WEDNESDAY 8 April 2020
The meeting of a mixed group of students was organised by student Emma Pigott and a Padlet was created with necessary instructions as to some reading beforehand and what to bring to the session. Hayley was very open in sharing her work process. The learning was again the opportunity of being fortunate to see how another artist go about and how one can apply this in your own practice. I find a search for truth in the process of trying to connect through hypnosis as she does, with the unconscious. I have been interested in art as therapy and have considered it as a practice I would get involved after my studies (I am a trained social worker). i do not know much about automatic writing but realize the influence of it on the surrealists and symbolists.
Having looked at artist, Mat Mullican On the MOMA website I am aware of this practice of using hypnotism to explore the unconscious. In Hayley’s practice I understood that she goes back to art after a session with the hypnotist and then explore what she remembers as a form of using multiple elements in her mindset at that moment and using found objects by exploring through a google search that which she remembers afterwards. I will call it digital found elements. Her work looks complex and controlled, with detailed patterns and forms which reminds me of textiles and design ideas.
Hayley used a process of getting the participants to explore their own creativity. She set up some exercises which was done by her giving us instructions to follow, but reminding us to keep it fun, having permission to play. The other side of this was also the idea of not getting too comfortable in your work process, asking questions about what and looking at this as a problem solving solution.