All over the place..

This post is gonna be all over the place. . .There's a lot on my mind. 

I'm not getting anything done. Nothing. At all. I just don't seem to care as much. I WANT to care so bad, I just have so much going on, and it seems like my art is taking the fall for it. The projects that were due for January and February? . . .I think I still have 3 or 4 that I haven't even come up with a concept for. Looks like my grade will be falling. . .far. I really just have no desire to do three dimensional work right now, I did that all of first semester and now I really just want to work on my two dimensional skills. Even in 2D work, I'm struggling to come up with concept - it's so easy to just do a self portrait, but what does it mean? I can come up with an interesting technique and a nice looking portrait, I just find myself disappointed with the outcome of the overall image due to it's small amount (or complete lack) of meaning.

Someone seriously, slap me in the face. Make me feel something.

I talk about not having any ideas; however, at the beginning of this semester I did get inspired to do a self-portrait showing imperfections. I never actually did it, so maybe I'll attempt is this week sometime. Maybe. It's going to show imperfection through my scoliosis (a curving of the spine, causing an "S" or "C" shape), and the surgery I had to have to correct it (as much as possible). I'm going to do a portrait incorporating an X-ray I had after the surgery, showing my still somewhat curved spine and the metal rod and pins used to 'fix' it. I plan on using charcoal. My plan is to make a realistic portrait, with the abdomen sort of morphing into the X-ray, revealing the hidden imperfection.

^ here's my X-ray that I'll be using as a reference. 



On a completely different, non-art related note,  my sister left today for basic training for the Navy. Being that she's only eleven months older than me, I've had a pretty close friend in her for all of my life. It's so odd to think that as of today, she no longer lives with us and that I can't even talk to her other than in letters for two months. I'm pretty sure this is going to throw me for a loop, whether it be good or bad. Hopefully it inspires emotions in me that I'll be able to express through my art. Most likely, it'll just put me in an odd, "I don't want to do anything" sort of mood. I still haven't fully grasped the idea of her being gone.
To top off my sister leaving, life had to throw in a few curve-balls for my family. First of all, we weren't even expecting Raech to be leaving until Tuesday, so we lost a day there. Then, my dad just so happened to be coming home from a three week long business trip on Friday, and 20 minutes before his plane is supposed to land in Tokyo, the earthquake happens. What is the likelihood of that?? So they manage to land at a different airport after flying around for a good hour not knowing where to land. He ended up being stuck in Japan for a couple days, before finally being able to get home Sunday night.

That all has nothing to do with art, it just sort of explains what's going on in my life right now, and if I seem to sort of be emotionless, that just may have to do with some of it. When strange things happen to me, and I find myself in a complete funk, unable to do anything productive.

On a more positive note, I'm super excited for the Mid Illini show this week! :)

Also, I'm super excited for Bloom this year, I LOVE Bloom! I'm not to worried about getting in (though, maybe I should be due to my complete lack of focus this year),  but I have NO idea what pieces I would like to submit. Picking my top three favorite pieces is so hard, because there are aspects to all my pieces that I love, but also parts that I hate. It's tough to decide which I think are my strongest pieces. I'm also worried that my sister's boot camp graduation is going to be the same night as Bloom, which would be horrible. I absolutely do not want to miss either of the two, but her basic is supposed to be 8 weeks long, and graduation on a Friday. That lands right about the day of Bloom. It better not be; I'm gonna be so disappointed if it is.


I told you, this post was all over the place.

Collagraph Prints

Today, my blog won't let me add pictures.
I am not happy at all.


Anyways, I was going to post a few pictures of what I've been working on for the past few days. It's called collagraphy, and no, that is not calligraphy spelled wrong, although they do sound a little similar. I don't think collagraphy is very well known, at least, I had never heard of it before a workshop I went to. So, in case you're wondering what it is, here is a definition:

A collagraph is a relief print pulled from a "plate" that is made by placing textured materials on a surface.

Basically, it is a print made of a collage. The collage is supposed to be made of various materials to make it very textured, and when a print is made, the textures show up in the ink and create varying shades and values. 

