Instead of lecture today...I was hanging birdhouses!!

Today, my 3D final was due so I had to skip lecture in order to hang it up in time for class. We had to do a site-specific piece somewhere on Temple's campus. I drew my inspiration from an artist named James Jaxxa, who works with tree art. One of his famous pieces is about really obnoxious colored apples that he added onto a tree. I decided to re-create this same idea but by using birdhouses. I created some myself in the woodshop but I collected other birdhouses I found around my house. I chose a tree outside the architecture building to fit in with the specificity of the various types of birdhouse designs I incorporated into this piece. I painted the birdhouses bright blue, aqua, and pink so they would really catch people's attention as they walked by, just like James Jaxxa's work does. This installation really caught the attention of the architecture students, one of which even asked if it was a squirrel trap. At least it produced a reaction, even if it was not was I was looking for. I'm just glad to say that I am done with woodshop because it was not my favorite class by far, although I was pretty happy with how this specific piece turned out.

2nd to Last Lecture!

The lecture today was again done by two people, the first whose name was Phillip. He started out by denouncing some theories Mark Shetabi had the week before about there being no progress in painting (I agree with Phillip on this). He also talked about the various different ways of teaching art, and how the Bauhaus exhibition in New York influenced numerous artistic creations and movements. My favorite piece he showed us was a basic chess set which included blocks for the pieces. On top of the blocks were diagonals and shapes which give a clue to how that piece could move. I thought it was very clever and clearly demonstrates the idea that form follows function. The next speaker, Jess, was actually my sculpture teacher at one of Tyler's Pre-College Summer Workshops! She has always had a great enthusiasm for art and she showed that zeal today too. Jess showed us images of art projects that incorporate both the old and new campus of Tyler, such as the cylindrical bulletin board with a microphone on top and a giant megaphone at the wall of the old campus. I enjoyed the image of the marching band at the ribbon cutting ceremony, which included only Tyler students.

REWORKED warning label!

I decided to re-do my warning label that accompanied the room design we did in the beginning of the semester. In this new image I left out some text but kept the texture of the art materials. I wanted to show people what I usually look like before and after entering my room, which is where I do almost all of my artwork. I also kept the same color scheme, which represents the colors found in my room. I think this piece is better in terms of using images to make a statement instead of relying mainly on text, which is what I based my last warning sign on.

Grit/Beauty project

For this assignment we had to create an image in Photoshop showing both the gritty and beautiful parts of Philadelphia. We had to choose textures from the classroom account on Picasa and incorporate them into our design as well. I wanted to show a contrast of things found right on Temple's campus - so I started with an image I took of an empty cigarette box, which i made to look grimy and worn out by using the paintbrush tool. I then added leaves and flowers to represent the more beautiful part of the city. I altered the hues, saturation, brightness, and contrast levels of the different photos. I also used the transparency tool in overlaying different textures for the ground. I added textures (like yarn and tissue paper!) to the leaves and sticks in the top right hand corner to make them appear more life-like and interesting. I think I was pretty successful in terms of the project outlines. I'm not sure if this is a piece I would necessarily like to show but I am overall happy with the way it came out.

4/13 Lecture: MARK SHETABI

The lecture today featured painting teacher Mark Shetabi, who is actually my current drawing teacher. He gave a brief history of painting while showing a slideshow of various paintings throughout the ages. Mark discussed his notion that painting produces no progress and that it thrives on skepticism. He also believes photography plays an intimate role in painting. Photographs open up a new way of thinking about time that other art forms are incapable of doing. He showed us a book of space paintings that he thought were pretty "crappy" but they looked really good to me. I am unsure if he just has extremely high standards or was not sure what he was looking at. Nevertheless, Mark finished by talking about ideas meeting reality in the realm of a painting. It was interesting to hear him speak especially since he is one of my professors this semester. He is very knowledgeable about art matters and specifically painting, his obvious specialty. Following Mark, there was a presentation that lasted for about 10 minutes. It included two men, one that was scraping a violin stick against a rock and another that was grasping chains and hitting a symbol. It was quite an odd performance and most of the freshman left wondering what we all just witnessed.

More Gouache Painting...

We have been continuing gouache painting in drawing class and I have started to take a liking to it. This is a study I did of a vintage asian doll my sister has. I was interested in the vibrant red of her dress and the smooth texture of her hair. While I am not a fan of figure drawing, I did not mind working on this portrait. I wanted to capture the asian personality yet retain the doll quality of the subject. I think I was pretty successful in rendering her, although I am considering going back in and working with some of the red hues in the dress to make the form more believable.

