Final Reflection
1. My most successful project this year was the wooden skier. This assignment was my first one where I really dove into woodworking, expanding my skill tremendously. I was also able to experiment with the smoothness and line quality. I used the belt sander, the Japanese hand saw, the table saw, a dremel, the big drill with a sanding attachment, and just normal sandpaper. In addition, I had to draw out the design on the wood, bringing forth essential planning/envisioning skills. I really wanted to get across a feeling of fluidity and through the physological moment of "free fall" or "float" as the skier soars through the air. To express it, I made sure to smooth out my piece and make the edges and corners super mellow.
2. The most challenging project was the pottery project and working on spinning clay on the wheel. Although I never actually completed a successful piece on the wheel, It really stretched my skill as I tried to pull the pottery. The hardest successful project was the drum, because of it's size. The final work looks very close to what I anticipated, however I did change the form of the drum by adding indents. The indents made the drum have a more interesting appearance, as well as it was a good place to grasp the drum with your legs. The size of the drum made the construction of it more difficult, because a solid base was needed to support it. To solve this, Campo and I used a slap technique and added coils on top.
3. The first strength I have discovered this year is my ability to work with fluidity and smoothness. Almost all of my projects have been smooth with an element of fluidity. For me, this quality gives sculptures a sort of balance. Also, I find art more visually appealing if it is smooth and fluid. The next strength is my ability to work with wood, which has greatly increased throughout the year. I like it because it can be cut, sanded, glued, drilled, nailed, or chiseled. This versatility makes it perfect for most of my projects and has always been my go-to material. At the beginning of the year, I focused mostly on cutting and constructing with wood. Towards the middle and end, I focused more on detracting, by taking away instead of adding. The final strength is the ability to change my intentions throughout the project. Besides my skier and car, all of my projects have turned out slightly different then my original intentions. This is because as I am working, I will change my sculpture based on what I see and if there are any hurdles. This allowed my to make some of my works more interesting, such as my drum, by changing its shape partway through.
Overall, I had an awesome year in sculpture and I look forward to working more with wood and other materials to create functional and/or aesthetically pleasing pieces of art.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Absurd Tool
Absurd Tool
1. My intentions for this project were to create an abstract form of a formula one car. I was inspired by a picture of the "melting car" that Mercedes produced for the Geneva car show. This work would represent my artistic voice because I generally like to make simplified, almost abstract forms with really smooth edges and lines. Also, I really like cars, so incorporating them into art is always a plus. To carry out these intentions, I made sure to simplify the design of the Ferrari formula one car, then carve it out of wood, making sure to smooth out every edge.
2. I was pleased to hear in the review session that people saw the simplicity and smoothness of the car. I got a couple of comments that said that my car looked like it was melting or rising from a block of wood, which was my original intention. The words that stick out to me are "smooth," "sanded," "texture," "detail," and "block," because they represent my original intentions to create a surrealist car. Overall, these comments reassured me that I successfully completed my project.
3. This project definitely showcased my skills from this year. I was able to incorporate the sanding/carving skills from the physcological moment project, as well as basic wood cutting skills from various other projects. I really enjoy working with wood, so being able to use it again was a bonus. This project also further enhanced my skills with a dremel and sandpaper.
4. This project allowed me to stretch and explore within woodworking. I hadn't really used a dremel before, so needed to use it really made me comfortable with the different ends and attachments. Also I was able to explore with the smoothness of wood and how I could sand down edges to create new line qualities.
1. My intentions for this project were to create an abstract form of a formula one car. I was inspired by a picture of the "melting car" that Mercedes produced for the Geneva car show. This work would represent my artistic voice because I generally like to make simplified, almost abstract forms with really smooth edges and lines. Also, I really like cars, so incorporating them into art is always a plus. To carry out these intentions, I made sure to simplify the design of the Ferrari formula one car, then carve it out of wood, making sure to smooth out every edge.
2. I was pleased to hear in the review session that people saw the simplicity and smoothness of the car. I got a couple of comments that said that my car looked like it was melting or rising from a block of wood, which was my original intention. The words that stick out to me are "smooth," "sanded," "texture," "detail," and "block," because they represent my original intentions to create a surrealist car. Overall, these comments reassured me that I successfully completed my project.
3. This project definitely showcased my skills from this year. I was able to incorporate the sanding/carving skills from the physcological moment project, as well as basic wood cutting skills from various other projects. I really enjoy working with wood, so being able to use it again was a bonus. This project also further enhanced my skills with a dremel and sandpaper.
