End of Semester

This semester I feel like I did a whole lot of trying to figure out what exactly I want my style to be. I've done a lot of experimenting with different aspects. From being realistic/unrealistic in my images and color choice, to what color/thickness of thread to use, to what size image to make. I'm hoping that once I really review my work from this semester I'll have a better idea of what I want to go for in the future. Overall I'm satisfied with what I've done.

Framing

Right now I have all four of my pieces at home being framed. I finished the sewing over thanksgiving break, and my grandpa went out yesterday and bought some wood to make frames. I'm making all of them dark brown, except one I think I'm doing black. I have one more on screen that I'm still working with, that I will hopefully be printing by Wednesday. I'm not sure exactly how big I want to make it; it was 53 inches which is way too big but I'm not sure how small I want to go.

ideas?

I have my tree image printed out and I've been sewing it. I'm using bigger thread this time because even when I used different colors of small thread you could still barely see it. I'm using cream colored thread and I'm going to color over it with green pastel. I'm having trouble figuring out how to sew into my landscape with the flowers. I don't like the thicker thread because it's just too visible for me. I'm going to try with the thin thread and see what happens. I think I'm about done with my tree on screen but I'm not sure. any suggestions?

strongest/weakest

So far this year I think my strongest piece is my landscape. I like how the colors turned out, and the stitching that I did. I'm excited to see it framed, and possibly add some brush strokes to the sky if I get brave enough!

My weakest piece I believe is my flower. It just seems kind of sloppy to me, and I don't really like how small it is.

These are my only two basically finished pieces so far so it's hard to say what else is weak or strong. Here is another pieces I'm working on (I also have another but it won't upload for some reason)...

Inspiring

I was inspired this week by things that are always around me, but I just don't always take the time to notice. A few days ago I had about 25 minutes before I had to be at practice, and I really felt the urge to go take some photos.  This is basically no time at all, but I went anyways. I drove around town in my car looking for a good place to shoot. I ended up finding a lot of interesting places, but unfortunately I really had no time. Even though I didn't get any good pictures, I really enjoyed exploring places that you usually wouldn't take a second look at. I think it's important to relate art to any part of your life. To me, art can be what you find beautiful. And if you take the time to find the beauty in everything around you, life can be much more enjoyable.

This week

I worked on screen trying to figure out what to do with my landscape piece to make it less safe. I added brush strokes in the sky that are a goldish color. I like the way they look, but I'm still nervous to actually do it because they will not look the same. I don't want it to look too shiny. With both pieces I'm still trying to figure out what kind of frame to use (let me know what you think). I've still been trying to get all of the paper off of my third piece, and I'm just getting really annoyed with it. On screen I have been working on two different images. Still just experimenting right now so we'll see where it goes...

Which do you prefer?

what to do...

I'm having a difficult time trying to make my work look less safe. I put some gold in the sky to add something to it. And I tried using the pink colored thread I used for the flowers in the sky but I just didn't like how it looked. I don't know what else to do to my landscape piece. I think I'm finished with my smaller flower one. My grandpa is going to be making me frames for both, hopefully soon. I'm still trying to get the paper off of my third piece that I need to transfer, having a really difficult time with that. I have one more image on the computer that I think is finished and probably ready to print. I'm working on coming up with another piece, I'm missing working on screen!

Photography Show

My favorite photographer in the show was Casey Waters. I found her work to be the most intriguing. I've never seen photography displayed in this way, and I really enjoyed it. I feel like you really had to look closely at the image to see all of the details. You couldn't just pass by, it made me want to stop and spend time with it. I think that's something most artists want to happen with their work!

Make it pop

After critique today I've definitely decided that I need to make those flowers pop out. I'm going to try to do that with the gold paint, and if that doesn't get them standing out I might try some lighter thread. I want to use the gold pain other places in the piece as well to get it to look less "muddy." On my smaller piece I might try to do something with wax like put it on the thread. For my third piece, that I haven't transferred yet, I think I will paint the back with white paint so the colors will pop more once I transfer it. Also, I'm going to put the varnish on before I transfer it!

Since critique

Since the last critique I've mainly been working on the sewing with my 8x8 flower image. I've gone in search of varnish but never found it, so I'm going out again today. I want to apply the varnish to my one image that hasn't been transferred yet before I transfer it, so I'm at a stand still on that piece. I also want to apply the varnish to my other image that has been transferred before I start sewing so I haven't worked on that one either. I will hopefully have a lot more done by next week! =) I'm also trying to come up with some more media I can use on my pieces, such as paint and charcoal. Just don't know how/where to apply them yet.

much better

My second transfer went MUCH better. I was surprised because it was a lot bigger than the first one so I thought it would be more difficult. I just finished transferring it so I haven't worked into it yet. My first one (the 8x8 of the flower with the rope background) I started sewing into. I'm not sure exactly where it's going but hopefully I figure that out soon. I have one more piece printed out that I need to transfer still.

Progress

I did another transfer today. It went better... I still ended up making a few rips in it, but they can be covered up with sewing and all that. I still have my two larger images printed out that need transferred. I've decided to put another layer of matte medium on them because I don't want them to rip!

fail

Today I attempted to transfer one of my images onto canvas. It ended up ripping on most of the edges and curling up. I put white paint on the canvas to adhere the image and ended up getting it all over the front too. It was a big failure :/ Luckily I had two of this image printed, but I'm not sure it will go any better the second time. I'm debating between doing these transfers, or just printing onto canvas paper.

All my work so far...

If anyone has any more suggestions please let me know!

Exhibit

      An exhibition titled “Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to Present” is coming to Akron. It begins October 23, 2010 and lasts until January 23, 2011. The exhibition features 175 pictures by 105 photographers. It's the story of rock & roll being told from the photographers perspective. I think this sounds really interesting! Some of the artists featured are Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Anton Corbijn and Annie Leibovitz. The exhibition is broken down into six sections. Some of these are “rare and revealing images taken behind the scenes,” “powerful images of the crowds and fans..”, and “conceptual images and album covers highlighting the collaborative efforts between the image makers and musicians.” Originally in the Brooklyn Museum, this exhibition is being presented at the Akron Art Museum. I think this sounds like a really interesting concept!

some ideas

Here are two pieces I've been working on. I have an idea of doing four 8x8 pieces, displayed as a 2x2 grid. I've started working on one so far...

I'm also wanting to do some landscape pieces. I've started one. It's a photo I took, and I've altered colors and added scanned objects...

Once these are printed I would add to them with thread, charcoal, paint, etc. These are not finished, it's just a start. But I'd like some feedback if you have any!

Computer Art I

The first image is the finished product of my final for computer art I. The second image is the digital version of my mixed media project, before I printed it, transferred it to canvas, and sewed into it.

Getting started

I've been having a lot of different ideas of what I want to start on this semester. I think for my pieces I'd like to go in the same kind of direction as my final in computer art I, and my mixed media project from computer art I. (tried uploading them but it's not working) I'd like some to be landscapes, and some to be close ups of things like leaves or flowers. I want to use earthy colors, and I think that I want to alter and combine photographs I've taken and scanned objects. I've been drawing inspiration from Dorothy Simpson Krause (her Viewpoint, Sacred Spaces, and Fragile Beauty collections). I would like my work to include more foliage and possibly be more abstract. I think that I want to make my pieces mixed media, so after they're finished on screen I will print them and sew into them. (I'd also like to use paint, charcoal, etc.) If anyone has any suggestions on anything...