Mixed Media

Questions
Did you learn new techniques or processes as part of the work for this project?
New techniques that I learned in the process of creating my mixed media collage was the effect that gel medium has on paper.  My favorite new technique that I will be using in the future was the clear tape effect.  I used this on several pictures in my piece and I love the effect it gives.  After I tried this effect on different types of paper I noticed it worked better on magazine paper and it looks cooler if the paper is white.
Did you gain skill with familiar materials?

I thought that I became better with placement and piecing together the pictures that I found.  I've done mixed media before on my own and I noticed that with this piece I emphasized the idea of making the pictures fit together rather than just pasting them down with hard edges.  

What is this artwork intended to say?

This artwork is intended to intrigue the viewer and to make them feel a subtle happiness.  With the theme being Amusement I wanted my viewers to see the piece as something to make them smile.  With the theme of amusement I also added a vintage feel to it so the amusement featured in the pictures were only hints of happiness rather than a loud expression of amusement and happiness.

What issues are you examining through your artwork?

No issues were examined through the piece.  There was only amusement.  The only thing examined through my artwork was happiness and how it can be subtle and gentle.

How is this artwork about who you are or what you like?

This artwork is about who I am because it features things that I find amusing.  The artwork above also features my own movie ticket stubs and plane tickets which are two things I enjoy receiving. Mixed Media I feel like is a more personal representation of artist  because of how broad the mediums can be. Artist can have as little variation as they want and this really reflects on what type of artist they are. 

Did you ask another student for feedback during your work process?
I did ask other students for feedback during the creation process. Often times it was asking about whether I should add a specific picture or where should I add this in or how does it look. The feedback really helps me out because it gives me a completely different perspective on my artwork.

Did someone help you understand important information or inspire you?
My table was a source of constant inspiration. In the creation/idea phase Kalabria was a source of helpful information and ideas. She helped me explained on my theme and I helped her as well. We both grew off of each others original ideas. Without her help I may not have been able to produce the mixed media piece that is featured above. I am grateful for her ideas and knowledge because overall it helped me be a better artist.

Sticky Situation With Repetition

Sticky Situation 

These were some of the references I used to create the Sticky Situation piece.
After using these references I created sketches combining aspects from each photo, which then contributed to my final piece.

These photos are in-progress pictures of the ice cream cone.

Artists Take Risks
Did you try something that you weren't sure about as part of this project?

When I began creating the ice cream part of the painting I wasn't sure about Ms.Rossi's suggestion of using the palette knife to create the creamy texture of real ice cream cone. I was unfamiliar with the palette knife and its capabilities to create texture in acrylic paint. I also wasn't sure about making the hand. I was uneasy about the dripping ice cream cone because I knew I would have incorporate a hand. After I painted it and added values into the hand it became the least of my worries.

Did you pick a material or technique that was new or different over something that was familiar?
A new technique that was different was the palette knife instead of using a paint brush to show texture and values.

Artists Solve Problems

How did you respond to challenges that occurred as you worked?

The challenges that I encountered included of not having enough paint for one area and having to recreate the same color again. This happened multiple times with the cone and the hand. I tried my best to recreate the color and if it wasn't the same shade I used that shade to add more values to those area.




Did your work take an unexpected turn due to a mistake or did something happen that was unplanned?

Originally I planned keep the background a light purple color, and I moved on to the items in the foreground. Once I began looking at my art work I decided that a gradient would be more appealing to have rather than a light purple. Since I had all the items in the foreground painted I had to carefully paint the background a gradient without overlapping or painting on the items in the foreground. I didn't plan on making my background a gradient but it was a unplanned part of my art work that I'm glad I got to incorporate.

Artists Create Original Art

How did you use your own unique ideas in your work?

I used my unique experience of having ice cream melt down my fingers to create this sticky situation. I hate when my fingers are sticky and I love ice cream. When ice cream melts, sticky hands are unavoidable. Ice cream melting down your fingers is a literal and figurative representation of a sticky situation. Its a sticky/bad situation to be in because everything you touch will take on the sticky residue. Its literally sticky because ice cream is a sticky substance.

Did you use a source for inspiration, then combine it with your own ideas to make it original?

My source for inspiration was a combination of experiences, photos, and my tablemates. Then I combined these ideas with my own original ideas to complete my piece. I think its important to combine inspiration and your own ideas because it produces the best results. Taking someone elses idea and transforming it to fit your ideas and style makes you a better artist.

Up close and Personal Final

While creating this piece of art I didn't really analyze what I was creating until after I finished doing most of the yoohoo chocolate milk.  My tablemates were the ones who really made me take a step back and look at what I was creating.  After holding it up and stepping away from it I was really pleased with the results.  The colors were very vibrant and the drink looked realistic.  After I analyzed my project it helped boost my confidence in completing the second drink.  Yes in the idea's phase of the project when I considered doing the juice-boxes I realized that I would have to recall my previous knowledge of two point perspective to make this piece look realistic.  

