Creating Yin Yang, Part 1: "Yang"

"What started out as a simple idea quickly became my most intricate, detailed, thought-out and time-consuming piece to date. This piece was intended to be an entry for the 2021 Luxembourg Art Prize, so for me- it was all-in or nothing"

I tore out a piece of A3 paper from my scrapbook and began with four columns: "good" (Yang), "bad within the good" (black dot), "bad" (Yin), and "good within the bad" (white dot). As per most of my personal pieces, I’m not quite sure where the idea to create a piece resembling the idea of the Yin Yang precisely came from, but it was given to me and I felt compelled to create it. My columns quickly filled up with various aspects of the polarity that makes up our human life, such as:

Good: family, food, celebration, milestones, music, art, travel, etc.

Bad: poverty, famine, disease, environmental devastation, slavery, animal abuse, etc (this was when I began to realise that this piece was going to be more of a challenge than I’d initially anticipated. Bad within the good: overmedication, substance-abuse, debt, illness, eating disorders, etc.

Good within the bad: charity, volunteering, natural connection, regrowth, culture, tradition, etc.

Once I had listed out as many ideas as I could for each section of my Yin Yang, I drew up a draft layout which gave me an idea of how I would choose to draw each idea, for example: I wanted to draw something representing the joy of a happy, healthy and fulfilling childhood for Yang, and eventually came up with the idea of a child playing in a puddle- a stereotypical image we all know to represent joy, excitement, happiness and contentment for life.

I continued to create rough drawings of my ideas, until finally I had a complete draft of my Yin Yang. It quickly came time to draw up my circular template using folded up card and a protractor for measurements. I used a thick Watercolour card that a kind customer had given me at the cafe I was working at, and knew it was going to provide a challenge due to the extent of the bumpy texture on its surface, but would also imply a lot of depth.

As I approached the paper with my first drawing, I was suddenly overwhelmed at how many things I needed to consider to make this piece work; Yang (good) had to remain a lighter shade than Yin (bad), for obvious symbolic reasons- how was I going to achieve this? I had to make sure each individual drawing could somehow "flow" into the next without being too crowded, and it had to make some sort of sense as to where and why each drawing was positioned in that particular space. It wouldn’t make sense to have someone snorkelling at the top of the page, and cloud-strewn horizons at the bottom. These were all aspects I hadn’t considered in my original layout, and for a minute I stared blankly at my paper considering redrawing my entire draft, but due to my excitement of wanting to see this idea come into fruition I decided to "bugger it", and figure it out as I went.

One idea I knew for certain that I wanted to execute was to have a desperate hand reaching from Yin (dark/bad), over to Yang (light/good) for fresh water. I didn’t know where the water was going to come from yet, but trusted my soul to guide me there when the time came. I wanted this hand to cross over the definitive line that separates the traditional Yin Yang to imply that although the separation between the two seems clear-cut and impenetrable, it is never impossible. So this is where I began. Although my time-sheet accumulates the hours of "drawing time", I do not separate the time I spend sifting through pages and pages of reference photos for the perfect image. I used websites such as Pinterest and Google Images, as well as my own personal photography, and this could sometimes absorb hours of searching per day. I always have a vision in my mind of what I am searching for, and won’t stop until I find it exactly, or close enough that I can alter it without having to go on hunting for countless more hours.

I found the image of the hand reaching for water that I knew was what I wanted, edited it on my iPhone to my preference- really bringing out the sharpness and contrast- sharpened my trusty 6B Graphite, put my chosen Spotify playlist on, and entered the flow state.

I paid close attention to every single tone, shade and shape as I knew this hand was going to be a main focal point of the piece- the part that brought both sides together. I let my mind wander in all sorts of directions. I also made certain I used very

dark tones as it was reaching over from the Yin side, and it needed to make a contrasting statement against the lightness of the Yang. I still hadn’t figured out where the water was going to come from, so left that piece once it was finished and began at the very top of Yang. I knew it needed to be light and spacious, and what represents moments like that for me is reading a book on the beachfront under the open sky on a clear day. And so that is what I drew. Before I knew it my mind, heart and hand were working simultaneously.

‘What else can I put at the top in the sky from my list of Yang’?, I wondered. Travel. And so I drew a white plane soaring through fluffy white clouds and this lead to an idea I could implement later on the Yin side: another plane, but darker- a fighter jet to represent War. Draft: updated.

