FINAL ART 2017

one. looking back over the course of the year, and your blog posts, which project or projects were the most engaging for you? Where did you fully own your process as an artist? where did you get lost in the material or the making of work? 

I really loved all of the projects, to be completely honest. I feel like I was able to fully own each assignment and explore and push myself as an artist for each. I think what made this year so much fun and such a success for me was that I was able to take the message of the prompt and connect it with visual themes I'm excited about. The beauty of it too, and I've never experienced this fully in an art class before, was the opportunity to persist and get through a project despite set backs. In fact, I think four out of five of my projects had major speed bumps, and I think I'm more resilient because of it. But to pick a singular project, I would choose the beacon one with the light, just because I was able to focus intimately on the minutia of the rock and the shipwreck and the clouds. 

two. you have had a year of tremendous artistic growth. where do you see that you have grown the most? think about the studio habits as you answer and explain--observe, stretch and explore, craft, express, understanding the art world, reflect. which of these areas do you feel the most comfortable with? how do you see that comfort showing up in your creative practice?

I think last year I was able to develop my style really well, but this year, I able to much more fully explore my message as an artist. This year was my time to really explore my intention, and formulate the so what of my art. I was able to find that I like for my art to serve a purpose - to tell a narrative or explore an idea. But I think, but as Mr. O has pointed out, I think could push myself further in terms of my presentation, and embracing the opportunity that my medium provides. 

three. which assignments were the most successful? which assignments were the most frustrating? What are one or two things that your teacher does really well? What is one important piece of advice that you would offer your teacher so that they could make this class better?

My most successful assignments, or ones I'm most proud of, are certainly my digital work, just because I could feel myself improving and growing through the process. These, being the most challenging, were also the most frustrating for me, often having to rethink the piece, redo unsaved work, or deal with a challenging interface. Mr. O is great in every way, is extremely helpful, and is willing to work with my point of view without imposing his own. I think, to be completely honest, the class is basically perfect; it is a balance between structure that some people need and creativity and fluidity that inform the creative process. 

Who am I as an artist?

After talking about it for a couple weeks now, and doing art for the entirety of my life, I realize that asking who I am as an artist is intimately connected with the larger question of who am I. Its evolved in skill and precision, but I think my larger intentions were the same when I was painting with my grandma at age 4. Then, and now, I am ferociously curious about the world around me, and seek to document it and explore it through my art. All forms of communication are limited, language through speed and vocabulary, facial expression through misinterpretation. Art is yet another form of communication for me, indeed - it seems to hold true that a picture is worth a thousand words. I draw what my words can't describe, what I can't show to others - be it a feeling, a story, or something else in our world. That's why art is important to me. But additionally, I choose to focus on the moments, however small and mundane, that compose our human experience. Because oftentimes, more than our wildest dreams and fantasies, our own reality is what is truly breathtaking. As a result, I dive into the mundane and explore it for longer than I initially expected. How about painting a shipwreck on an island? I ask. I then spend hours painting out the cracks and bumps on the rocks, exploring the complexity that surrounds us. I use my computer and other 'non-expressive' mediums so that I can tame the art - so that it won't rise up and rebel against my intention. That's who I am as an artist, someone who uses art as a tool to express what my words can't, to express something about the human experience.

Text Project

1.  In what specific ways did the employment of "text" engage you as an artist?  

• What was difficult or challenging?  

The most difficult aspect of the project for me was grappling with the immediate power of added text. So much so, that at the time of this writing I have not yet decided on the wording. This aspect, the immediate attention that text grabs, was exponentially more challenging than the formal aspects of the piece, which I have begun to come to grips with. Although challenging, the color, composition, character work, and other aspects of the piece were relatively clear. 

• What formal, technical and/or conceptual insights did you gain through this practice?

This piece was a continuation of my exploration of using art as a narrative device. The concept was something quite different, and it was a bit of a risk, but I think I got my theme across, the inability to let go and move on, and sort of surprise the viewer in the process. 

2.  Where do you see your authentic artistic voice in this work?  

• What did you learn about yourself as an artist through this project?  

I learned that I enjoy concept design much more than the minutia of details. My ability to focus on many more panels this time around was much more enjoyable than focusing on tiny rock textures and the like. I also continue to love telling stories through my work, and might gravitate towards this as a larger project in the future. 

• Speak specifically to aspects of concept, technique, formal analysis and/or expression.

I think I was able to stretch myself in interesting ways for this project. The human figures were even more cartoony and representative than the ones before. I also really enjoyed the quick workflow of photo collage to easily make a background. 

Mapping Project

Conceptual Intentions 

What did you find meaningful about the process and practice of this project?  How did you address the notion of mapping?  Where does your voice and style as an artist emerge in this project?  If you did not find the practice and process meaningful or you do not feel that your voice emerged in this work, why not?

