Sol Lewitt Inspired Piece

For this art assignment, we were given four prompts by the artist Sol Lewitt and we had to follow out these instructions given to us. I decided to do prompt #77 which is straight lines about 6" long, touching and crossing uniformly dispersed with maximum density, covering entire surface of the wall. I decided to use chalk pastel and use more cool toned colors like green and blue. The end product of this project was up to he interpretation of the artist. For example, there were other artists who decided to pick the same prompt as be but had a completely different approach to the assignment. I was the only student to decide to use color in my piece even though the prompt did not require it and I wanted to represent myself as an artist as well as follow Sol Lewitt's prompts. 

Sketchbook Notes

Rock painting inspired by John Cage

In experimental drawing we did a piece inspired by John Cage using rocks and dice. The instructions for the project was to roll the dice and depending on what number you get you will use a certain mixture of ink, what number rock to use, and how many times to trace the rock. This piece was based on chance with the rolling of the dice and everyone had pieces that varied from one to another. 

Week in Review: 10/16-10-20

Day Three:
There was a short break after our mid semester exams so there were no classes on Monday or Tuesday. When we got back on Wednesday a new block or quarter started and there will be new classes starting which means I do not have observational drawing or studio research anymore. Our new classes will be Experimental Drawing and Studio Make. During our lecture we listened to a select group of upperclassmen present their art and that their college experience has been so far at Alfred University. After their presentations we got to talk to the students one on one to ask any additional questions about our work and about student life.

Day Four:
Thursday was our first day of the class called Studio Make. We were asked to bring our work gloves and our safety glasses in our toolboxes for the next few days. The class was split into two groups for half to gather supplies and for the other half to go to a wood shop training class. The group that I was in what where we went outside to gather tree branches, leaves and vines for our next big art project. After collecting our materials we brought all the supplies back to the foundations studios.

Day Five:
On Friday the two groups switches spots so today I went to the wood shop training. We were shown how to use certain saws and sanders as well as the safety precautions along with using the supplies. After the workshop we had time to work on our projects because now the other group gathered the other half of the materials that we need for our project. With the remaining time in class we had the chance to work on our projects. The concept of the project was to create a bunch of leaves and twigs and build off of that piece of the project. The rest of the day I worked in the studios to get a head start on my project. Also, the important part of this project was that the project that we were starting is our only project of this quarter which means that we will be working on this piece for the next six weeks.

Theory of Me: Group Pieces & Questions

Ethan Samaha:

1.) Should I have the writing be part of the piece or have two separate pieces?

I think the concept of hold a piece of art is very meaningful to the viewer and makes the viewer's experience of the art very individualized. 

2.) When I created the piece, I had boxes that reminded me which portion of the paper was which number. Should I have kept the boxes to let viewers follow the lines and make their own discoveries? 

I like the artistic choice of not keeping the boxes in the background because it shows the symbolic aspect of the lines and points. I think in this case less is more and each line had a meaning and you did not need any extra lines in the piece. 

3.) In this piece I was unsure whether or not to have every set of numbers be a different color to represent the different numbers that represent myself. What do you think? 

I prefer the choice that you have made with just keeping the piece in black and white because I think it adds more character to the piece. I personally think of the dehumanization of the individual in society. 

4.) If I kept all the lines black, should I either give a key to the viewer showing the paths to the numbers or not? what do you think I should do? 

I personally prefer the idea of mystery and having to figure out the artist's thought process. It makes it more interesting and up to how the viewer interprets the art. 

5.) Does the shape work in relation with showing the connection between all the represented numbers of myself? 

I think as you read the text provided it is all literally connecting the dots on the piece. 

Here is the Artist's blog and contact information

http://ethansamaha.wixsite.com/home

Claire Stephenson:

1.) If you had to describe the piece of art to a friend over the phone, how would you do it and what words would you use? 

To describe this piece I would describe it to be abstract and my interpretation of it would be about human connection and hearing/interacting with others. 

2.) If you personally made a piece like this, what would you have done additionally to it before a final review/critique?

I think I would have used another color to contrast the lilac color used. 

3.) What are your eyes drawn to?

I am drawn to the the section that looks like an ear. 

4.) Is the piece obvious to what the message really is?

I think this piece makes you have to think deeply of what the meaning is to you which I think id really nice and refreshing. It is not a concrete approach but it is more abstract and up for interpretation. 

5.) Should I have created something 3D?

I liked the idea of having it be abstract and 2D rather than 3D. 

Here is the Artist's blog and contact information:

https://clearlyc1aire.wordpress.com

 Aleister Huntley:

1.) Is the title "Washed Out" fitting?

Yeah, I think the title is fitting of the piece. The piece looks very airy and light with handling of your medium.

2.) Can two dimensions and grey scale express melancholy?

If it is done right, I think you can but that can also contribute to the composition of the piece.

