Final Survey Art Reflection

My most successful project was my texture collage. I think I was very detailed and knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted a very contemporary feeling to it and I think I achieved it by keeping it simple, yet evocative. I used robe, nails, paint, and cloth. I think these items worked very well together and formed a really nice piece. For this project, I improved my skill of focusing and working intricately, as this project required both of those things. Having half black and half white added an interesting aspect, as that made it very unique and evocative. 

The most challenging project for me was the plaster project because it was very hard to keep the shape I wanted, while not breaking off a huge chunk at the same time. I think my work did actually somewhat resemble my sketches, except I wish I had more time to maybe make a facial expression. I didn't really make any changes because I wanted exactly the same thing I sketched, but along the way I had to make some adjustments. These adjustments include making my sculpture more compact, so I could focus on the actual movement. There were a lot of problems. One of them was making sure I was not chipping away too much. I had a hard time visualizing my figure in the block of plaster, so that was very hard.

Since we've learned so many new formal elements (balance, texture, value, etc) I think I now know what these really mean, artistically, and I will be able to apply these to different projects in the future. It was really helpful learning these elements because they are everyday words that I would have never thought of in artwork. But after this class, I feel like my understanding of composition is a lot different, but a lot better. My strongest element, I believe, is balance. I really like making things symmetrical. My texture collage was an example of how I made it pretty symmetrical. 

Another one of my strengths would definitely be working in the darkroom. I am really happy I got the chance because I learned a lot of ways to perfect a picture. Not only that, but I feel like I have also improved my photography skills, which is very pleasing because next year I am very excited to take intermediate photography. I am ready to take what I learned this year and apply it to the course next year. I learned how to change the lighting of a picture, how to develop a picture, how to change the aperture, and how to use a filter. 

This class has also helped me understand how to develop an idea to start and art project. I feel like i know how to develop my ideas into artwork, specifically by sketching it out first and adding a 3D aspect, to help visualize. But, artwork is also about expression, so it is also good to go with the flow and see what your outcome is. There were a very projects where I started out with one idea and ended up with something completely different because I had a change of idea. 

Carved Plaster Final

My intentions for this project was to create an interesting sculpture with interesting curves and shapes. My final product was very abstract because it was the basic shape, no facial expressions or bold outline. I think this was an interesting path to follow because people can interpret it in many different ways. At first I was very confused on how to create a figure out of a block of plaster, but sketching it out really helped. Seeing my inspiration transform from a picture to a sculpture was not only a big moment in my art career, but also it was very rewarding. It took a lot of persistence and determination, but I am very proud of what I came out with. It was difficult to use the chisel as first, but after a while I got used to it as well as using the sherform. The hardest part about using the chisel was that I couldn't get the precision I wanted, as the chisel is not a precise tool. But after a few weeks of working, I can say now that I am confident and well-prepared to use it in the future. Plaster is very hard and brittle, so it was difficult to adjust to that form of art, after using paint and charcoal. But, it was very helpful to sketch in the drawing before chiseling. Also, it was helpful to indent in the space where I wanted to chisel before hand, since the plaster is so hard. My intentions never really changed, except for that fact that half way through I realized that I wanted to take a risk by making the body more compact. It may not seem like a big risk, but I kept chiseling away and I was scared that the whole thing was going to split into two, since I was taking away huge pieces. The compactness of my piece makes it more interesting, as it adds another aspect to the piece, which is a darker, sadder side. I really wanted to emphasize the really big indent in my piece because I think that is what makes it look like a person. The arms and shoulder were the hardest part because I had to make them stand out because they are the second most important feature in my piece. The different tools also helped me create specific forms and gestures. Overall, this by far was the hardest project we've done, but it was the most rewarding.

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.