Final Blog Post

So out last class is today, tomorrow is clean up. It is crazy how time flew by in this class, I learned a lot throughout this term. I have worked on many different pictures this term and I think that they all turned out great. Although I could only pick one of the many for my final. I learned that its not always easy to finish a picture and make it totally perfect. I had a bunch of pictures that didn't turn out to be what I had wanted it to be. I was frustrated but I definitely learned from my mistakes and tried to go it over again and make it better. I got a lot of good critiques from my friends and they helped me to finish my final project. I will be missing this class when it is over but all the work that I have done will help me have a better understanding for the work that I will be doing in the future. Thanks! And I will miss everyone so much!

Critique 2

Riki, Rachel and Brae all felt that my final project looked good so far. They suggested things that I should maybe do when making the parashoot and how I should it up. I think that the suggestion that they gave were helpful. They said maybe to take the parashoot and cover it with fabrics and other sorts. But I am working on it now and I am worried that it won't be done in time for exhibit.

Seven days in the world

This week you're reading an excerpt Seven Days in the World. On your blog write a short personal response to what you've read. Any revelations? Surprises? Can you imagine yourself participating in a crit like the one described here?

When hearing about California Institute of the Arts and how they critique each other is very intense and I don’t think that I would be able to sit through that. I think most of those students would be upset after hearing what others have to say about there work that they probably have worked hours on. At an art school maybe student should like to hear what other have to say about there work, but here I don’t think I would want to. This reading seemed to be personal when here about the critics. This school for the arts is very intense and seems to be helpful to learning students in a professional way then most schools would. Personally I don’t think that this would be the best type of way for me to learn and change my ways as an artist but if other feel that it is helpful then that’s good for them. But maybe if it was more relaxed instead of telling them straight forward that their work sucks! Being critiqued is a lot different then actual criticism and getting criticism from something you have been working on for weeks is not a great ending to a final project. This might cause students to become upset and feel down about themselves, which can cause more things then just being upset with themselves.

Art and

As said in the reading “before chucking it all for a day job, however, consider the dynamics at work.” I think some of my work that I have done recently has not been my best. I think in my pictures that tend to work on in the future I should spend more time on them and not just throw them out and start over but rather work on them more and change them to look better.

“Fear that you are not a real artist causes you to undervalue your work.” This quote seems similar to the way that I work when I am not in the right state of mind when working on something that I don’t like. The “undervalue” of this quote is saying that maybe I am judging the value of something being lower than it really is, even though if maybe I were to work with it more I could create a better piece in the end. I think maybe my goal for the rest of this term is to concentrate on making my pieces more detailed and elaborate rather then simple and not having put any effort into it.

“Talent may get someone off the starting blocks faster, but without a sense of direction or a goal to strive for, it wont count for much.” Having a knack for something can always be something nice to keep with you. But trying to do something that you struggle with more then other would is harder to work with. I think that when working on some certain project I draw a blank on what to do, which can sometimes get aggravating. But when I am in my creative mind I will make a lot of interesting pictures.

In your opinion, what do you think the role of the critique, as it's described in this chapter, could be in a class like ours?

As said in the chapter critique all comes down to us from a family of words in Greek that refer to judging, distinguishing and selecting. I think that in our classroom we could definitely be seen within our class. We all seem to help each other with figuring out what the other persons art work is trying to “say” to the viewer. Our class has so many great ideas for planning there projects. The role of the critique is to help your class mates figure out what they should work on as well as making the viewer understand more about you as an artist and what your interest within art is.

According to this chapter and your past experiences, how can you get the most out of a critique of your own work?

I think that when people critique my work they explain to me how they like my work but these are the things that I should maybe work on to actually change the work I’ve done but for the better. I think that selecting is the best part when getting my work critiqued, for example when pointing out certain parts within my art piece they can help me to edit my work in a why to make it more unique and interesting.

How can you be a helpful participant in your classmates' critiques?

I think that I definitely will tell them positive things about there work, I tend to make a few comments about ideas in which they can improve there work as a artist. I try to be positive in the best way I can.