4. This project allowed me to stretch and explore within woodworking. I hadn't really used a dremel before, so needed to use it really made me comfortable with the different ends and attachments. Also I was able to explore with the smoothness of wood and how I could sand down edges to create new line qualities.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Ceramics
Ceramics
Throughout the project, my level of technique in ceramics has greatly increased. At the start, I struggled to find the form I was looking for and had trouble creating a smooth piece. This can be seen in my maracca, as it is lumpy and slightly mis-shapen. However, using the slab technique, my drum turned out extremely smooth and I was able to create an abstract, unique form. I definately had an easier time hand building my pieces. I struggled with the wheel and never created a successful that was fired. However, I learned alot about creating pottery and had a blast spinning clay.
When creating a drum, you have to make sure that it actually works. When creating my drum I just had to make sure that it had a round head for the skin and an opening at the bottom. With that in mind, I was able to create a unique form. I really like the way that the drum was pressed at certain parts to create fluid piece. The dimples also work really well when playing the drum. The grooves fit perfectly under your armpit or between your legs. Overall, I felt like 'function' put very little limitation on 'form' when creating a drum.
The only thing that I would do differently in this project would be that I would spend more time on the pottery wheel. I never found success spinning clay and If I set aside a few more days to spin rather than work on the drum, I probably could have made a piece worth keeping. other than that, I am very happy with my drum and maracca.
The next step for me in ceramics would probably be to create something smaller that focused more on detail. I think it would be cool to try to create a model of some sort that highlighted detail versus just a simple overall form, such as the drum. I would also like to work on the wheel again. However, It would be nice to have a break from clay so I could work with wood or another material.
Throughout the project, my level of technique in ceramics has greatly increased. At the start, I struggled to find the form I was looking for and had trouble creating a smooth piece. This can be seen in my maracca, as it is lumpy and slightly mis-shapen. However, using the slab technique, my drum turned out extremely smooth and I was able to create an abstract, unique form. I definately had an easier time hand building my pieces. I struggled with the wheel and never created a successful that was fired. However, I learned alot about creating pottery and had a blast spinning clay.
The next step for me in ceramics would probably be to create something smaller that focused more on detail. I think it would be cool to try to create a model of some sort that highlighted detail versus just a simple overall form, such as the drum. I would also like to work on the wheel again. However, It would be nice to have a break from clay so I could work with wood or another material.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Artist Emulation
Artist Emulation
Process:
Overall, I looked fairly deep into Frank Lloyd Wright's fallingwater. I looked deeply into the formal elements of color, shape, and texture in the fallingwater. I noticed how the fallingwater consisted of earthy colors such as browns and the grey of stone. The fallingwater is also made up of rectangular prisms, and I made sure to include that in my emulation. I dug really deep to find out that all of Frank lloyd wright's works coexist with their environment. For example, the fallinwater flows in the same direction as the river, and the san rafael civic center is designed so that the domes represent the rolling hills surrounding it.
I made sure include wright's artististic style into my project. I colored part of my sculpture grey to represent stone, while I left the other parts bare, showing off the grain of the wood. This made the sculpture blend in better with it's intended environment. I also made sure to make my sculpture out of blocks, to get the idea "cubism" across that is shown in the original fallingwater.
Personal Expression:
I decided to make my sculpture out of wood because I am comfortable using wood. I worked with wood in my last project and was excited to get to use the same tools. I liked how I one by one cut each rectangular prism and then put them together, instead of trying to cut the whole sculpture out of one block. I tried to make my project as simplistic as possible by only using blocks, and only painting part of it one color. Although the actual fallingwater is multiple colors and has more details, I chose to modify the design slightly so I could simplify it, while still using all of the formal elements in Wright's original fallingwater.
Based off of the feedback from my group members, I concluded that my biggest strength as a representational artist is my ability to convey the the "flow" of Wright's works in my model. I definitely tend to make my art fairly simplistic. In the past, I generally focused more on having my sculptures smooth a fluid, excluding small and unimportant details. I definitely included this characteristic in this artist emulation project because I focused more on the sculpture as a whole, and less about including/painting on every single window or door.
Process:
Overall, I looked fairly deep into Frank Lloyd Wright's fallingwater. I looked deeply into the formal elements of color, shape, and texture in the fallingwater. I noticed how the fallingwater consisted of earthy colors such as browns and the grey of stone. The fallingwater is also made up of rectangular prisms, and I made sure to include that in my emulation. I dug really deep to find out that all of Frank lloyd wright's works coexist with their environment. For example, the fallinwater flows in the same direction as the river, and the san rafael civic center is designed so that the domes represent the rolling hills surrounding it.
