Creative Process
THE UNIQUE CREATIVE PROCESS.
Photo by Kortney Pham.
Nerwel Zhao loved painting. As a non-Art major, enrolling in the Urban Art Workshop gave her the opportunity to express her artistic talents, an aspect her Biology classes couldn't. That was all she expected from that class when she decided to click on the enroll button in the Fall 2016, but did not realize there was more to art than creating. Prior to working on the mural itself, the course spent a total of four weeks planning logistics and design work.
“It was actually kind of tedious,” Nerwel Zhao admitted.
The beginnings of the course required each student to find inspiration. She, along with the other students, discussed themes such as environmentalism or identity politics as a starting point for the project. Each student also had an opportunity to present an artist that inspired them, which became fuel for their creativity and artistry.
THE DRAWING BOARD
Deciding on the design and getting approval from the property owners took longer than Nerwal had expected, almost half the quarter.
NERWAL ZHAO
Weeks were passing by. Time was running out.
When the mural painting class congregated again, Nerwel and her classmates began collaborating on which artwork would be left permanently in Isla Vista.
Different submissions were inspired by students' past artwork. Among these submissions were a sketch of a woman with flowy hair that represented ocean waves, a sketch of a boat, and a sketch with the word "live" drawn carefully. After the sketches were presented and submitted to the Koto Group, the only thing left to do was wait.
Days and days passed. The Koto Group's decision took longer than expected because the property managers avoided artwork that could potentially be controversial. “They even said no to a boat because it was related to immigration,” said Nerwel.
But finally, the students received a response.
Photos by Kortney Pham.
The Koto Group sent specific aspects of each students’ designs that they liked: the woman with flowing hair, Abbey's mandalas, and the word "Live." Although the quarter was slowly coming to an end, this time constraint only motivated the students to work harder. It was time to execute the best mural they could.
Kortney Pham hears her alarm go off early on a Saturday morning, and even though it was the weekend, she didn’t mind not hitting the snooze button.
She walked through the morning mist and experienced something new. Isla Vista was silent. Kortney was pleasantly surprised strolling through the peaceful streets of her usually rambunctious neighborhood. Once she reached the mural site she stared at the barren wall. She felt a smile grow on her face as she realized it would never look the same again. Her fellow classmates, many still groggy from waking up, began to trickle in. They were ready to start their project.
Their first task was to grid the wall, so they could be confident that
the design would be drawn to scale. With their first pencil strokes, the
wall slowly began to change.The artists would take turns sketching the
design, but Kortney never took a break. If she wasn’t outlining the
mural, she was taking pictures of her fellow classmates documenting
the creation process.
After reaching a consensus on the sketch, they started priming the
wall as the rest of Isla Vista woke up from their drunken night. She
slowly became distracted by the countless "Walk of Shames" coming
from 67 DP, but she reminded herself of the peaceful morning she
had with her classmates. To Kourtney, it never felt like she gave up a
Saturday morning for school. She was doing what she loves: creating art.
And each student felt the same. Regardless of why they enrolled in the
course, students of INT185UA felt compelled to make history in Isla Vista.
They wanted to change its walls and add onto the already artistic culture
of the town. And with every stroke on each vibrant wall, the students felt
a bigger and stronger impact on themselves.
Students grid the wall so the mural can be drawn to scale.
PAINTING
KORTNEY PHAM
Photos by Kortney Pham.