Critique

When talking about my idea for my project I think that I got a lot of good feedback from my group members.
Rachel- She told me that I should use the para-sail picture that was edited on photoshop, She also said that if I wanted to make the objects in my picture pop that I should take Styrofoam and put it behind the object to make it look even more three-d
I explained how I wanted to create a Three-D picture with this image and to have the para-sail coming out of the picture.
Riki- Thinks that when using colored paper and cutting out each piece into different sections and then gluing them together it wouldn't be so hard to do.
Brae- She said that maybe I should take two pictures that juxtapose each other. Like obese children and children starving in Africa and see the different and how extreme they both are.

I think that these critiques were very helpful and I have a much better idea of what I want to do for my final project. I think it will turn out well it just might take a lot more time then I think it will.

Ideas for Project

1. Take a photograph and edit it in photoshop, then I think I will draw a sketch of objects to put in front of the picture. These different sketches will be three-D and will be in color so that it will catch the eye. I think I will be using colored pencils in the pictures because there calm and not as loud. Or I will maybe use bright colors and sharpies to color in these sketches depending on the picture I use.

New Pictures

Twyla Tharp

If you're up for it...do a little writing about Tharp's concept of scratching. How can you imagine using her ideas in your own working process?

Tharp's concept might relate to some of the ideas that I have. I think that for my senior project I will have to take my bigger ideas and break them down so that I have an easier time working with different pictures I have taken. I think that scratching is nice to have when searching ideas to come up with. When looking at the things around you, you will have a better idea of how to start. My photographs are mostly taken of things that I find to be interesting in the world. The objects around me are most inspiring and scratching is kind of what I do when thinking of different ideas. I imagine using her ideas with my own work process because it will be helpful, as she says the "thinking chair" I think that I will use this a lot and I am excited to get going on my project.

Studios

1. Why do you think these things show up more than once?

• I see a lot of ideas all kind of put down on paper or a lot of paint all over the place.
• Most of there artwork is hanging up or is up on display somewhere in the room
• They all have their own unique way of making art weather it be standing up laying on the floor or working at a table
• Carrie seemed to get a lot of her ideas from the outside world like magazines or books
• Where as Jaime and Hamlett seem to make all their pieces and then hang/place all there work in a certain area will making another new piece.
  

2. How do artists develop spaces and methods for making their most authentic work as part of a daily artistic practice?

• I think that artists develop space and methods by how and where they work everyday. Some people feel that working in a little space will help them to feel more focused and ready to work, where as others might need a larger space to create new ideas from what is around them within the room. Everyone has there own ideas on how they feel the right way to work is. And once you find that certain place and method of working you can have a greater sense of what you want to create.

3. What do you see in the following artists’ studios?

• I saw a lot of papers with ideas on them, and some were final pieces that seemed to be done. But I also saw a lot of pieces that were totally not finished and seemed to be forgotten about.
• I also saw that there are a lot of books, maybe inspiration from other artists that have inspired them over the years. To maybe simple books with ideas writing inside.
• Most of the rooms have some type of radio or ipod station, most find this usual when working on their artwork. Helping to relax and get there ideas flowing

4. How does what you see in their studio relate to the way their work looks?

• Well for Jaimson he seems to have a lot going on in his studio. And from looking at his work he has a lot of colors and shapes going on in his paintings. Which pretty much shows that from his studio and how it looks his paintings kind of relate to it. With all the colors and shapes and everything is close together.

5. What do you see that YOU relate to?

• I think that I seem to get a lot of my recourses from everything that’s going on in the world. I look at events that have happened or even just something like pollution and I will decided to go out and take pictures of what I feel is going on in the world. The for the most part helps me with my inspiration. Even just taking photos of every day things helps me to get some ideas of what I want to write about.

Sculpture. First Project with Books

1. What content were you trying to address through your sculpture?

In this project I was trying to create a abstract tree like sculpture. It came out to be a very tall mountain shaped sculpture in the end. I think that since it was a history book of the different places in the world this books shows all the different places in the whole with the rolls of paper I made. It was hard at first to think of what I was trying to make out of this book. But I think that I was trying to address that there are so many places in the world that people can go to and there all over the place.

2. How effective were you in addressing this content? How, specifically, did you achieve this?

I think that I achieved this by showing that every little roll I made had a name of a body of water or a country on it. This way when you look at my sculpture you can see that every place is different and each and every little part that is made up of paper is not the same. 

3. What is most successful about your sculpture?

I think I was most successful with the way the parts of the sculpture climbs up the book it somewhat looks like it is dripping down the book with pieces of paper. I think that this look makes it very interesting and when people look at it i think that they will see that as well. 