I made sure include wright's artististic style into my project. I colored part of my sculpture grey to represent stone, while I left the other parts bare, showing off the grain of the wood. This made the sculpture blend in better with it's intended environment. I also made sure to make my sculpture out of blocks, to get the idea "cubism" across that is shown in the original fallingwater.
Personal Expression:
I decided to make my sculpture out of wood because I am comfortable using wood. I worked with wood in my last project and was excited to get to use the same tools. I liked how I one by one cut each rectangular prism and then put them together, instead of trying to cut the whole sculpture out of one block. I tried to make my project as simplistic as possible by only using blocks, and only painting part of it one color. Although the actual fallingwater is multiple colors and has more details, I chose to modify the design slightly so I could simplify it, while still using all of the formal elements in Wright's original fallingwater.
Based off of the feedback from my group members, I concluded that my biggest strength as a representational artist is my ability to convey the the "flow" of Wright's works in my model. I definitely tend to make my art fairly simplistic. In the past, I generally focused more on having my sculptures smooth a fluid, excluding small and unimportant details. I definitely included this characteristic in this artist emulation project because I focused more on the sculpture as a whole, and less about including/painting on every single window or door.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Artist Emulationn
Modern Artist Emulation
For this project I narrowed my choice down to two sculptors: Flavin and Andy Goldsworthy. Both artists focus on minimalism and create simple forms instead of complex and intricately detailed figures.
I chose Flavin because I really like the way the simple, bright lines interact with one another. What really pulls me in is how the opposing colors "pop" against the plain background. However, I decided not to emulate Flavin due to the difficulty in working with lights. Not only would it be expensive, but it would require a lot of time to learn how to properly wire the lights together. Due to the shorter deadline, I think it would be better to work with a simpler medium. However, I would love to incorporate electronics into a future project.
The other artist I narrowed down to was Andy Goldsworthy. I really like how he uses natural objects to create simple shapes that connect with the earth and it's surrounding. It also amazes me how he creates such massive sculptures. However, working with rocks would be difficult because I would need to make sure that each stone had the perfect shape for each part on the sculpture.
After eliminating both of my possibilities, I decided to look into a completely different theme: architecture. I looked at the works from Le Corbusier and Louis Sullivan, but was drawn to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. I love the way that the building fits into its surroundings, and how the water flows from the second level down to the first. To recreate this, I thought I would make a model. However, I wanted to incorporate the minimalist aspects from the previous sculptors I looked at. I want to make sure I keep it simple, like Flavin, and I need to make it fit into it's surrounding, like Goldsworthy. I decided I would make it out of unique blocks of wood that would stack to make the basic outline of the fallingwater. Overall, I think that the fallingwater is a beautiful building that, if recreated correctly, could make a great model. Plus, it is known as the "best all-time work of american architecture!"
For this project I narrowed my choice down to two sculptors: Flavin and Andy Goldsworthy. Both artists focus on minimalism and create simple forms instead of complex and intricately detailed figures.
I chose Flavin because I really like the way the simple, bright lines interact with one another. What really pulls me in is how the opposing colors "pop" against the plain background. However, I decided not to emulate Flavin due to the difficulty in working with lights. Not only would it be expensive, but it would require a lot of time to learn how to properly wire the lights together. Due to the shorter deadline, I think it would be better to work with a simpler medium. However, I would love to incorporate electronics into a future project.
The other artist I narrowed down to was Andy Goldsworthy. I really like how he uses natural objects to create simple shapes that connect with the earth and it's surrounding. It also amazes me how he creates such massive sculptures. However, working with rocks would be difficult because I would need to make sure that each stone had the perfect shape for each part on the sculpture.
After eliminating both of my possibilities, I decided to look into a completely different theme: architecture. I looked at the works from Le Corbusier and Louis Sullivan, but was drawn to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. I love the way that the building fits into its surroundings, and how the water flows from the second level down to the first. To recreate this, I thought I would make a model. However, I wanted to incorporate the minimalist aspects from the previous sculptors I looked at. I want to make sure I keep it simple, like Flavin, and I need to make it fit into it's surrounding, like Goldsworthy. I decided I would make it out of unique blocks of wood that would stack to make the basic outline of the fallingwater. Overall, I think that the fallingwater is a beautiful building that, if recreated correctly, could make a great model. Plus, it is known as the "best all-time work of american architecture!"
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