Final Reflection

From this term, I have learned that sitting around and thinking about what to make art about is useless. The only way to create something you like, is to just make art. It doesn't matter what you do, or what you make, or how you make it, just make it. Ideas don't come from sitting around, they come from working constantly. If i could do this term over again, I would focus more on making art using various materials, instead of sketching, because I can sketch anytime, anywhere. I feel like i took advantage of the materials around me, but only towards the end of the term. If I had done that from the beginning, I feel I would have more to show and more to be proud of. I am most proud of my large Wiz Khalifa piece because I rarely spend that much time on one piece of work, and I am happy with the result.

Week 5

This week was a very productive week. I think I got some of my best pieces started this week. With school winding down, its hard to stay on track and keep my mind on what I'm doing, but I have managed to do just that. I found an old t.v. in my basement, which I have turned into an art piece for my installation using paint markers. Also, most of my pieces up to this point have been relatively small, so I decided to get started on a larger piece. This way, there is some contrast in my installation, so it is not only small sketches. I am liking the path I am on, and if I continue on this path, I believe I will have a successful installation.

Week 4

This week was very helpful in working towards a final product for the Senior Studio show. We had our critiques, and I was able to get feedback about my ideas and work up to this point from my classmates. I explained my ideas for a final project, and I received helpful ideas for a way to create a final project. Coming into this week, I was worried about the organization of my final project, and how I would place it in the gallery. After hearing from my classmates, Ms. Roberts, and looking at different artists, I came to the conclusion that organization was not necessary. All I needed was a theme, a place in the gallery, and just throw work on the wall in a way that I was happy with. I don't feel like I need to work out the logistics. I plan on just continuing to make work about music, and how it plays a large role in my life, and then taking these pieces I have created and finding a way to put them together to make one large piece. My plan for the rest of the term is just to continue drawing, sketching, painting, different aspects of music in my life, and working out the rest later.

Week 3

This week was kind of a slow week, but I plan on getting back on track next week. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do for my final project, and then later realized that it is a waste of time to just sit around and think. I have to do. So I began "doing" in hope of finding a final project. I came up with the theme of music, which I plan on staying with. I have done a few music sketches lately of rap artists, album covers, and others. Soon enough, I will find a way to incorporate all of these items together for a final work of art.

Alternative Exhibitions Formats Response

I love the way Shepard Fairey formats his work. It can go from traditional gallery placement, to out on buildings in the street. It is almost as if he is two different artists and I love that. He gives everyone a chance to check out his work. If you like going to an art gallery and standing around staring at art for hours, he allows you to do that. But he also gives people who don't visit galleries a chance to experience his artwork by putting it out on the streets. His artwork has sort of a graffiti feel to it, but it can be placed in any setting.

Art & Fear, by David Bayles & Ted Orland

The first quote I found interesting was, "What you end up caring about is what you do, not whether the doing came hard or easy." This I find to be very true simply because art should not be about time. Art has no timer that once it hits zero, the piece is finished. I can make a piece that I love in as little as 5 minutes, and as much as 5 months.

Another quote I liked was, "We have met the enemy and the enemy is us." This quote relates very well to me because I am my greatest critic. I am always finding something wrong with my work and having to fix it, and there is a part of me that never wants the piece to be done, and theres another part of me that wants to finish as quick as possible. In many ways, it can be good and it can be bad to be my own enemy. In one way, it pushes me towards me goal, and another way, it pushes me away.

The last quote I took away from was, "For the artist, the dilemma seems obvious: risk rejection by exploring new worlds, or court acceptance by following well-explored paths." This is a question that comes and goes in my mind a lot. I usually make traditional art (i.e. sketches, paintings etc.) but I always wondered what it would be like to explore new worlds. I just never really had the courage to take on that challenge, and I think that I am working on it day by day. Building up the courage is the first part of the process of trying something new.

Week 2

This week I started thinking about what I wanted to do for the show a little more. I became interested in the topic of music. I started to think of my favorite artists and something I could do with them. Mumford and Sons came to mind because I listen to them a lot when there is crappy weather outside, and this week was a mix of snow and rain. I started to draw an album cover of theirs, which I am still working on. Here are a few pictures of the album cover and of what I am doing.

Wiz Khalifa Tribute

An idea that I had was doing a tribute to one of my favorite rappers, Wiz Khalifa. I was planning on drawing a sketch of his face with 4 different expressions, and then int he background draw things that relate to him as a person and as an icon. After, I would project this drawing onto a large canvas and paint this sketch. I am still not sure if I would like to pursue this idea, but it is just a thought. Here are a few pictures of him:

Week 1

This week, I started to get back into the art 'groove'. I needed a week to gather myself, and just get back into making art. Along the way, I was thinking of ideas for the show, but it was mostly just drawing, drawing, drawing. I was doodling in my sketchbook a lot, and then I started to draw a picture of a grizzly bear in alaska. Hopefully something will come up soon as to what I want for the show, but right now I just need to get back on track.

The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp

Scratching is how ideas are born. To scratch is the idea of taking concepts from around you, and making new ideas out of them. Something I have a habbit of is throwing out work when at first I don't like it. I immediatley get rid of it, but from what Ms. Tharp said, anything can spark an idea, and sifting through old work can help. I shouldn't care about what people think of my little doodles, I should keep them and learn from them, and see what I can take out of them. They can evolve into much bigger ideas and be helpful in learning from my mistakes.

Inside the Painter’s Studio by Joe Fig

One artist that I was very interested in was Alexis Rockman. I feel that his work really shows how he lives his life and the environment in which he creates it. Through what I understood in his interview, he is a man that is well put together, but also has a childish side. He wakes up early every morning and works through the day, but also works in his pajamas. It shows he is dedicated to his work, but he has his own style and works with what feels comfortable for him. His work is a combination of the way he lives his life. The visual aspect of the pieces show great detail, but the content of what he paints is mostly fantasy life, which is going back to the, not so much childish, rather imaginative side of him.

I also feel that I relate mostly to Alexis. He talks about his early life, and how he never thought he could really do anything with contemporary art until late on in his life. As of now, I would love to work with art in the future, but not exactly sure how it will fit into a job. Also, he talks about the way he works, and how he listens to music and he feels comfortable in the way he works, and I try to do the same.

Me...the senior artist.

I have been looking forward to Senior Studio for years. Every year, I have taken a different art class that has taught me a different set of skills. During Senior Studio, I plan on combining my skills to show off what I have learned from the art world. I want to use the aspects of art that I am most comfortable with to base my pieces off, while also incorporating some new techniques that I have not worked with too much. I am very excited about this course.