3.) Does the drawing look finished?

It looks like it is almost finished. I think if you added a simple background and some thinner strands of hair would benefit this piece a lot.

4.) Does it actually look like me?
When I first saw the piece I could instantly tell that it was you. You did well on drawing your facial structure and features.

5.) Can you tell I am sad in my drawing of myself?

From my interpretation, I can see you deep in thought or wondering about something.

Here is the Artist's blog and contact information:

https://putrescinesoup.wordpress.com

Chloe Kottwitz:

1.) I almost just left the pictures in a pile, what do you think?

I preferred the pictures to be placed like a collage. I think it added more meaning and a personalized touch to the piece.

2.) Would it be different if I gave each of you a cookie personally?

I think giving the cookie individually would make it more intimate because you are eating the art as well as interacting with the artist in the process.

3.) Did you feel like you were allowed to touch it?

At first I thought that the cookies were just for display but when you said that we could eat it and interact with the art I was really surprised.

4.) Did you wonder why this round?

5.) Did you smell any or just look?

I decided to just look because when I ate the cookie I thought that was the scent that also connected to the sense of taste.

 Here is the Artist's blog and contact information:

https://sincerelychloeweb.wordpress.com

Jacob Willcox:

1.) What is it you see upon first sight?

I see the glass sphere in the rocking chair. 

2.) Is the choice of colors effective?

I think they contrast nicely and add to the mood of the piece. 

3.) Do the mediums interact well or clash with each other? 

I think the mediums work well with each other. However, my only question is why did you only have the far back wall of the box be decorated with the colored pieces of paper and not the other sides of the box? 

4.) Is the sound distracting or add to the mood?

In my opinion I think that the sound adds to the mood of the piece. My interpretation from the piece is that it is very dreamlike.  

5.) Is the space scary or inviting? 

I think it is neither inviting nor scary. It is more like how you imagine a scene in a dream and you are simply observing. 

 Here is the Artist's blog and contact information:

https://jacobwillcoxblog.wordpress.com

Nic Osinoff: 

1.) Do you think I could have challenged myself a bit more artistically? 

I really liked this piece, I think it is a great start. I think if you added some more detail into the drawing of you at the bottom middle section I think it would have added to the piece to make it more realistic. For example, if the hair was more detailed it would draw my eye there first than to the rest of the text. 

2.) Is it too on the nose? Is that a bad thing?

I like how it is not just the eyes. I think he nose shows more of you and of yourself in the piece. 

3.) Could I have stood to use color differently/more mindfully? 

I love the ombré  and the gradients that you add into your piece. I think it is really nice. Were they supposed to be thought bubbles or clouds? 

4.) What emotions does is provoke, if any?

I think this reminds me of deconstructing the concept of personality and thought process. I think it makes me do a lot of deep thinking including all the aspects of a person that makes us... us. 

5.) What other words do you think would fit into the piece? 

Growth: the process of developing of maturing physically of spiritually. (dictionary definition) 

Here is the Artist's blog and contact information:

https://tchatchkes.tumblr.com

Daily Practice:

This week my theme was the countdown until I get to go home. Each day I would countdown the days until break and my last exams and think of something that reminds me of a memory from home.

One day I was walking back from my  classes and dinner and I finally got to get a closer look at King Alfred with the jack-o-lantern on his head. When I was looking at the face I noticed that were was a candle on Alfred's head which I thought was really funny. When I was little I would always carve a pumpkin with my dad each year around Halloween as a tradition. And every evening on halloween night we would always put the candles in the jack-o-lantern. It reminded me of home because of October break approaching and in my hometown the leaves all change around this time of year.

Daytime

Night Time

Box Drawings: Observational Drawing

Here are images of value box drawings that I have been doing in my Observational Drawing class.

Theory of Me

How do you understand the world and your place within it?

As a millennial, in my first semester of Alfred Foundations, in October, in week 7 of the Fall 2017 semester, in the Northern Hemisphere, in America, in latitude 42° 15' 15" North, in longitude 77° 47' 26" West, in the southern tier of NY in Alfred, at Alfred University, within the SoAD, in Studio: Research course...

I am a creator. I am similar to a little sprout, like a cherry blossom. I can only grow in certain places of the world where I can thrive and bloom. I am here at Alfred University to grow and learn about life and how there are many different branches to my existence. For example, like I am an artist as well as a dancer. I want to be an educator for the youth and teach them more about the world. Like every teacher that I have had they have helped me understand the world in some way or another and I want to impact others and help their world be a little more colorful. 

My job right now is to be a good student and be the best person I can be. In art class I am constantly questioning things and discovering new information that I did not know previously. In Studio Research I have learned that art and movement are much alike as well as how sound influences how you interpret art. I have gained a deeper understanding on what it means to be an artist as well as a dancer and how I impact observers in different ways. I never really thought about performance art being a combination of art, music and dance/theater which I thought was very eye opening. I never even thought about how much the arts overlap with one another. 