Below the woman absorbed in a book on the soft sand of the beach I chose to draw a newlywed couple, embracing one another for their First Dance, with out-of-focus lights in the background- the Bride’s dress allowing a lot of white space to breathe on the paper. Unsure what to draw next for quite some time, I safely chose to resort to my list of "backups"- drawings that I could really place anywhere with no real spacial relevance: Nature, specifically because it is always surrounding us. I drew a Monarch Butterfly perched on the outer rim of Yang’s dark circle- I also chose to draw a white flower to help add an obvious contrast against the darkness of Yin, and the lightness of Yang (a technique I implemented a lot throughout the creation of the piece). Below the butterfly I chose to draw a man playing the Saxophone- my brother’s favourite musical instrument, trying to capture as much passion in his face as my pencil would allow. I wanted you to be able to hear the music coming from his instrument.

01/01/2021

At this point I had to leave my flow state to create commissions that I had booked, and that is always extremely hard because when I am creating a personal piece I am in a state where I want to wake up early with a coffee and get straight back to creating my piece without distraction until the sun isn’t far from rising once again for a new day, but I must acknowledge that I am a business-professional with clients offering their hard-earned time and money for my services. My Yin Yang didn’t see my pencils again for a few months, and I was unsure if I would muster the energy to re-approach it. But curiosity won me over; I had to see this idea come to life.

27/03/2021

The absence from my piece must have given my subconscious some time and space to conjure up new ideas, because when it came time that I had completed all of my commissions, I knew where the water was going to come from: the child playing in a puddle. It was perfect placement as it would fit directly between my passionate Musician and desperate hand. This reference took hours to find, but I finally found it. I had to get the splash perfect as water is often difficult to imitate- with all of its reflections and transparencies. I needed it to look alive. I wanted the child’s splash to jump off the page and fall into the desperately cupped hands.

I once again resorted to Nature to fill some gaps, specifically dew-drops on leaves after an early morning (a core memory from my childhood that always sparked my wonder).

After that I was contemplating filling some of the larger area I had available, but couldn’t make my mind up on which idea to use, and I have learned to never force an idea- rather let it come naturally. I had a small space available between my Newlyweds and dew drops, so I looked to my Newlyweds and asked what else is a milestone in this life that I could squeeze in there. Acquiring your first car. I didn’t want to disrupt the "flow" and gentle feel of my Yang with the harsh, definite structure of a car, so decided a pair of keys would represent that idea more graciously, as well as allow you to decide what opportunities the keys bring to mind for you. After all, Yang is full of opportunity, and Art is about individual expression and perception.

As previously mentioned, I had to be conscious of ensuring whatever I drew close to the border of Yin and the inner dark circle of Yang would remain relatively light so as to create the illusion of the Yin Yang within the collage. I next chose to draw one of my favourite things in life: Coffee.

Coffee remains a staple luxury for me as I have built a career in Hospitality, learning how to create the perfect cup and had only just recently successfully achieved creating Latte Art at the cafe I was working at (Hidden Cafe, Kelmscott, Western Australia). The peace, pleasure and joy that my passion for coffee has brought to me is something I believe resonates with many around the world, and so I had to incorporate that. I also believe coffee is now somewhat a symbol of leisure, friendship, community and a healthy economy.

At this point I was now over halfway through completing my Yang side, and the pressure was on to ensure I had represented the most important aspects from my list. I had not drawn nearly half of the ideas I’d originally came up with, but that was okay because I felt content knowing I had picked what I believe to be of the most value to me, only now I had to make sure whatever else I picked was equally as important. I had a small white space left between my Newlyweds and Monarch Butterfly, but didn’t want to overuse my "backup Nature" approach too much, otherwise it would lose its potency. I have personally never had a good relationship with alcohol- you could say we are "acquaintances", but I also understand this piece was intended to be representative of the polarity of life, not just "my life", and alcohol has been used globally throughout humankind’s history as a symbol of celebration, community and festivity. I didn’t want to just draw a can of beer or bottle of wine, I wanted the piece to remain alive with movement and spirit, so I chose to draw a wine glass with the wine being poured into the glass. I admit this little gem turned out to be one of the best pieces I chose in regards to adding consistent movement. I was also making a conscious effort to have sizing play a small role: I wasn’t going to make a glass of wine bigger than the birth of a child, which is exactly what came next.

The reference photo for this piece was crucial; I had decided in my early stages of planning that I would veer away from showing too much of people’s facial features because I want you to be able to imagine them for yourself- make your own personal resonance. Sometimes this was hard, like in the case of the Musician as I wanted his passion to be seen, and in the case of childbirth I wanted to show the tears of pure love and adoration. I changed the features slightly from my reference photo, specifically adding freckles to resemble my own mother’s youthful face, as well as a stream of tear gliding down her face. I personally have not yet experienced giving birth but I drew it in a way that I perceive it would feel.

