Final Value Post

-How has your persistence and engagement in these habits pushed you to further resolve the questions, tools, methods, etc as discussed in your previous post?

-How have these habits pushed you to further develop your artistic practice in general as well as your understanding of value (employing shadow and light to represent 3-D form)?

b. Compare and Contrast your work in the darkroom and your work on the drawing. 

-Which medium felt more comfortable? Why?

-Which medium allowed you more opportunity for "expression"? How?

-How might you better improve your experience and/or results with each of the mediums in the future?

This project was one of the hardest for me because I had trouble differing the values of black and white. When I first began drawing/shading, most of the areas were middle tone, or grey. I worked really hard to try my best to make some parts darker and some lighter. Since, at the beginning the glasses were blended in with the rest of my drawing and didn't stand out, I decided to make everything darker and make the glasses the lightest. Even for the photographs I had some trouble highlighting the glasses, but I used a filter to make the darks darker and the lights lighter. However, after spending a lot of time attempting to perfect my drawing, I have furthered my knowledge in value/3D and will be able to draw something better in the future. I know now how to make an object look 3D and how to shade. 

I felt more comfortable in the darkroom because photography comes more naturally to me. I really enjoyed experimenting with different apertures to make each photograph different. I definitely think the darkroom allowed me to be more expressive because there are so many controls (timing, aperture, filter) that can differ each photograph from each other. I was able to try many different values until I found the right one. Although being very challenging, using the filter was very helpful. I think it is all about time in the darkroom. I only got to spend two days to make my photograph, which I think was not very long. If I had more time, I feel like I would be able to perfect my photograph. But also, I think that it is also about experimenting different things because each time you do it, the results will change. For drawing, I think I would want to be more detailed next time. This time, I mainly focused on the basic shapes, values, etc. But I think my drawing would have benefitted from me focusing on certain areas to add detail, and also make the lights lighter and darks darker. 

Interim Value Post

• What are you trying to evoke in your work through the use of value?
• How are you currently using value to influence your viewer's experience of the drawing and  photographs?
• What specific techniques someone and habits do you need to focus on after break to fully merge your intentions with your final works?

As I complete my drawing and am able to reflect back on my process, I would say that I am trying to evoke emotion, whether that be happiness or sadness. Through the extreme values of black and white, especially in the second photo, I want to bring out a special quality in my work. Also, in the third photo there is a slightly less value scale, as most of it is grey. I am currently using value to make my viewer feel emotion. 

For the photos, I used a filter to makes the whites lighter and the blacks darker. I think it really made my main object, the glasses, stand out. Also, for a few of them I changed my aperture and time to adjust how much light was going to come in. For my drawing, I think it is harder to control the lights and darks, as it is all by hand. That is something I definitely need to work on; making my drawing have a wide range of values. Also, I think I need to work on detail, even though it will be really hard with charcoal. But, I am really excited to face the challenge. I have never really worked with charcoal before, but so far it's going okay.  

Value Project

What is value? How do we incorporate it in our artwork? How did you approach value differently from line?

Value is certain degrees of lightness and darkness. It can be shown through the technique of shading, hard for darker and light for a lighter shade. It's a great technique to use because it adds a 3D effect to the artwork. Value depends on where the light source is.

Which photo is most evocative? Which photo is most exemplary of the value scale? What will you be looking for to capture in your value scales?

The most evocative photo would be the first one with the flower. It evokes a mysterious and unique feeling because half of the glasses is cut off and the flower is coming from the left side. Also, the focus is on the middle of glasses, so it adds a blurry depth of field, which is really interesting to look at. The picture that is most exemplary of the value scale is the second picture because it has a dark, almost black, part in the middle and then it blurs into a white in the background. I also think this picture is really interesting because I photographed it at a weird angle, which focused on the left part of the bell and the right part faded out into the leaves. I will be looking to capture a wide range of values because I think that makes the most interesting photo. Having a photo be one shade of white or black is really dull and boring. I want to have many varied shades of white and black. 

Texture Relief Sculpture

I really like the contrasting textures in this collage. There's so many different types of textures and shapes, that surprisingly work well together. They create a different perspective for the viewer because the viewer has to create their own unique interpretation of the collage. The rubbing to the left is from a car tire. I really liked the photographs I took of the textures, so I wanted to make sure that I incorporate them into my collage somehow. The upper left photograph is really interesting because the shadow creates a light and dark aspect to the collage, which makes the collage more different and unique. I thought the circles would be an interesting addition, since most of the collage is made up of lines and squares and rectangles. It makes the collage contradictory, which is very appealing to the eye.

