Post 4/ Reading 4

This week I did something different by taking 2-D to 3-D. I used Instagram artist Kaye Banazi as my influence. Kate does these 3-D organic and geometric shapes that she screen-prints and layers on top of one another. I took her style as inspiration for my project. My take on this was to hand-draw and hand-cut shapes that were a cross between both geometric and organic. Next, I twisted and intertwined these shapes around one another to create a paper sculpture of what was once influence by 2-D art. I took this week as more of a learning experience more than anything after I worked on my second piece. My next project was an illustration of the Greek tale of Persephone and Hades. Persephone is stuck in an hour glass and is sinking into the underworld where Hades awaits her. I planned on turning this drawing into a relief print block and making multiple copies of it. I realized after starting this drawing that illustration wasn’t quite my string suite and neither was 3-D art. With my paper aculpture, I wish I had gone bigger and even had done a grey scale instead of bright saturated colors. With my illustration project, I stopped early because I was confused as where I was going with it and frustrated with my mark-marking because it didn’t translate what I imagined in my head. Due to this, I chose to make this week a learning experience and about self reflection so that I know how to approach next week and start back strong.

Kate Banazi

Unfortunately, I could not get a good image of my paper sculpture, so I decided to take it to the photo lab at the college and get a more decent picture of all the layering and upload it next week. 

Greek tale drawing

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My response to the short chapters about the influence of history on art, I can say that history does have an influence in my art. I’m inspired and intrigued by the old process of printmaking and how in history it was used to make mass amounts of copies. Also, the hands-on experience of carving the block to make these block prints date back to historical times where technology was starting to erupt. My illustration this month was also inspired by history and all of the myth and tales the Greeks told about how the world got to be the way it was. History like that interests me and has sparked ideas and themes for my artwork many times.

Post 3/Reading 3

My progress this week was collaging the individual diamond-shaped pieces onto my figure to create the crown and torso. This was difficult because of the fact that I did not make enough collage pieces and ended up having to make more, which slowed down the process and took even longer to complete. Also, at the last minute, I decided that I wanted a pop of gold on the red pieces and hand-painted each one of them before I attached them onto the artwork. This in turn also slowed down my progress even further. As a final touch, I stippled-on a shadow surrounding the garment-like collage to give it more of the illusion that the woman was wearing the piece.

Detail

Final

My inspiration had not changed and, as stated previously, was inspired by Erik Jones' abstract and Niky Roehreke's collage and fashion.

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In response to chapter 3, I can honestly say that I  relate to this almost too much. The chapter touches on the top of fear and how it can drive or hinder our decision making in art. I know that when I initially start a new project, I am always considering my audience and the fear of how they perceive my work is constantly there. This fear can lead me to create certain typer of work and styles to cater to my audience and to impress them. I have a habit of not doing solely what I want to do, rather I am influenced by what others like a lot. I have gotten better at this throughout time, but that fear always lingers. The fear of acceptance among the audience (and even yourself as an artist) is a tough obstacle to overcome. 

Post 2/Reading 2

       This week I worked 20+ hours on the stippling alone. It was very tedious and frustrating at times, but the repetition of it was very meditative. After finishing the stippling of the art, I moved on to figuring out what I wanted my collage to look like and how I would like it to come off of the figure in a dynamic way and give it a sort of flow/movement within the piece. I decided to go for a more crown-like approach, but not too literal as the collage with make the crown more abstract when applied. The torso will also have the collaged piece flowing down from it and give the piece a more unified aspect. The collage piece will consist of red tints and shades with a possible pop of gold. I chose red because of the connotations that the color red bring to the viewer: wrath, love, lust, excitement, emotion, or even temptation. I like the fact that this gives the viewer the option to have their own interpretation of how the color red speaks to them in this piece. 

Close-up

Final stippling with a preview of what the shape of the collage will be

Collage shapes/pieces

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At first, I did not have any inspiration from an artist when it came to the collage. Looking at pictures of my previously stated inspired artist, Erik Jones, I found another artist named Niky Roehreke. Niky is a design and illustration artist who is inspired by fashion and uses it in her work. She cuts out pieces from magazines and collages them on human figures to create garment-like shapes and other abstracted forms. This led me to the idea of collaging the shapes on my figure almost like she was wearing it. This will give my figure some character and make it more interesting. 

Niky Roehreke

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       Chapters 1-2 in the reading were all about the fear in art and how it affects us as artists. That fear can make us have unfinished projects, doubt our skill and ability, exhaust ideas, and also avoid venturing into ideas and materials that scare us. This fear can harshly affect us as an artist. It can prevent growth and the acceptance that the process of art is all about experiencing new things and knowing when to fail. We are afraid of making mistake and the idea that the artwork is in the fate of our own hands sounds a bit scary. But this feat can fade with the acceptance of mistakes and failure. Trying out new materials and not giving up when projects get tough can help the artist diminish this fear. According to chapter 2, those who continue to make art are those who have learned how to continue- or more precisely, when to not quit making art. The process of making can be hard on the artist if it isn't going their way, but that's what makes them grow and learn from their mistakes. For me, this fear is all too real. With my current stippling piece, the fear of making the wrong marks or over-doing the dots and making it too dark lingers constantly in the back of my head. I have thought about quitting and giving up at many times because it got difficult and I was afraid it would not turn out how I wanted it. But, I kept pushing through, and I kept making those tiny dots layer after layer. I can definitely say I have grown from this piece because I did not stop. I am an artist because I keep pushing on when it gets difficult and that fear is a great motivator to show yourself that you can accomplish it. 

Post 1/Reading 1

      The first project that I am working on consists mostly of mark-making. I have been patiently waiting to dive back into stippling and pointillism in my artwork, especially with realism. My main focus is to combine realism and abstract into one piece. I always find myself working with contrasting ideas and colors, and I continue to do so in this next. The stippling is so time-consuming and intricate which makes the process very enjoyable and even meditative in a way. I am also adding a mixed media approach by including collage with the dots. The collage will act as the abstract juxtaposed to the realism of the pointillism. 

Current progress

The artist that influenced me the most on this project is Erik Jones. Erik combines the realism of woman figures with the abstraction of saturated shapes and colors. The artist particularly models his shapes around the figures in order to create a focal point in an interesting way. His art influences my art because I plan to model the collage around my own female figure, as well as introduce vivid colors into my work. His interpretation of realistic vs. abstract is what I strive for. 

Erik Jones 

Chapter 5 was all about critiques and how each one is different for each person and is approached in different ways. Critiques should be approached as learning experiences that you can apply to your artwork to better improve and/or tweak. Artists must come to a critique eager for feedback and an outsider's point of view as well as their suggestions. While critiques spark feedback of delight and positivity, it is important to acknowledge that critiques can also bring negative feedback which is just as useful, if not more useful to the artist. What might be considered as a negative comment or suggestion, is very helpful and insightful to the artist because their artwork is seen in new light and new perspectives by others who bring forth such comments. I am guilty of being affected by negative comments about my own artwork in critiques. I take feedback too harshly and take it to the heart, which used to make me dread critiques. Now, I have learned over the years of being in college that critiques are your best friend and that they are solely used to aid and help you as an artist to grow and develop your work into something better than it was before. Critiques help you improve.