almost there...

to-do list 'til graduation:

1. senior show --check
2. thesis defense --check
3. psych paper & exam --check
4. art history exam _____
5. pack up! _____
6. band tour _____
7. commencement!!!
   

trying out some titles...

Intimate Space: Discovery











Intimate Space: Evolution












Intimate Space: Potential

any better III?

any better II?

any better?

one more time, comments pleeease.. thanks!

more comments, por favor!

comments & suggestions, s'il vous plaît!

i need some opinions, please!

good or bad direction...? comments, suggestions? thanks!!

how cool is this?

DALE CHIHULY: amaaaazing glasswork!

these forms are so quick and spontaneous-looking... i love the biomorphic qualities of life forms they express.

CHECK CHIHULY OUT: www.chihuly.com

it's been awhile. ...thoughts & images of a not-so-new semester:

Karla Hackenmiller: pieces of "LIMINAL SLICE" (collaged etchings)

...my inspiration!!

what a perfect illustration of the complexities & patterns of the mind. excellent.

PLANS:

a.) digital portraits on silk
b.) encaustic prints
c.) 3-D collage lights??
d.) THESIS!

CONCEPT: illustrating the human psyche (the mental/psychological structure & force of a person.)

-what does it look like?
-how does it work?
-can we understand it?

PROGRESS: Artist Statement...

• My body of work focuses on the illustration of the human psyche. As Webster’s defines it, the psyche is (in classical mythology), “a personification of the soul,” or in more modern terms, “the actuating cause of an individual life.” Behind our physical façade, each individual is wired with a complicated and complex subconscious. This motivational force drives us to be the people we are, and it is my attempt to reveal the inner workings and vast elaborateness of thought process.
  
• I begin by creating highly detailed linoleum relief prints that resemble innate, unreserved thought process. These “ruminations” are collections of designs that are drawn and carved in a rather free association-like way. They represent images or synapses of the subconscious mind. Printed on handmade, delicate Japanese washi paper, the material helps to emphasize their weightless and changing nature. The beeswax encaustic coating gives the prints a closer connection to thought process by giving them a translucent yet foggy quality. I push the medium further by ironing out almost all of the beeswax. This leaves just a sheen of encaustic remaining on the print, and it increases its transparency and delicacy.
  
• Secondly, I work from the design or style of these prints, as well as from scanned-in drawings and digital stylus drawings to create “intimate spaces”— highly detailed digital portraits. Though in actuality they are self-portraits, they are not meant to resemble myself in the end product— they are simply meant to portray anonymous thinkers. These portraits are originally taken from photographs which are then blocked out into simple colors. The drawings are added on top of the flat color to represent thought process and what might be going on ‘underneath’ the skin shell of a person’s psyche. Layers of texture, light, shadows, and color are then added to complete the image and add depth to the overall composition. Finally, the images are printed large-format on a silk fabric medium. This gives the print a highly moveable and flowing quality which incorporates the ever-changing nature of the mind and of thinking. These “intimate spaces” are meant to invite the viewer to take a closer look at this human’s inner workings.
  
• The digital images (silk prints) will be hung from the ceiling in an attempt to suspend them in a moment, just as a thought ‘floats’ or passes through our mind. This also will allow light to flow through the pieces, giving the work a living, glowing quality by allowing brightness to shine into lighter parts of the translucent material. This display method also creates a larger space for the viewer to see and experience the piece and allows the subconscious representation to be seen in a variety of perspectives. By moving the silk pieces away from the walls (they will be suspended with clear fishing line directly in front of the walls), the images will move slightly as the viewer walks by. The encaustic prints will be framed in clear glass (both sides), also allowing more light to flow through the print. By framing my printmaking pieces with clear frames, I intend to increase their translucency and emphasize the dramatic and complicated intricacies of our subconscious. Both sets of work are meant to stress and encourage contemplation on the complexity of the human psyche. My body of art as a whole will hopefully lead viewers to challenge their previous conceptions about the workings of the human mind.

short update

the company finally agreed to refund the silk photo paper, so i've sent it back & am keeping my fingers crossed for the money to be credited.

as well, i've ordered what i now hope to be the CORRECT silk fabric and that will be getting in within a week, i believe. next, i'll be traveling up to Ashland to print on this stuff, so i'm hoping it works!

gaahhh!!!!

unfortunately this silk paper turned out to be a type of photo paper. i will be calling the sales person who sold it to me tomorrow & trying to send it back.

in the meantime, i have been searching for alternatives. i have sent out several emails to different places requesting information about their silk mediums and asking for samples and quotes. hopefully i will have more information soon about what company/fabric type i decide to go with.

no matter what, these images ARE going to get printed over break, if i have anything to say about it!!

good news!

paper arrived today! the silk looks fine, but it's hard to tell what it'll really be like since it's paper-backed. it came with instructions and gloves, so hopefully this will work out nicely once i get to printing on it.

i'll be coming in this weekend to start printing, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the printer & paper work together without any mishaps!

really cool stuff

Mario Sanchez Nevado's work...

check it out at: http://aegis-strife.net/

the printing saga continues...

GRRR. i went to check to see if the silk was in this afternoon; obviously it wasn't. i called the company, Digital Art Supplies, and they told me that the silk paper was backordered longer than expected. originally, i was told it would be in to the company a few days after i first ordered it (last monday) and then would be shipped out to me (meaning it should've been here this wednesday at the latest.)

because of shipping/ordering overloads over the holiday break, the paper is just now at Digital Art Supplies and is currently being shipped out to me. this means it'll get here by wednesday (the day of our final- yikes.)

Jessica has kindly agreed to come in over Christmas break & help me get started printing on the silk paper. i have set a date next weekend to come up and try the paper out & hopefully get everything all finished up. (unfortunately this means i'll only have the projected images on-screen for the critique, and i hope to have the real ones ready 1st thing next semester.)

gas to feed the engine...

a little bit of inspirational poetry taken from one of my favorites- Longfellow's A Psalm of Life:

let us, then, be up and doing,
with a heart for any fate;
still achieving, still pursuing,
LEARN TO LABOUR AND TO WAIT.

still no silk...

the silk hasn't come in yet. hopefully it will be in soon- i plan on coming in this weekend to get all the images done.

question... please comment(!): when is our final? is it wednesday for sure?? ...i have it down as weds. from 4-6.

one more cool thing over break...

more inspiring stuff- some pretty nifty graphics.....

THX's 'Amazing Life'... check it out: http://www.thx.com/cinema/trailers.html

politically inspired inspiration

an inspirational discovery over break:

Will.I.Am's "It's a New Day"

i went to sleep last night, tired from the fight
i’ve been fightin’ for tomorrow all my life.
i woke up this mornin’
feelin’ brand new-
cause the dreams that I’ve been dreamin’
have finally came true.

it’s a new day.

if you and i made it this far, well then hey-
we can make it all the way.
and they said no we can’t..
and we said yes we can.
remember: it’s you and me, together.

it’s time for unity-
for us and we..
that’s you and me, together.

HOPE for CHANGE. check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7y4IDeKjqk