I think of the map as an extremely powerful narrative too, because it contians so much in its very design. Thus, I tried to exploit the idea of being off the map, and the subversion of this material tool in favor of the path. I hoped to capture the emotion of this moment in the central panel. My style, which by now I realize is very graphic and simplified, was epitimized in this project, and I also hoped to tell a narrative - exploring the unknown. 

Stretch and Explore

In what ways did your intentions change over the course of your project? What opportunities or occurrences led to these changes? Given what you know now about your work and your materials choices, how might you have changed your concept or approach to working?

I had a pretty clear vision about this project from the very beginning. The sketch I made on the first day was identical to the final version. But the use of photoshop allowed for me to explore details - such as the fungus creeping away in the final panel (the forest looks scary, but when you jump in, it becomes less so). I decided to go with a wider shot for the last panel as well, as it tied the piece together more. The addition of vines and trees in the backround give a real sense of depth as well. Because I'm not that experienced with photoshop, I would have liked to be more efficient, but that just comes with practice, especially in terms of intelligently creating layers. 

Understanding the Art World

Who influenced your process for this project? Who are the artists you looked at? How did their work inspire your conceptual intentions and/or process?

Jeff Smith, the creator of Bone, is one of my favorite artists. He actually uses ink for his panels, but for coloring, he does something similar, using photoshop to color the work. I tried to emulate his focus on narrative over any distractions like weird lines, colors etc. 

Reflect

What did you the experience of the critique provide you? What insights were helpful to you in future process? What insights were you able to provide your peers in their process?

The critique was very eye-opening, as well as affirmative for me. Most of the criticism was along the lines of "I want to see what happens next", "is the character a guy or a girl", or "what is in that darkness?" Although these might seem like negative responses, this was exactly what I was going for. I really wanted for this to be the spark that could ignite a story in many different ways. 

Map project midway reflection

The screenshot function on my computer doesn't work, and I don't want to upload a huge file, but I would be happy to show it to you on Monday.

Violet gave me some really helpful suggestions about composition and color balance. She suggested I push some of the greens and reds into the central frame, which I agree with. It would also be an interesting way to show reflection. She liked the direction that I was taking it though, and I like it so far as well. I'm going to work on it as much as possible outside of class - if not this weekend then next. Anyway - her main comments were about the aforementioned color and the composition of the second frame in terms of color gradient.

Intentions

 my intentions...


For the unexplored territories project, I want to explore storytelling through my art. Represent the feeling of an unexplored land through maybe the medium of a graphic series. I also want to continue where I left off last year using digital materials. What I am envisioning right now is a two panel black and white series that I will comp in photoshop.

Final Blog Reflection

Please post a quality image documenting your final image.  

You may also include any impactful process imagery. 

Guiding Prompts for reflection:

1.  Discuss your intentions:  How did you approach the guiding theme of "repetition"?  How did you come to this final image, and what does it ultimately represent to you?  Link your overarching ideas and intentions to specific aesthetic and formal decisions (medium, composition, style, etc)

I hoped to use repetition in my project by having the same characters with different expressions - showing the change that an emotional expression can have on that persons appearance. The medium I used - photoshop - allowed for me to easily and accurate repeat my characters whilst changing the emotional qualities. This image for me represents the similarities of human expression for even the most dissimilar people. 

2.  Reflect on your feedback.  What did viewers observe most in your work?  Assuming that these observations represent what is most successfully communicated by your work, how successful were you in communicating your intentions to your viewer?

People mainly liked the style of painting and new medium I used, and mostly had problems with the presentation. I think people clearly saw what I was trying to express through the emotions. Thus, my intentions were successful. 

 What did you find most interesting about the conversation generated around your work?  

The conversation around using the more non-emotive parts of people to represent emotion came up, and I thought that was really interesting, for example using the hair to portray emotion, etc. 

What opportunities for further development of the artwork were discussed?  How do you respond to these bits of critical analysis?

People maybe thought they should be presented together, but separated by character. In addition, for presentation, I think it would be helpful for it to be printed as well. 

3.  Reflect on your strengths and opportunities as an artist (as represented by your work on this project.)  Which studio habits are strengths in your practice? What tendencies define your artistic practice (formal, expressive, conceptual, etc)?  In what areas were you focused upon stretching and exploring in order to grow your artistic potential?  

This project was really fun for me as well as challenging, as it was a new medium. My ability to conceptualize was most useful for me. For example, I had no reference whatsoever in creating these images, in both character design and emotions. This was a new thing for me. In addition, I've always wanted to pursue character and concept design and it was great to explore that. 

4.  Understand your art world (relative the your class).  What work discussed resonated with you most?  Why?  What is available in that thinking, process, or aesthetic for you to bring into your artistic practice?

If we are talking about other people's work, I thought Logan's was really interesting, and I liked the graphic element to it. I could definitely use her sense of presentation in my work, as well as her ability to design something graphically that is really intriguing.