Throughout the process I did ask my tablemates what color I should color the Hi-C juice box and they were the ones who gave be me the idea to make it that pinkish orange color. The orginal Hi-C juice box is yellow and I didn't want to put two yellow juice boxes next to each other so I asked for an outside opinion and I'm pleased with the response I got. That color was a very good choice to contrast with the yellow. My tablemates constantly inspire me to excell in class. They inspire me to push my self by choosing challeging concepts. They also help point out areas of weakness in my artwork. Without their help I wouldn't be living up to my full potentional; I really appreciate their outside input. 

The unique ideas used in my artwork I think makes it standout from others. The idea of juice boxes was not a thought in my mind when the up close and personal theme was introduced. I used my own unique ideas by using my own pictures. Another unique idea I used is to put my birthdate as a best used by date. All of these things help make this piece one of my favorites. As an artist I love seeing unconventional ideas because it provokes thought and inspiration in the viewer which is what I ultimately would like to achieve with each art piece.  My source of inspiration was originally my photo then I looked at other juice boxes and different flavors to help get my creative juices flowing. By combining the outline of the original Hi-C juice box and using my own colors I put a unique twist on the artwork. The method of have a source of inspiration then adding your own ideas makes the art more of my own. 

Experimenting With New Mediums

     The lollipop piece was made using colored pencils.  I enjoyed using colored pencils and I learned how to layer the colored pencils.  The layering technique helped me blend the colors together with ease.  Colored pencils were already a familiar material for me but I gained the proper skills and techniques required to use these tools to create pieces that looked like the actual item.
     The soda can piece was made using oil pastels.  Throughout the process of using oil pastels I learned how messy it can be and how smooth the texture is once its on the page.  In this project I used a technique I learned in art 1 which was to shade in the same shape that the object is to give it a realistic look.  I also used the start with the medium value first technique.  The oil pastels were the same as the colored pencils.  Since I've used both before I did gain skill with familiar materials.
     The transparent candy wrapper piece was made using chalk pastels.  Chalk pastels was a new medium that I learned to love.  Out of all three pieces this is my favorite one.  The techniques were the same as using the oil pastels, but I gained skill using an unfamiliar material.  I enjoyed all of the mini lessons because they helped me refresh familiar materials with new and familiar techniques that help prepare me for my final piece.

Scientific Project

Scientific Project

1.       What where some of your design solutions to the theme Scientific?

Some solutions I had to portray the scientific theme included showing nature and technology which are both aspects of science.  The combination of both these helped show the theme of science.  I also think that I did a good job with taking both these generic science themes and putting a unique twist on it to create my piece.  

2.      How beneficial were the mini lessons in the success of your project. If they were not beneficial please explain as well.

The mini lessons were very beneficial to me. These lessons gave me a chance to test out all the mediums available to me for the project. The mediums that I was glad to have a mini lesson on were the charcoal and pen. I never really knew how to use either of these and the lesson helped me become more confident in what I was creating because I had a variety choices.

3.      How did you show contrast in your work?

In my work I showed contrast by incorporating pen and pencil. The focal point being the balloon and the globe which were in pen and the nature background being in pencil. This background also included thorny vines in pen to help create contrast within the plants. I also contrasted the idea of technology and nature which are opposite concepts.

4.      What medium did you decide to use? Why did you choose this medium over the others?

In the beginning I wanted to just incorporate pencil because I was most comfortable with this medium.  As I worked through my project Ms.Ms. Rossi suggested that I also use pen. I considered this advice and was able to use both pen and pencil to make my final piece. I'm glad she offered this suggestion because it added contrast and a focal point to my piece.

5.      What techniques did you use to create this work?

The techniques that I used to create this piece involving the pen was invented. I invented a swirly shape to show contrast within the building and to show depth in the balloon. I also used the swirly pattern to show where the continents are on the globe. For the pencil part of this piece I used shading to show the lights and darks within the plant steams, leaves and flower petals. I also tried to show texture with my pencil work.

6.      We encourage risk taking in art. Risk taking can be as simple as trying a new technique or learning about a new medium to as complex as trying something totally new.  Did you take any risks with this project? Explain.

I think that the combination of using a new medium, drawing plants and really trying to create contrast with my art work was risky. I had no idea how this piece was going to turn out when I began. The vision that I had within my head changed as I continued creating my project. Using pen was definitely a risk because I've never used pen before. I'm glad I took that chance though because I learned that I like pen a lot more than pencil. Another risk I took was the idea of having a city within a balloon inside a dense forest. This idea I felt was definitely unconventional and took a lot of brainstorming to come up with.The other risk I took was using nature and plants as my background. I had to find a lot of references to get different leave shapes,styles and texture before I felt that my drawing accurately displayed a dense forest. 

7.      Discuss your overall experience with this project.

Overall  I had a good time creating this piece.  It was difficult in the beginning adjusting to the process of having a theme, then creating our ideas from there but it got easier as I kept going.  I had fun using charcoal and pen for the first time.  I'm glad that I pushed my self to try a different medium.  My piece wasn't exactly what I planned in my head but it turned out better than expected.  Although I struggled in the beginning I'm happy with the result and I will use my challenges to help me create better art in future projects.