Stage 05 of 9
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Material
What is this made of, and why that?
Medium is meaning. Oil paint carries different history than clay, than code, than found trash. Pick material that the concept demands — not the material you already own.
Prompts to sit with
- 01What does the material say before the image does?
- 02Is scale part of the material choice — intimate, human, monumental?
- 03Does the process (fast/slow, reversible/irreversible) match the content?
- 04What are the ethical and environmental costs of what you're choosing?
Small practices
- Do a small material test — one square foot — before scaling up.
- Consider hybrid: hand + digital, sculpture + photograph, permanent + ephemeral.
- Cost, source, and store the materials before you start; friction kills momentum.