I may have shed a tear or two whilst drawing this...

68 hours drawing-time

Whilst drawing the childbirth I was thinking of my own childhood, and what parents do for us, and what came to mind was how my own mother has consistently encouraged and believed in my pursuit of dreams. The way in which I chose to reflect this was through youthful achievement: Graduation. The only way I could imagine depicting this was very stereotypical, but that’s okay- things become a stereotype because they prove themselves true majority of the time. And so was created the throwing of the graduation hat. To represent my own "graduation" or moment of achievement I drew what is closest to my heart- Art. Whilst my specialty medium is Graphite pencil I chose to draw paintbrushes, as they tend to resonate more with people in terms of representing "creativity", and they were the lighter-toned option for the sake of keeping things light on the Yang side.

I had been filling the background with gentle shading amidst out-of-focus lights- a technique I have learned from my years of doing portraiture, as well as keeping consistency from deciding to add them in way back with my Newlyweds. This technique offers a romantic, emotional depth that instantly makes you feel connected and peaceful.

I had a tricky spot left to fill at the bottom of my Yang, and I have found through my years of creating collage works that the last parts are always the hardest; it’s my last opportunity to really get my message across, once I have put pencil to paper there’s little chance of going back. What had I not covered yet? I wanted to represent something of leisure that is not so materialistic as travel (plus I already had travel covered with my plane). One of my most profound memories is snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. I had never seen such a world. Aside from the travel to get there, the mess of online booking, the crowds of tourists and splashing fellow snorkelers, as well as being denied the opportunity to scuba dive due to having Type 1 Diabetes, once my eyes were submerged under the water none of that mattered. All I cared about was the foreign, alien world around me. The vibrant colours of marine life that swam curiously around me. The coral sat mysteriously still yet brilliantly alive. The deepness of the big blue that stretched out far beyond any sense of horizon. The urge to know the sense of silence without the surrounding boats and tourists. The thousands of tiny crevices that were claimed neighbourhoods to the local marine life. The difference in personalities of them. It is a memory I will never forget. And with that, born was my Scuba Diver.

I was now moving on to the final stage of completing my Yang, and throughout my planning I knew I had to incorporate certain ideas into each side of my Yin Yang to act as the other’s opposite- one of which is the medicinal industry. I for one am extremely grateful and fortunate to have access to the pharmaceutical industry as without it I wouldn’t be alive today, but I am also aware of the damage that can be caused from the industry as well; an aspect I knew I would be touching on in Yang’s Dark Circle. I chose to draw a nurse hard at work in surgery, giving the impression of saving someone’s life- something no one can argue the value of. I was drawing this piece two years into the global COVID-19 Pandemic which offerEd more incentive to include the importance of the medical system. The lightness of the Nurse’s uniform also added brilliant contrast to the upcoming Dark Circle of Yang.

I had a relatively generous amount of space left for a couple more ideas which I wanted to utilise well, but without potentially overcrowding the piece. I hadn’t yet included the importance of the elderly and wanted to represent that in a graceful, honourable way. The image that came to mind was of a retiree dressed in rather obvious clothing that would imply that of an older gentleman peacefully walking his dog in the park. Simple, pure, and representative of a comfortable life. I chose a Black Labrador as the breed of dog because I grew up with exactly that- his name was Max and I adored his heart, full of innocence.

With a little room left to spare I chose to draw the obvious achievement of buying ones first home- a luxury that some people in the wealthiest of countries don’t even have the opportunity to do. I chose to draw a “FOR SALE" sign with a "SOLD" sticker stamped across it as opposed to a house itself because it was fitting, took up little room so as to imply that whilst it is an incredible achievement it is by no means a definition of success. Which lead to me to include it’s apparent opposite choice in lifestyle: road-tripping. I have always loved Combi Vans, and they are the symbol of the Vegabond lifestyle, the "travelling Hippie", which at one stage in my life I was.

At last, my Yang was complete. Whilst creating my Yang I was really immersed in all that makes this life so beautiful and wonderful and memorable, and I was met with great appreciation for the life I was fortunate to be born into. This is an example of the power of Art in my beliefs. However, whilst bringing this idea to life I had to be constantly vigilant of the fact that I had more than half of the piece left to do, and I was met with the realisation that everything I was drawing now would soon be met with its opposite on my Yin side, and that was unexpectedly daunting...

Please read "Creating Yin Yang, Part 2: Yang- Dark Circle" Until next time, keep creating.

-Madeline x