Julia

This is what I had last week...I'm pretty much working on the same stuff...starting to paint, don't have any pictures yet of the painted work, but will soon...

Allison Glazer

For my finished (sort of) project on Tuesday, I changed from working only with reflections using watercolor on paper to using reflective surfaces, such as glass and plastic. I painted directly on plexi-glass for some, and laminated other work. Then I bought a clear bucket, filled it with water and submerged my images. I wanted to create work that forced an interaction with the viewer. The viewer needs to go up to the work and stick it into the water, and then find distortions and reflections. It is a one-on-one way of looking at the images, and what is seen is different for every person.
For next week I want to work with mirrors and see how that will change my work. I was thinking I could glue a mirror to the bottom of a bucket of water, and then paint an image on another mirror and have it reflect in the mirror in the bucket (did that make sense?) Anyway, I'll see how that works out when I find mirror. I also might branch out from the images of buildings and do some abstract work on glass, plastic, and mirror.

Adell

After a series of smaller watercolor/pastel studies working with space and playing with the boundaries of three-dimensionality, my bigger pieces are only beginning to take shape. They are generally along the lines of still-lifes, but done in a way that is meant to play with these concepts and create realistic impossibilites. I will probably make future work more believable-looking (more realistically rendered, etc) to begin with before I start tweaking it, so that everything in the final product looks intentional.

Cassie

technology. el yucko.
i tried weaving a blanket out of grass this week. it was really quite enjoyable. i hope to learn how to knit in the next couple of weeks - maybe i will knit myself a blanket. i don't know what's going on right now. i am trying to create this space for myself that only exists in my head and i don't know if it's worth it or not. change is hard, you know. so is realizing that some things never change.

Alessandra Perez-Rubio

I am so sorry i am late today! I had this aweful time trying to get back to florence from barcelona, my flight was canceled so i was sent to milan instead and the airline messed up my transportation to florence. Anyway, i had not gotten the chance to catch my breath until now. Anyway, back gto the point...I really stuck with my theme of patterened layers this week. In my studies i basically explored the different characteristics of layers, from topographical layers, to cracked layers, and the act of physically layering material. I was inherently drawn to neutral colors, and dark line that resonated through transparency. I like finding patterns in nature and transporting their line quality onto something completely different, and making it something new. I really like taking images out of context and giving them a completely different meaning by layering it with something else. I really took into consideration the material this week, and worked with it enough to feel comfortable enough to experiment with other things, such as water color, fabric, perhaps even some organic materials.

Meredith Nelson

so for thursday i've kept going with the whole bunches/bundles thing. Over the weekend I collected materials I like and arranged them. over the past couple days I've been taking pictures and drawing them, the idea being to have a collection of items by thursday in the form of an actual object, a drawing of the object, and a photo of the object, and the combined mediums will echo the idea of a combination of lots of objects in the physical bundles.

Emily Gordon

Last week after taking a second look at my drawings from basin images, I brainstormed a lot about the idea of flooding and overflowing of water and emotions. For my final pieces, I decided to create four of my sketches on a larger scale. Each image, which is linked formally on the basis of materials and color scheme also relates back to the idea of flooding. One of my drawing that is finished (the one of the bathroom sink that is posted) represents a filled basin. In the series will also be an image of a fountain overflowing as shown in the sketch and a boat that is filled with people in the water. The last image will most likely be similar to the abstract sink and represent something that is filled and about to overflow.

lee graf

This past week I continued on with the idea of reflection of light on things in our space rather than the streaming light from the sun. I was still wanting to explore the idea of the bicycle wheel reflector, so I borrowed Melissa's bike in order to attempt to recreate what was in my head the first time I witnessed it. After several trials, I realized that what I had imagined was perhaps not actually reality, but I learned quite a bit along the way and realized a few interesting things about the reflection of light in relation to the rotation of a wheel. I took some videos of my "experiments" and the photos I have do not do the videos justice at all. The pictures posted are fairly worthless, but that's all I have to show as of right now. What I found myself most drawn to when I was filming were the subtleties of the brighter light of the reflection against the overall "canvas" of the natural sunlight on the wall.