Personally, I think being a dancer as well as an artist is a very unique combination and gives me a understanding of what is means to perform art and create it. I think my place in the world is to create beauty and curiosity because an artist is always questioning reality and testing the limits of a pen and paper. A dancer challenges their emotional strength as well as their physical strength when dancing acting a part as well as showing emotional vulnerability for people to watch. 

Young children are always curious and constantly exploring their wold around them. Children have many first like first word, first birthday, first steps, first day of school and teachers help them with their firsts. I was lucky to have an amazing elementary school art teacher and she let her student's imaginations run wild in art class and let them be children and for it to be ok to be curious. I strive to be like that teacher. She was always nice and encouraged her students to get their hands dirty and discover what things are. I want to be the one to introduce kids to their first art experience because several years later I am here as an art student at Alfred University. 

My representation of Theory of me is a painting of cherry blossoms and a blue sky. I am still growing and changing and the place where I bloom is here in Alfred, NY. I am also in the image in a dance costume in my pointe shoes to represent both the part of me that is an artist and the part of me that is a dancer. The location that I took the picture is in front/inside Harder Hall because that is where I am doing what I love each day being taught by college professors that I strive to be one day.

Glass Studios

This previous the foundations student shad the opportunity to work in the glass studios to do core forming of small sculptures that we made. We also had the opportunity to have a tour by our senior students in the School of Art and Design which was really interesting. We had an art students perspective of they daily life in their art studios which was very interesting to observe as a first year. Having the tour gave me a deeper respect for my upperclassmen because the first years are just doing a bit of everything discovering who we are as artists and the seniors are focusing strictly on their specific medium and working on perfecting their craft which is very admirable. Here are some images of the tour and the glassblowing demonstration by one of the glass professors.

Neon Studios

This past week the foundations student got to take a tour of the neon studios and the glass studios. Here are some of the photos I took from the neon labs at Alfred. It was a major opportunity to get a tour of the workplace because there are not many facilities where you can work with neon as a college student. Here are some of the images that I photographed of the neon labs to give you a sneak peek of what the Alfred University neon department looks like.

Daily Practice:

My daily practice theme this week was light around us. I took images of the full moon for the mid autumn and images of the street lights on academic avenue but my personal favorite was the picture of the sunset from the window of the Scholes Library. I think that it was my favorite piece because ever since I came to Alfred I noticed that the sunsets were very unique each night. I really liked how my camera picks dup the rays of the sunset because it shows the gradient from daytime to night. If you look closely you can see the library books on the shelves which I think adds a lot of the photograph and the overall composition of the piece.

Observational Drawing Final Piece

The final assignment for Observational Drawing was to draw a composition with part of the piece drawn with both interior and exterior spaces. I decided to do a one point perspective drawing in Scholes Library looking out the window. My inspiration for this piece was my daily practice that week because the other day the view of the sunset from that particular window was really nice when photographed and the composition looked really nice to me so I decided to draw it but at a different time of day.

Week in Review: 10/2-10/8

Day One: Observational Drawing
On Monday we did a group critique at the beginning of class of the charcoal box drawings that we had to draw for homework over the weekend. The requirements for the drawing was that it would be in charcoal, to have the drawing be on Stonehenge paper, to use sight lines, and for it to be a value drawing. After our critique the professors split the class into two groups and had individual critiques of our pieces. Each student put their piece that we did for homework on their easel and the professors would come over and give us specific feedback on our artwork. After our critiques our homework was to draw another value piece of the boxes with spotlights over the boxes.

Day Two: Observational Drawing

Tuesday started with another group critique of the homework assignment to draw the boxes in high lighting. We had our pieces on the wall and we reflected on the group's progress over the past six weeks and how our works improved. Most of the feedback was minimal because of the individual critiques the previous day in class. After we had time to tweak our pieces and the professors told us about our final assignment for the course. The final assignment is to basically utilize all the skills and techniques that we have learned the past six weeks in class and to show the professors what we have learned.

Day Three: Combined Class
The professors decided to not have class today so we can all work on our art pieces for midterms and let us use the time in the studio and use that time how we choose.

Day Four: Studio Research
Studio Research was to be held in the glass blowing studios to perform glass casting on our small sculptures that we made from the materials in the performance art piece. (There will be a separate blog post about the whole glass casting process in the future)

Day Five:
Class was still held in Harder Hall today and my group took a tour of the glass studios and the neon lab. We also watched a glassblowing teacher do a demonstration of making a glass vessel.

Month in Review: Video

Here is a visual summary of most of the projects and things I have been doing the first month of college. There are many images of field trips, art pieces and extra videos of my daily life at Alfred University.