Printmaking Day!

This week in computers we did something totally new and unlike I had ever done before. We silkscreened prints that we created in Illustrator the week before onto different types of paper. I made an image of the Statue of Liberty which I took apart and changed to have a more appealing quality. I was so interested in the process of silkscreen printmaking especially since I am taking it as an elective next year. It was so much fun and very different from our usual computer class. I especially liked how each image is created perfectly on the printed source. The first print I did was of the magenta color on a blue tissue paper that had a spotted pattern to it. I was able to get a purple color also where the magenta interacted with the blue. The next two I printed on vintage war posters. I thought this theme would be appropriate since I was using a deconstructed image of the Statue of Liberty. I absolutely loved the range of colors I received from printing, especially on the black poster, on which I was able to get a light orange, red orange, and green. On the magenta print on top I was able to get a purple from the pink laying on top of the blue. Overall this was an awesome learning experience about a type of art I was always interested in but never had the opportunity to explore.

4/6 Lecture

Gerard reminded everyone of the FOUNDATIONS SHOW opening tomorrow!! The exhibition will be up til the 17th and will be located in the Stella Elkins Gallery downstairs. There are supposed to be some speakers and student discussions occurring through this week in relation to the freshman show. Also, Tyler students can find summer and fall internship opportunities at the Career Center or on its website at temple.edu/careercenter. This is a great resource for available job listings, both paid and non-paid.

Today's speakers were a married couple who are both involved in the arts in very different ways. Wes, originally a Bio major, has been producing abstract art for quite some time now. He usually completes about 20 paintings a year, including one large scale piece. He has also done a number of solo shows. He looks to other artists' work for subject reference and ideas on how to produce an abstraction that stimulates the viewer's interest. His wife, Wanda, works in an art museum and tries to persuade people to follow the specific mission of a particular museum. She gives talks and tours to younger children so she can reach a broad audience. Both of them discussed how the ideas of romance and empathy apply to their specific work and how they affect it. Wes was especially interested in the romantic notion of the artist in a world where art is not highly present.

3/30 Student Lecture

Today's lecture was very different than most of the previous lectures because it was run by upperclassmen who were kind enough to give us some insight into our future at Tyler. Alex Bloom, a GAID major, shared with us "10 Things I Wish I Knew as a Sophomore". I thought this presentation was very informative and would like to share with you some of his tips now:

1. Stay informed/Go out and see things (movies, shows, blogs) - this can only enrich your life

2. Collaborate and Conquer (like the awesome Trojan Horse sculpture project that incorporated other art schools in Philadelphia)

3. Keep art FUN! (do different and creative projects for yourself)

4. Get a bicycle and get out of North Philly (a Schwinn is probably the best type)

5. You Need What?! Go to Craigslist.com for anything odd that you need for a project. Other places include: Xpedx (free paper), Everything Plastic, Jomar, The Book Trader, Taws art supply

6. Buy groceries and cook

7. Get your sleep on (avoid the internet, parties, and a poor work environment)

8. Drink coffee, and buy your own coffee maker to save some serious $$$

9. Go to the library (im talking urban archives); Free Library of Philadelphia

10. Get exercise even if you don't have time - it increases productivity and happiness

Intro to Gouache Painting

In my drawing class, we are currently working with gouache to achieve specific colors in rendering still lifes. This piece is one of the homework projects we had to complete. I decided to create a triangular composition of three roses from a bouquet that my boyfriend gave me for my birthday. Gouache has been tricky to me since I do not have much experience with using it but I think it worked really well in this painting. I tried to attain the precise colors of the roses and I think the contrast between the pink and green hues is very strong. My professor especially liked the background shadows I included and the harmony of the piece overall. Gouache may not be so bad afterall, even though it is a tad expensive!

Photoshop Changed Image Project

For this Photoshop exercise we took a pre-existing image we created in any media and scanned it in to the computer, which we then enhanced/changed/adjusted in Photoshop using the different tools and techniques. I drew a motorcycle in colored pencil and marker and was inspired by a photograph I had taken of a motorcycle on Temple's campus for the Walk/Bike/Ride assignment earlier in the semester. In Photoshop, I made use of the vibrance and saturation adjustments and used the paintbrush to add areas of color. I also took a license plate and a red and orange reflective light from another photograph and included them on this new image. I wanted a primary color scheme so I adjusted the hue and temperature of the image to get the desired result. Lastly, I wrote the name of the motorcycle, "Metropolitan", on the new image with the paintbrush tool. This project was a good way for me to get comfortable using the various tools in Photoshop, like the Lasso and Paintbrush, and I even happened upon some new ones that I never knew existed, all of which contributed to my new and improved motorcycle.