The few prints that I did didn't turn out exactly as I wanted, most likely because we didn't have the correct consistency of ink and it was my first time experimenting with this type of print. I don't want to give up with the piece though, so I have been experimenting with different ink colors and adding watercolor and colored pencil to the print after it has dried. So far, the result has been fairly decent, and I think I'm going to use a watercolor technique on my final one. 




Here is a link that I found pretty helpful for more information about collagraph printing. 

Show Season

I love art shows, museum exhibitions, and pretty much anything to do with artwork. Even if I don't have work up, I really enjoy going to shows and seeing what other artists are displaying. I'm not saying by any means that I don't like to be in shows - I absolutely love it, who wouldn't? With the show season quickly approaching this year, I've really started to reflect on the pieces I have done this year and which ones I think are the best. I really wish I had more motivation and had produced more pieces this year. I know I did manage to complete a few really good pieces, but I just don't think I have worked up to my potential. With that said, here are a few of my favorite pieces that I would like to be entered into art shows:

87 Boxes - I really enjoy how this piece turned out. I like that it is sculptural, functional, and even considerably comfortable.

Pieces of Time - My other favorite 3D piece is also functional. I think this piece really stands out against my typical 3D work, which is more feminine and nature-like.

Times Square - This semester I have worked a lot with color in my 2D work. This piece really sort of started it, with it's sort of surrealistic feel from all the colors reflected by the lights and water. This is probably one of my favorite photography projects.

Feathered Hair - This portrait shows that experimenting with color I was talking about. I just recently did this self-portrait, and I love how it turned out, I just think it needs a little bit more work.

Sitting Amongst Shoes - Surprisingly, this piece turned out to be one of my favorite pieces in my portfolio. I really surprised myself with how realistic the two heels in the back ended up.






I have a few other pieces in my portfolio that I would also really like to see submitted for shows, but I think these five are a good example of my work. My feelings towards specific pieces changes all the time, one day I like it, and the next day I find something about it that I hate, then go on the next day once again to think, "wow, I really did that?" So, as of this very second, these few pieces are my top choices, but who knows, tomorrow I will probably go back to hating one of them.

I feel like my art work stands out from my peers by the sole fact that it is individualistic and falls under my own style. Everyone in this class seems to have a very unique style, and I don't think there is an easy way of determining who exceeds who, being that we all have our own type of work. I believe that we all are in this portfolio class for a reason - that being the fact that we find a passion for art and excel in our work.

PanPastels!

Today Molly and I went to Webster University for our art portfolio review that determines whether or not we get into the school of art there. I was a little nervous, but I think I feel confident with how it went. Hopefully, by next week or so Molly and I will know, (fingers crossed)! 

Anyways, that's just some boring information, the real content of my blog comes from a different part of our trip  in St. Louis. We were driving along with our little GPS, when we passed this place:

At this point Molly may have yelled out "Artmart," you know, how when you're driving along and you read the signs you pass out loud? It was sort of that type of situation, but that's besides the point. How could we pass up this magnificent find?? We're always tempted by art supply stores, and often time whenever I go to Hobby Lobby or Michaels for something, I end up spending way more money than I had planned. So, we quickly turned around and, as the Garmin freaked out because we weren't following her directions, we made our way to artmart. And, you know, we both just HAD to stop to take a picture of the wall outside. We went inside,  and I sound like a complete art nerd, but this place was wonderful. 

As were were exploring, I came across something called PanPastels. I've never heard of them before, but they sounded interesting.

 

Aren't they so pretty!!

So this is what this interesting new(for me) medium is:

• PanPastel Colors are genuine artists’ quality pastels, uniquely packed in a pan format, available in a range of 60 colors.  PanPastel Colors were developed so that artists can easily lift, apply and control pastel color, just like true painting! The pan format holds the color like paint for easy application. 

Pretty much, it's pastels that are in a little container similar to a make-up compact, that you use little sponges and spongy brushes to apply to pigments. Of course, I wanted these, so I grab one of the kits to check out the price. It was a kit with colors ideal for portraits, including 20 panpastels and a few brushes. It cost $99. Oh No! Why are art supplies so expensive?? I didn't end up purchasing any, but I plan on ordering some, because I really enjoy pastels, and I think these would be really fun to experiment with. (Molly got some, so I may have to be trying them out, seeing as she never would have discovered them without me! ahahaha)