In our group discussion, we talked about how my composition has many different textures, such as rope, burlap, nails, and toothpicks, and how that makes it interesting. There are so many contradictions such as the circles and the lines, the black and the white, and the textures, which adds so many different perspectives for the viewer. I tried to make it very simple and clean, without going outside the lines, but using the hot glue to glue to toothpicks down, was very challenging. In the end, the glue was visible and the burlap exceeded the actual square. But, I tried my best and pushed myself to make it as neat as possible, but sometimes art is not always perfect. That's what makes it unique. The whole composition is interesting, in my opinion, because the contradictions make it unique and also make it appealing for the viewer. Reflecting back on my process was very helpful because for the next project, I can take my strengths with me and work on my weaknesses. Overall, I am happy with my sculpture and excited to see what the final composition will look like!

Color Pop Art Painting

Pop Art: Paint Brush and Spray Paint Can

       
        My goal for this project was to experiment with brush strokes and make all four of my paintings interesting and take risks within my painting style. I wanted to expand my normal routine of painting and try being expressive and energetic. I also wanted to define "pop art" by making my painting bright, colorful, and fun. I didn't want a boring, plain, or simple one. My visions changed often, but I really wanted colorful paintings. My favorite painting is my triadic one (red, blue, and yellow.) With this one, I feel I used a variety of shades and ended up with something bright, happy, and colorful. But, with every success comes dilemmas and problems. One of my biggest problems was on my complementary painting (purple and yellow.) I had trouble painting over the dark background, and I wanted to make this one very different from my others. I stumbled upon making different shades of yellow. So I decided to let the background come through, and ended up making a really interesting painting. I learned that letting go and being expressive can be rewarding in the end. The group feedback was really helpful because they told me they liked my energetic side of the paintings, and really just helped me with the technical side, like painting within the lines and matching the colors to one another.
         I really enjoyed this color unit. It was a different way of approaching painting. I have never done anything like this before, so it was interesting to see where it would turn out. I loved experimenting with all the colors and my joy for painting definitely increased. I learned that having a creative and expressive routine of painting is more interesting than striving for a perfect result. At the beginning of this project, I thought I wanted a perfect, smooth, within the lines painting, but that definitely changed by the end. This project showed me the value of colors and it allowed me to express myself through a set of four paintings.

Color Photo Project

Triadic

Monochromatic 

Complementary

Accented Analogous

          This project was definitely the best one out of all the previous ones we have done. Combining photography and color was a very new, but unique idea and I enjoyed every part of it. I like exploring my photography skills and then later, experimenting with color and shape. 

          Out of all four of my pieces, my favorite is triadic or accented analogous. For the accented analogous picture, the photograph to begin with is interesting and the color and shape is so simple it works. For the triadic one, I love all the different sizes of squares and rectangles. For my complementary photograph, I think the original photo is very interesting. I love all the detail within it. Lastly, my monochromatic photograph was very cool because I love how you can see the water on the Maple Leaf. I tried to recreate the shapes within the leaf and make them appear in the background, especially the circles. 

          Working with a camera was so exciting for me! I loved going outside and taking pictures and exploring everyday objects and making them look unique. As I walked around campus with my camera, I definitely observed more than I would have normally. I noticed every little bit of color and realized how much color is in the world around us. This project has taught me that color is important and that it is an essential part to our lives. It not only gives us expression, but also it expands the way we look at the world. 

          I have had a minimal experience using PhotoShop in the past, but this project definitely expanded my knowledge of it. Some tools that helped me along the way were the contrast and fill light buttons on PhotoShop. These tools definitely improved my photos. 

         My goal for this project was to step outside my comfort zone and really strive for something out of the box. I do love photography and hope to take it next year, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to expand my knowledge and create something I can be proud of. I enjoyed experimenting with different color, as well as learning how to use PhotoShop. This project helped me see that different shapes within each photograph are each individually unique and different. 

         

Final Dark Room/Collage Composition

        The shapes I used for this project were really interesting, especially for the dark room composition. They had unique textures and formed very cool silhouettes. My method for exploring the shapes were to look for unique objects and draw them in a way that portrays them abnormally. Personally, I feel like I explored them very thoroughly and took the necessary time to make my compositions the way I wanted them to look. I was aiming for a final composition that was unique and interesting to the eye.
        I am the first person to admit art is not my strongest subject, but for this project I definitely took risks and stepped outside my comfort zone to create something I could be proud of. I worked with Mr. O and he helped me connect the two pieces together. I feel like my final composition is contrasting each other. On one hand, there are the silhouettes of shapes and on the other there are more geometric and classic shapes. I feel more confident when using the different tools, such as the enlarger, in the dark room. I feel like I did all the technical things right and produced the a really good photogram.
        Getting help and critiques from my classmates was very helpful. It was nice getting a different perspective on my work. Also, the feedback I got from Mr. O was helpful because he showed me different way to look at my compositions. I tried many different ways of hanging it up on the wall before I got my final one. It was hard to present it the best way possible, but after I tried it many times, I knew that this way was the best.
       This project helped me explore different shapes and portray them in a different way, a way that people don't normally see. I liked learning about the dark room and all the tools that go with it. This project has been my favorite so far, as I feel as though I have grown through the process.