Stamps

The stamp project we did this marking period was something completely different than anything I have done before. We created our own stamps and then made artsy prints with them. We took our inspiration for our stamps from the blue collection we made in the center of our classroom. I chose a 1st place ribbon because awards and winning races is really important to me. I get this drive to win and I don't know where it's from but I thought it would be the perfect thing to make my stamp of. The carving of it was difficult and it turned out not perfect but it made it look pretty cool. I made tons of prints with it but liked this one the most. It's simple and that's why I like it so much. 

Collage, collage, collage

This year for our collage project we went off the path of what's "the norm". Our topic was to visually express the theme "celebrity". There were many ways to go after this theme and everyone had a different view on the topic. What was
so different about this project was that after the first two days you a handed your project in and got another students at random. I was pretty attached to my first one and was pretty upset to have to let it go. The progress I made in the first two days was remarkable. Then we got the new project and I was dealt a good hand. Again we worked for two days and after putting my signature final touch on it I handed it off and got my last and final collage. The interpretations that the people before me had on the theme was a lot different than mine. I did a complete 360 on the theme and did the best I could to turn this collage into my own work while still keeping parts of theirs in it too. It didn't end up how I had once hoped it would but overall I'm satisfied with my final work. I thought the concept of this project was cool because it taught me a couple life lessons. The first lesson is that everyone has different views on different things. The second one was that you may not always be happy with the hand you are dealt in life, but you need to do your best to turn it around and make it how you want it to be 

Our Lives on a Table

Our collection to the eye may seem like a pool of blue. Perhaps even a blue jumbled mess with no organization. But as you look at each individual item, you start to see all of the classmates lifestyles all sort of placed onto one table. There are countless blue school supplies on the table, such as pencils, pens, and markers. These utensils are used every day in the classroom and at our homes when we are doing our homework. Some people brought in blue balls and first place ribbons. Showing the class how important athletics are to a lot of the students. There were rappers and bottles of both food and drinks that the students enjoy and eat daily. Someone brought in a Vans shoe. A fashion statement in today's world and a symbol of the laid back lifestyles of some of the students in the class. What seems a disorganized and random display of objects ends up being much much more. It is a symbol of how us art students live our lives. 

Portia Munson does the same thing when she does installation artwork. She adds important objects of her life into her amazingly creative installations. This is one of the reasons that she is as popular of an artist as she is and one of the reasons she is so successful. 

http://portiamunson.com/installations/reflecting-pool.html

Collectors Edition

Thirty-six magazines are what my collection consists of. It continues to grow every month. Once a month a new edition of Runners World Magazine comes out and I always snatch one off of the shelf from the Running Company. I started as a freshman in high school when I got my first copy for Christmas and at first I was obsessed with them. I would read every issue cover to cover the second it came out. Anytime I had free time I would read my Runners World Mag and it would pump me up for practice the next day. As I started to get older my school work and number of other priorities got much greater than they had been when I was a freshman. I don't have as much time to read all of the issues in my free time anymore. However, I still collect them and read the articles that really strike my interest. I also check out the "rave run" photo on the inside cover of every issue and it inspires me to travel and see the world when I get older. The artlicles in those magazines pertain to just about any problem a runner may come in counter with and they are a good resource to help cope with your problem. I think that I will collect Runners World for as long as I run or stay in running. It is a great thing to collect and the collection will always keep on growing 

Black & White v. Color; Comparing and Contrasting

This year we did two types of drawings instead of one. One of these drawings was in regular graphite pencil, and one of the drawings was in colored pencil. The graphite drawing was of a bike that was set up in our classroom. I had drawn and shaded in graphite last year. I definitely improved on my skills and I was excited for the colored drawing as well. The colored drawing was of a jar of candy in the room. The shading ended up being much more difficult with the colored pencil but all the different colors made it fun. I liked the technique of blending. Not just shades but also blending the different colors together to make unique color creations. We got to do a third project with coloring our boxes and I really enjoyed that too. Drawing in color made the project feel much less stressful than the graphite drawing had. But I'm glad we got the experience of doing both. 

The Art of Cycling

This year our drawing assignment was drawing and shading an angle of our choice of the bike set up in the art room. My intriguing angle presented a big challenge in drawing and shading my bike. I do think my skills in both of drawing and shading have gotten better than they had been last year. This was definitely a challenging project and drawing is one of the things that I find most difficult in art class. I'm just glad that it's all over and I'm excited for what's next 

A Sweet Temptation

As the Halloween season approached, we were tempted by sweet insides of the jar. This colorful and delicious drawing of our candy was a fun and exciting way to end the marking period. Adding color to our drawings made them really pop. And coloring on the pre decorative paper made it even better. Shading with the colored pencils was pretty difficult and making the jar look realistic was even harder. However, I went for it and drew what I saw from my perspective. With drawing not being one of my favorite techniques in art class, I am satisfied with the way my drawing came out. Now I can't wait to eat all of it!