Rachel - Week 5

So my theme has morphed a little bit. Not much, but a little. I have modified the "crack" shape and have turned it into a study of branching. More specifically, I think I have developed an interest in how this form relates to the body, such as in the hands (and even blood vessels...kind of creepy). Anyway, I seem to have some kind of weird obsession with creating plant monsters, so in my drawings I have tried to combine the elements of the human body and plants.....which are all linked with the common form I picked. So I have been taking some photos of hands and trying to create illustrations that show the connection between....well...what I just described.

Katey Week 5

So last class I relooked at all of my images (gathered and drawn) and I discovered that what I really think interests me the most about my subject is the division of space (both 2 and 3 dimensionally) and the recession of space (3-D). This week, I have been trying to visually explore the way in which these two things correspond. I am making a tunnel book, with multiple layers that recede in space. Each of these layers will show one section of the golden spiral (although simplified into straight lines, rather than curves). Each layer is also divided by strings, which are separated according to the fibonacci sequence. Hopefully, when it is all put together, anyone who looks inside of it will be able to get a feeling of the golden spiral, as well as an understanding of movement through 3d space. My photos this week are a few of my drawings from last week that helped me narrow down my interests, as well as some of the plans for the layers of my tunnel for this week.

Ciao, Katey

Abbey Teller

Last week in class, I started exploring the concept of the mask, but mostly ended up focusing on the form of the mask with its empty eyes. I realized that I was interested in the mask for three very different reasons. First, I was interested in it for its kitschy qualities. Second, I was interested in it for its symbolism with ability to cover over things and for the fact that it is a blank portrait. This led me to the third quality that I liked about the masks- that the eyeholes are empty, but they create amazing shadows. In class, I decided that I wanted to create a painting of the masks in a circle with the perspective from below the masks, so that they looked huge. I set up the masks on white paper and put small candles inside each of them to emphasize the light that came through the empty eye sockets and through the nostrils. However, now I;m not quite really sure where I'm going with the project, and want to find new conceptual links to the mask, most likely focusing on the concept of the blank portrait.

Zoe Hillenmeyer

So I've narrowed this project down to hard versus soft, and am using fabric as a way to explore it. Even with that sort of narrowness, I feel like I am floating around a bit. Maybe it is because that is sort of the mood of my day today, but none the less, it applies. I'm struggling to not think about the botany books, and the lumps and clumps, so I've tried to incorperate that into the thing(s?) I've made. I included images of the beginnings of the things I plan to present on thursday. I anticipate making quite a few more of them, and hanging them in a corner of the sink hall. I'm not sure how I am feeling about the whole thing, but I think it will act as a good aspect of research for something bigger and more intense down the line. I don't feel like it will be really an end product, but I do think it will be a good learning experience, in terms of my long term progress.

There is much experimenting to be done. I am enjoying drawing the botany diagrams, and plan to continue to do so until I get sick of them (and, hopefully, even after that). The fabric demands experimentation, too, but I am not sure in what directions. More play. Much more playing to be done.

I found a great botany website, I'm including it, so that you can take a peek, Julia: I think it's up your road.
http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/lindman/index.html
That has alot of the photos that have been of inspiration. Unfortunatly, the program won't allow me to take them into iPhoto.
So lots of things are floating around in my head. We'll see where it goes.

Kelly Diehl

By last week's class, I had become comfortable working with clay. It took me a while to figure out the forms for which it was useful or useless. Starting out with a ball of it and seeing where it took me was the best method I think. To find the form of the sculpture, I always started with the lion's backbone curving diagonally to the right. The rest of the form seemed to naturally work its way out. I initially thought that I would pair each totem thingy with a drawing on nice paper, but I've decided against that. Drawing what I've made doesn't help me figure anything out. I don't think it will yield any discovery. I'm just going to keep making with clay. I've made four forms thusfar, which differ from each other, of course. They show some sort of progression. They're getting more minimal. I'm going to continue to make them until I reach the ultimate. However, the ultimate is an ideal and probably something I can never achieve, but that's getting too philosophical. I'll know when to stop making them, though I'm not sure what the next step will be. I apologize for my rambling, tedious blog.

Sam Washburn week 5

Worked this week on transferring the things that I have collected and condensing them into a final form. Arrived at said final form and proceeded to begin work on pieces for presentation.
I have condensed the idea of bursting into a figure, which was derived from a kind of blobby form that came out of my observations and brainstorming. I am placing this figure in narrative settings that convey the idea of being out of place, or being odd. My hope is that this will convey the kind of psychological duress derived from a feeling of being on the outside. This feeling can build up in someone over time, and can lead to an emotional overload i.e. bursting. This refers to the idea of bursting with emotion, stress, etc.
My work as it stands now scratches the surface of this idea, and I hope to expand on it as much as possible before thursday, time willing. Right now, the work is overtly cartoony and appears humorous, and I want to keep playing with this juxtaposition to try and convey the message I'm trying to send.

Allison Shellito

This week in class, we worked on finding a way to turn our ideas into something that could work as a finished piece. I am having trouble thinking of the best way to do this, and I have to do some more experimenting. I did, however, decide upon a central idea. I am going to focus on the idea of spirals and being inside a spiral. The idea is how when you are inside a spiral, everything swirls around you but you are anchored.

This morning I went to La Specola and took photographs of the shells there. They have such an interesting collection, and I think the spiralling shells are going to be really helpful with my concept. I am going to try to do three larger watercolors depicting my idea in an abstract form.

This past week was quite busy for me as I needed to get my work done in advance so I could enjoy Carnevale in Venice over the weekend. My favorite thing in Venice was seeing the Picasso show at Palazzo Grassi. They also had a lot of "Post Pop" art, including several works by Jeff Koons, which I really enjoyed seeing. I am looking forward to going to Ferrara this weekend to see a show featuring Klimt, Gaughin, and Da Moreau. A presto, Allison

Catherine Hite

this week i have been serching for more photos that contain my image (angel wings) but are only true to form and not specially wings. i think i have found a good variety and my images this week are of the final five photos for the "show"
last week i completely the 25 drawings, however all were very representation and this week i have pushed myself to go beyond that.
i also decided on the theme of my work. the main theme is force versus delicateness but i am also considering movement versus lightness, hard vs soft, movement vs stillness, light vs heavy, representation vs suggestion, unity vs variety and many other related oppositions.
-Catherine

Jane Philipps

After doing more ink sketches to draw out a specific form, I finally chose to focus on spirals. I was most interested in the spiral form of the curls in hair to begin with, so I began by taking a step back and thinking more generally. I made a mind map and then a list of different types of spirals (mostly organic) and did some ink drawings to brainstorm. I began thinking about the spiral as an infinite form, with no distinct beginning or end. This helped me tie the form itself to a larger concept and I started thinking about the actual work I wanted to make. I knew I wanted to juxtapose different types of natural spirals (such as DNA and galaxies) and I ended up finding a way to connect them using the spiral shape. I will post pictures of the finished product next week.

Joey

Ah, putting it all together...it took me until tonight to realize its OK that my form is not a form in the way that a circle or a square or an arch it is a form. And what all meandering lines have in common is NOT that they all meander the same way. Thats exactly the point! They are all meandering lines because they all meander in different ways. So, how does this relate to the work im doing now? Well, hold on, i'll get there...

Last week when i came to class, all my explorations were basically just mixed media doodles. I quickly realized that was not the point...sooo, back to the drawing board, quite literally. I spent most of last weeks class doing detailed renderings of some of my favorite meandering lines, solely with the intention of understanding the forms better. Now I'm in the process of rerendering them on better paper and adding some hints of collage/mixed media. Each drawing is going to be a finished piece within itself, but theyll be arranged to illustrate how meandering lines to not start or end (in the world), they simply take on different forms. My piece also includes a video of a particularly special meandering line involving water and a bus window, but unfortunately i cannot post a video.

Daniel Lubniewski

As I continued to do studies of my photos for the exibition, I started to notice that I was begining to re-incorporate the ideas of isolation and alienation into my works, something that had interested me when I started this project. So when I went on to the final leg of my exibition, I created prototypes of final drawings that not only incuded an abstract narrative based around singular forms and arches but also thoughts about isolation. I have thought about ways that isolation could be good, such as providing a unique view of the world, and how it could be bad, such as being an obstacle to human interaction. On a technical standpoint, I upped the quality of my work, using stronger, more valuable paper, incorporating other media like colored pencil and collage, and being more considerate of how and where I applied things.

