1. -What was your biggest moment, achievement, or other specific detail related to your personal growth as a student of art? Explain to what you owe this meaning, and what you have taken away from that insight…
I think that going into this class, I was a little worried about the fact that I was the only senior in the class and was going to be surrounded by Freshman. But by the end of the year, I felt that this wasn't really a problem or hinderance to my growth as a student of art. My biggest part of my growth I think was my ability to start out a project with a really crazy, ambitious idea, and then realizing that my idea was maybe not possible in the time frame we were under, and then tweaking my idea to a more do-able concept. By starting out with really cool and interesting ideas and then sizing it down to fit under our time and resource constraints, I think I was able to create pretty interesting and fun pieces of art.
2. -List three specific details (word or short phrases) you have learned about your artistic self. Explain how these exemplify you artistically, or your artistic development.
1. Ambitious
2. Focused
3. Cunning
I think overall, I was pretty ambitious throughout my growth as an art student over the past 7 or 8 months. I consistently had crazy, near-impossible ideas of what I could create given the topic of art we were working on. But even though they were maybe very hard to accomplish, it created a basis of what I could actually execute for the project.
I was also a very focused worker during class, usually keeping to myself and just listening to my iPod. One of the reasons why I did this was because by getting into a "zone" where I was solely focusing on my work, I blocked all outside noise and distractions, and I think this greatly contributed to the overall look of my pieces.
My third detail I have learned about myself is my ability to be cunning, or using crafty, sly techniques to create my pieces. A lot of the time, I kind of had to think on my toes of what I could add or subtract from a piece of art to make it the best it could be. In doing so, I learned a lot about my ability to be skillful in a certain art medium.
3. -Considering the habits of mind, the techniques, the time dedicated to the practice, and any other insights gained from your work in studying art, what have you learned in this class that you may carry with you in your future work beyond the studio? What skills might you be able to apply in other areas of your life?
One of the main aspects that I have really learned to grow and keep with me beyond just in the art classroom is using persistence and determination to achieve my goals, and if something doesn't end up working out, to make up for it creating something even better. I have learned persistence and engage and persist throughout this year in creating pieces that sometimes would not work out how I wanted them to, and instead of quitting, I would make up for it with a new, cool idea. These qualities are important to all aspects of life, from schoolwork, sports, social life, and working later in life.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
"Metamorphosis" Carved Plaster
1. How did you come to consider the idea or concept of “Metamorphosis” through your work in this project? How does your work physically address that insight?
Metamorphosis, which refers to the change in form from one stage to another in the process of an organism or object, was highly considered throughout my process of creating the plaster sculpture. Going in to the project, I wanted to create a figure that both resembled human anatomy but at the same time could be looked at as something completely different from a human being. I really felt that the legs of a person were a really cool and interesting aspect that I could base my sculpture off of. By creating a "hole" through the four legs of the sculpture, I wanted to create a figure that could be looked at at multiple views and it would still look like the same figure.
2. How did you push yourself to gain a better understanding of the physical properties of the plaster? In what ways to you come to better control the various tools you employed?
When I first started brainstorming for this project, I went very ambitious and wanted to create a figure with twisting, turning legs that went in many different directions. At the time, I hadn't seen the type of plaster and the materials we would be using. Once I got a better feeling of both the physical characteristics of the plaster and the tools I would be using to create my figure, I had a better sense of what was possible in this project.
One thing that Ms. Seal really stressed was being careful when removing big pieces of plaster because of the brittle physical properties of the type of plaster we were using. Keeping this in mind, I made sure to use a technique that slowly but surely removed the negative space of the plaster in a way that limited the amount of mistakes I could make.
3. In what ways did your intentions change over the course of your project? What opportunities or occurrences led to these changes?
Over the course of the project, I slowly got a better and better grasp of how to best portray my figure. Eventually, I realized how cool it would be to have a free space in the middle of the expanding legs. In a way, I wanted this space to be like a window in the real world, past just the image of the figure. I was led to this idea by noticing that without that added feature, my sculpture could look a little bland or boring.
Also, I thought that smoothing out and removing any blemishes from the sculpture was very important to me because of the sleek, elongated feeling of the piece.
4. Given what you know now about the material, how might you have changed your concept or approach to working?
I don't think I would change very much about the approach or process of creating my piece. I think I had a good grasp of the type of plaster we were using and how to best use the tools on this material. One thing I would be more careful of was when I mistakenly took off little chunks of plaster at the top of the legs. Later on during the process, I had to go back and make sure I had these marks smoothed out.
Metamorphosis, which refers to the change in form from one stage to another in the process of an organism or object, was highly considered throughout my process of creating the plaster sculpture. Going in to the project, I wanted to create a figure that both resembled human anatomy but at the same time could be looked at as something completely different from a human being. I really felt that the legs of a person were a really cool and interesting aspect that I could base my sculpture off of. By creating a "hole" through the four legs of the sculpture, I wanted to create a figure that could be looked at at multiple views and it would still look like the same figure.
2. How did you push yourself to gain a better understanding of the physical properties of the plaster? In what ways to you come to better control the various tools you employed?