Lynda Barry, artistic comedian

The humorous Lynda Barry visited Tyler today to give a lecture to the students about what is an image and how she achieves her own unique style in her sketchbooks/story books, which were given out for free last week in the library. She said the first book she wrote took ten days, yet the second took about ten years. This was due to the fact that she wrote it using a paintbrush instead of typing on the computer, which offers a counter-intuitive approach and does not allow for a 'delete' button. A delete button can prevent an artist from finding a new idea the second time around if they erase it the first time. Ms. Barry's work looks like pages in a sketchbook, with the lines on loose-leaf paper showing through and her usage of transparent colors and lose figures that appear to be drawn with marker. Surprisingly, her images of her self prove to have a striking resemblance. She does not like working with expensive paper because she says it "scares her", so instead takes a different approach to the art of image making. Throughout the lecture, Ms. Barry incorporated many funny jokes that kept the audience in complete laughter. She was definitely one of the most energetic and entertaining speakers we have had all year. Of course, the only way for her to end would be to go out with a bang - which she definitely did as she proved she could sing without moving her lips.

PHILAGRAFiKA lecture

I was glad our computer class was able to attend this lecture because I visited this exhibition at Tyler and was really curious about Philagrafika. I like prints and media arts, which make up most of the artwork that Philagrafika is responsible for. This international festival that celebrates print in contemporary art began in 2000. This year it runs from January 29th til April 11th. There are 703 local participating artists out of the total artists, which is 778. This is a great majority and shows the Philadelphia representation very well. There are three major components to Philagrafika - the Graphic Unconscious exhibition, independent projects, and Out of Print (historical collections). The Graphic Unconscious exhibition can be seen at Tyler, Moore, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to name a few. A piece from Philagrafika that really stood out to me was Gunilla Klingberg's "Brand New View". This artist from Sweden used local brands as her inspiration to create an orange mandala design on the front of Moore's windows. Another work I thought that was creative was the piece that had a floral design etched into tires and rolled around the walls of a room. There are free maps for Philagrafika, or if you don't mind spending the money, you can purchase a guidebook for $15. I hope to get out and see more of this festival before it closes in April!

Fake-ish Lecture on 3/16

Today's "lecture" was not really a lecture at all. It was more of a question and answer session for registering for fall classes and which sophomore electives to take. A few speakers were present to discuss matters such as taking summer courses, studying abroad in Rome, and the registration dates (around April 1st!). However, it was not very informative because not many questions were taken and some of the speakers went off on some tangents about the new Tyler building. Which wasn't the exact aim of the lecture, but at this point basically anything goes these days.

Robert Sedlack: On how graphic design can help the world

My 2D class got the opportunity to attend a lecture on February 26th featuring graphic designer Robert Sedlack. He titled his lecture IMPACT: A social model for design. He graduated from Notre Dame and teaches both undergraduate and graduate design students. His presentation was really interesting because design is a type of art I am quite passionate about. He focused on demonstrating how graphic design can make an impact both socially and culturally throughout the world. He is the principal of Sedlack Design Associates and works with creating numerous prints, posters, and packaging for various organizations. He has worked with issues concerning gun control and voter participation. His most recent project deals with packaging for good salt in Haiti. This packaging prevents the transmission of lymphatic filariasis in the salt, which could cause Haitians to get sick. Mr. Sedlack worked with students to design a logo for this project, which resulted in the design above. Bon Sel means "good salt" and makes the Haitians aware that the salt they will be using for cooking is healthy. Overall, I was really excited to get the chance to hear from a graphic design professional who is doing his part to better the world by means of design. I have never thought design could make such an impact as Mr. Sedlack is able to do, and is something I am definitely considering as a potential graphic design major.

Portrait using the Pen Tool

For this project we scanned our faces into the computer and recreated them using the pen tool in Illustrator. I had already made something similar to this a few summers ago in Tyler's Pre-College Summer Workshop when I took the Graphic Design & Illustration course, but that portrait was just a straight head shot. The scanner element to this particular picture gave it a cool and odd sense to it that I began to like, even though at first it seemed like this process would be hard to manage. I really had a fun time getting the details in and making it resemble the original photograph as much as possible. I especially liked how the hair turned out, which I designed by using a variety of brushes in different colors and styles. The hand and the necklace were the hardest parts for me to create but I think overall I was pretty successful in attaining a well rendered portrait.

Fibers & