having major inspiration block for my folio no matter what i trial i cant find a new idea. feel so stuck right now and like ive done 10 pages of random shit that doesnt amount to any potential directions.
my theme is emotions
could anyone help or suggest any ideas i could work on?
Don't worry - brainstorming is a really important part of the folio process; mine ended up being, like, 50% brainstorming, 40% trialling/refining, and only 10% of what ended up in my final piece
For something as broad as
"emotions," perhaps start with some mindmaps (e.g. one for different types of emotions - try to list as many as possible, grouping them by similarity; then another for the kinds of things you'd associate with certain emotions, then maybe another for how these emotions manifest themselves... happiness makes you smile, sadness makes you cry, anger makes you scowl, etc. etc.)
Some examples of brainstorming styles:
One idea I find really fascinating is
synesthesia - which is where sensory neurons get all confused and make us think we can hear colours or smell sounds. So perhaps you could think of an emotion you want a viewer to feel (e.g. nostalgia, unease, awe, melancholy, etc.) and then consider what those emotions would look/sound/smell/taste like. Might be kinda weird at first, but it could be a neat way of teasing out some interesting ideas.
Or, if you want to get more academic with it, you could look at the universality of emotions - to what extent are our feelings unique vs. common to all mankind? Perhaps look into what other languages or cultures think of certain emotions (
or words that describe feelings we can't easily translate).
Pretty much any and all research will end up being beneficial though - you're expected to flesh out a whole bunch of different approaches, so even doing mini experiments where you just fill a page with thoughts and drawings when you're experiencing joy vs. tiredness vs. rage can help you map out different concepts.
Also, not sure how big a deal this is in Studio Art (I only did Art when I was in Year 12, which is a slightly different course) but if you need to reference other artists/artworks, you could just print out a whole bunch of images of drawings/paintings/sculptures/whatever-mediums-interest-you and then write about the emotions evident in each one. From super famous paintings like
The Scream and
Guernica to stuff that you just stumble across in your research (e.g.
'world's most cynical art student makes wedding dress out of divorce papers ) that should build up a nice base of starting points for you
Hope that helps - let us know if you want feedback for any ideas! Best of luck with your folio!