When I first started brainstorming for this project, I went very ambitious and wanted to create a figure with twisting, turning legs that went in many different directions. At the time, I hadn't seen the type of plaster and the materials we would be using. Once I got a better feeling of both the physical characteristics of the plaster and the tools I would be using to create my figure, I had a better sense of what was possible in this project.
One thing that Ms. Seal really stressed was being careful when removing big pieces of plaster because of the brittle physical properties of the type of plaster we were using. Keeping this in mind, I made sure to use a technique that slowly but surely removed the negative space of the plaster in a way that limited the amount of mistakes I could make.
3. In what ways did your intentions change over the course of your project? What opportunities or occurrences led to these changes?
Over the course of the project, I slowly got a better and better grasp of how to best portray my figure. Eventually, I realized how cool it would be to have a free space in the middle of the expanding legs. In a way, I wanted this space to be like a window in the real world, past just the image of the figure. I was led to this idea by noticing that without that added feature, my sculpture could look a little bland or boring.
Also, I thought that smoothing out and removing any blemishes from the sculpture was very important to me because of the sleek, elongated feeling of the piece.
4. Given what you know now about the material, how might you have changed your concept or approach to working?
I don't think I would change very much about the approach or process of creating my piece. I think I had a good grasp of the type of plaster we were using and how to best use the tools on this material. One thing I would be more careful of was when I mistakenly took off little chunks of plaster at the top of the legs. Later on during the process, I had to go back and make sure I had these marks smoothed out.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
In Process Reflection
1. If you could sum up your piece in one line or title, what would it be?
Multi-dimensional.
2. What are three formal considerations that make up your piece?
Three formal considerations that make up my piece are using interconnected holes to show multiple views of the same figure, a laterally figured and narrow piece, and using a smooth, fluid movement that spreads out as legs on the bottom of the figure. I chose these formal identities because all three of these ideas contribute to my overall goal and feel of the project; a piece that is simple but at the same time also features a multi-dimensional look that can be viewed from multiple perspectives and still have the same look from each side.
My favorite aspect of this project is the freedom to make our piece be anything we can think of, and in doing so, figure out a way to sculpt it in such a way that it reflects our initial ideas. For my piece, I wanted to create a figure that was simple but at the same time could be interpreted in multiple ways.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Plaster Process
To make the plaster, the first thing we did was figure out how much plaster versus water to put into our molding box. After calculating the 1:1.5 ratio of water to plaster, we slowly mixed the plaster with water by stirring the plaster into the tub of water. After finishing mixing, we sprayed the non-stick spray to our box and poured the plaster into the box. After reaching our desired point of plaster in the box, we put the box to the side and now must wait until the plaster dries.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Degree of Exploration (Stretch and Explore)
1. My drawings capture the gesture of the figure pretty well. In this figure, I wanted to focus on creating a gesture without any part of the core of the body and primarily focusing on the legs and arms of the body. In doing so, I will be able to create a figure that has protruding, curvy elements instead of bland, straight elements. I think my drawings portray this idea very well.
2. I explored the simplifying and abstracting processes for the gestures a lot while creating my gesture because by not including very much of the core/abdomen in the figure, I will be able to use this abstract idea to create a structure with only the legs, arms and head. This creates a more simplified version of the human body and also creates a more abstract figure that can be understood in a multitude of ways.
3. Over the course of the project, I have realized that in designing my figure, I have to be more realistic and expect that throughout the project, everything that could go wrong will indeed go wrong. By having this mindset, I am always ready for the worst and can always have a plan B if need be. At first, I wanted to create a structure that was so complex it would be impossible to create it with the time given. By engaging and persisting, I think I have found a gesture that is possible to create under the given time frame and will look great as well.
4. In terms of my box, I chose a quart box to use for the plaster. I wanted to use this box because by using a long and skinny box, I am better preparing myself to chip away from the plaster to create a long and slender figure. Using a long/skinny box is more efficient for my project because then I have to spend less time chipping away the excess plaster and more time focusing on the details of the abstract piece.
2. I explored the simplifying and abstracting processes for the gestures a lot while creating my gesture because by not including very much of the core/abdomen in the figure, I will be able to use this abstract idea to create a structure with only the legs, arms and head. This creates a more simplified version of the human body and also creates a more abstract figure that can be understood in a multitude of ways.
3. Over the course of the project, I have realized that in designing my figure, I have to be more realistic and expect that throughout the project, everything that could go wrong will indeed go wrong. By having this mindset, I am always ready for the worst and can always have a plan B if need be. At first, I wanted to create a structure that was so complex it would be impossible to create it with the time given. By engaging and persisting, I think I have found a gesture that is possible to create under the given time frame and will look great as well.
4. In terms of my box, I chose a quart box to use for the plaster. I wanted to use this box because by using a long and skinny box, I am better preparing myself to chip away from the plaster to create a long and slender figure. Using a long/skinny box is more efficient for my project because then I have to spend less time chipping away the excess plaster and more time focusing on the details of the abstract piece.
Monday, March 19, 2012
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