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.