Julia

OK. I'm really glad I finally got to go to the specolo. It was amazing, and it seemed like a source of finding the form, or the thing, which I'm attracted to petrified in real natural forms. The most uncanny thing I thought was the egg. They had this board onto which were posted like 9 or 10 chick eggs split open to reveal different stages of embryonic development. A few of them the membrane beneath the egg was left veiling the guts of the egg--formally, it was like the whole tea bag thing--guts inside a membrane.
I know this is just complicating things, but I feel like another important part of the whole concept is that that little, compact thing itself is within another vessel. The egg, the tea bag, the cell, the organelle, the organ, the baby, they float ambiently in this matrix, or liquid, and that's really the catch that makes it so fascinating. The exchange of something from within the little protected lysosome with the bigger (yet still contained) space Outside.
I guess if I had to boil it down it would be the movement of the object (dispersal of tea, movement of object within space...) exposure (tea bags dissected evoke exposed guts, something outside of its membrane, wrong), and, well, obviously, containment.
I guess I'm still working it out.

Consequences- "with sequences"

Dancing Germans dressed as cowgirls, chocolate chip pancakes for dinner, and drawings that are starting to get sexual on me- WOW what a week! Finished up my second mask for Alice Atelier's Agostino.... and started to explore simplifying my lids and lips. The simplification turned in a direction that was unforseen - made the most overt yet subtle sexual drawing.(Not posted) Started thinking about where my form could be found in everyday life and discovered it in the blessing gesture's main de Venus, as well as in the curve of white bread. Tried to make a connection with "delicate deli-cuts" (last week's blog title) and found a sort of bond to finger sandwiches which are dainty and experienced by the lips/mouth, the body part that inspired the forms to begin with. In looking for the forms in other artworks I found a link back to fairy tale illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger, as well as Andrew Wyeth... strange, huh. Also stumbled upon some ties to Renaissance works dealing with birds- their wings have that downward dip and upward curve.Now, I'm messing around with mixed media and making attempts at achieving simplicity that still has impact- not homely or washed out. Good stuff in store- all very sequential.
~Nicole

Allison Glazer

I'm continuing to work with the idea of reflections, specifically reflections of architecture in the Arno. For my project, I'm trying to find ways in which I can create a reflection. I made a couple of watercolor drawings of the Arno - one during the day and one at night. Then I made two more that I'm going to have laminated, and I bought a container for water so that I can put my laminated work into the water - this way I can create my own reflections from my images in the water. I've been trying to find a place where I can buy glass so that I can paint an image of the buildings on it and see how that reflects in the container of water as well. For now I'm experimenting with different materials and trying to find reflections, and just seeing what happens. My favorite part of this project so far was when, yesterday, I went out to the Arno for a few hours and painted the river and the reflections and whatever I saw. Watercolor is one of my favorite media and it was just really relaxing. The pictures I posted are my attempts to find the form within the reflections, and then some of the things I found while developing my idea.

Jessica Rogen

The spurting blood in Judith beheading Holofernes reminded me of the gushing bright red blood in the movie, Kill Bill. Following up on this I started reading about the special effects blood that was used in the movie. After learning that this effect was achieved through exploding condums filled with fake blood I decided that I would like to set up the Judith and Holofernes but do it Kill Bill style. After scrounging around for props and outfits I set this up with the help of a few helpful volunteers.... The scene came out pretty well but I was unable to achieve quite the spurting blood effect that I wanted. Katie Albro and I took turns spitting blood out of our mouths trying to get the effect I wanted but nothing was quiet achieved. I am currently trying to figure out exactly how to do this. I think I may have better luck with a hose but am not exactly sure where to get one. Still under construction.

Amy Scott

So this week we are working on our first project. After going through a lot of brainstorming I have finally picked a project and am working to get it done by Tuesday. My focus in on the inside vs. the outside. How a person is on the inside that isn't expressed on the outside. Pretty much all the things one wished they could do but can't for fear of being laughed at or ridiculed. This concept came about from my form, the organic within a geometric structure or shape. For this project I am going to be inside a box (me being the organic within the geometric box). It started out that I was going to be expressing the emotions that I wish I could in public in the box. When I actually was in the box though the focus was changed to how I could break out of the box. So my pictures center around me trying to break free from the box and break down the wall between the inside and the outside. Pictures will be coming next week of my final product. I'm still trying to figure out the details.