4. What about your sculpture could be improved upon?

I think i could have made it more open with each piece I put on the sculpture. On my project I seemed to have every little rolled up paper on top of each other not leaving any space between the other ones. Making it more interesting then I did in the end. 

Observations on the History of Oil Painting

The people that have been major players throughout the history of oil painting were all white European men that all had a liking for painting. This is because in European people are better educated on the art of painting. With there money and materials to work with on there paintings they can prefect and make people see how amazing there artwork can come to be. 

I think that the things that are missing from the history of oil painting is that other people besides the Europeans did do paintings just the same. But without the education and better understanding of oil painting, other people aren’t shown as the best, and the most well known. This is because of there lack of education and everything that they were grown up with.

It has been said that oil painting did not start up in European it actually took place in other places near Afghanistan and around there. So the Europeans took up the idea after hearing from other places. 

All these oil painting either went into art galleries or museums showing there art work. These paintings “live” in these different places to show the history and the art of times when many important things happened. 

Critique Feedback

Use of Color: positive feedback, good color- nuetral, nice color on the "reeds"

                         critical feedback, blended (could have used dry brush) the color on the bowl, looks like a black and white globe

Illusion of volume & depth: positive feedback, looks like individual strands in the "reeds", nice texture wrinkly looking on the bag

critical feedback, mugs look a little wide, spout is going straight up, more shadow on the paper is sticking up

Composition choices: positive feedback, nothing looks bare, good use of the foreground and background

--> paper roll jar... etc. front then back very full

critical feedback, paper looks like it is sticking out

PROGRESS: "sooooooooo much better"- Brooke

-Better coloring in the last painting.

 What the Water Gave Me by Frida Kahlo addressed the concept of a portrait because in this painting all these different objects in this picture are very different and odd describing the persons qualities. It might be that he took different parts of ideas and forms of the person and changed them all into one. He is looking at the person and interpreting what he sees and creating from that ideas and parts of the person that arent really seen when looking at them.

 Librarian by Guiseppe Archimboldo is a portrait of a man, showing his face and body as books. Which can prove that he could be a writer or even a poet. Considering that I know nothing about this artist you can just see from how he paints what he is talking about, or painting about when painting a picture of this man.

Madame X by John Singer Sargent is a picture of a women in a beautiful dress, she looks like a high class women that wants to show her "good side." This portrait is showing just a women that wants to show that she is living in a high class world and she is the best.

My White Objects Painting.

In my white objects painting, I seemed to struggle a lot with making the shades of the objects more detailed and real. I really did try to make certain objects and things stand out, but it just was not my best piece of work I have made. I think I did well on the background part and the pitcher and the bowl I think I did pretty well in. But I think I could have improved on making the paper roll and the mugs. I didn't feel that I knew how to approach these objects in the painting that thats why it didn't turn out as great as I would have wanted it to be. 

A sense of Place.

It never opened.

Where are you at?

I think that the most challenging thing for me in this course is the way you have to create shadowing and texture to the object/s that your painting.

I think when I am trying to make certain colors I know exactly what colors to mix and what amount of color that is needed to be put together to make it. Also when I look at the objects that I am painting I really know how to shape the objects to look real. 

Looking at paints show us how different people can be with there ideas of what they think art is. Some are abstract others are shapes and some are even landscapes. This is giving different variety in size color and what is on the picture.

Some Famous Paintings

The persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali was a very interesting painting because it is abstract in how the clocks are dripping and bent in such ways they wouldn't in real life. I really like how they are distorted and randomly place in different areas of the painting. I don't know what he was thinking in this painting but where it is placing in this area looking like the desert is very odd. Its not a painting that you can look at just once and be like wow. You really have to take time to look at this one because its shape and color is so eye catching. 

In the picture "chair" by Vincent Van Gogh, has painted a picture of a chair on a brick floor. But the floor looks more like an illusion, because it is slanted and it looks like it is part of the wall more then a floor. The chair I am guessing is supposed to be placed in the corner of this "room" that the picture is painted in. But the corner of the room seems to be a little off centered in the picture. It is kind of cool how if you look at part of the picture and see different views. Even the objects on the chair look like there part of the chair but they seem to just be placed on the chair. All the objects in the picture have dull and murky colors in it. Making it seem bland and plain. 

Studies In Smallness:set-ups