How does CM apply to my interests?
I would say that computational media, working with HTML / CSS / p5.js, was my introduction to interactive media in general. It's what I'm most comfortabe with. My background is in literature, history, and translation. So, when I was just starting off with web design related things, it was more my hobby than my academic focus. It was how I played with my creativity in a way that I hadn't been able to before. Not only is the process of coding very therapeutic for me (it reminds me of translation), but what I'm doing is usually something that is related back to concepts of self-expression. I'm a big user of Pinterest, which is an entire app almost dedicated to mindful creation of the self. I read a lot of Anne Carson and Sylvia Plath, so I like melodramatic self-obsessed poetry and prose, and that's the type of stuff I write as well. To be honest, I like to make things that are inherently for or about myself. The first website I ever designed was a personal diary, and I've had to make a couple different portfolios for design classes or grad applications. I would definitely say that the portfolio that only one person saw other than myself was very much geared towards something I would enjoy visually. This is a long-winded way of saying that computational media basically is one of my interests in and of itself. The process of coding is my hobby, like solving a puzzle, to the point that what I create is kind of eventually unimportant once its done. Coming to ITP is my way of figuring out how I can apply myself further, so that what I create is equally impactful to at least myself if not to others. Ultimately, I want the audience I create for to expand to not just myself, but other people that would find my feelings and thought-process relatable.
Creating My Self-Sketch
I have some experience in p5.js, so this wasn't necessarily super new for me, although I would say that it wasn't 'easy'. I'm not quick about it, so it is a tedious task. Like I said before, the puzzling and trying to make things work is a very rewarding practice for me. When I code, I'm very reliant on p5.js documentation, but at least I always know where to find something. I'd like to get better at memorization, so that doing a simple piece like this doesn't take any background searching, like trying to remember the structure of coding certain shapes. Regardless, I had a good idea of what I wanted to draw and I'm pretty comfortable with planning ahead about what exactly I'm going to code in order to get what I want. Overall, this was an enjoyable homework, and I frequently would work on it when I was frustrated with other class assignments as a way to relax.