on a beautiful, late winter day. Although i didn't learn too much from this single instance of this experiment, it did allow me to be very present with the mountain, the surroundings, creativity, and the act of mark making.

In the future i would like to continue this idea, as a practice of awareness & spontaneity. I would also like to play around with different designs that i am patterning. For example, instead of the three lines and then a turn, doing four lines and then a turn, or maybe playing with circles or other shapes. Let the saga continue...

The second image comes from my work routine. Not only do I make paintings and art, I am a graphic designer. I spend much of my day behind a desk working on a computer. This routine of waking up, drinking coffee, preparing for work, going to work and being in front of a computer M-F is one of my more pronounced routines. I do design at my place of employment, as well as, freelance design. The image i am presenting here is from my freelancing. Juggling graphics at work from 8-5 then having to do freelance after work, and then trying to make art in addition, is a very difficult routine to maintain; Although I am pretty good at making time to relax, it always feels like it is at the expense of something I could be working on. This routine is challenging but a part of my path so it must be done.

This specific image comes from a recent job for The Badlander, which is a bar/ music venue. I recently applied for a graphic design position they had posted. Being the fact that I know one of the owners and frequent the place quite a bit a figured i would just see what they had to say, so i applied. I was under the impression that it was going to be a casual, good ole' boy process, however to my surprise they put posters around town advertising, ads in papers etc. and ended up with like 25+ applicants (for Missoula that's a lot). So I went in there straight talkin' and straight shootin' and I, fortunately, ended up as one of their final cut of designers. There are two others plus myself in the final cut, and the badlander folks had each one of us design a poster to help them in their final decision. This is my poster.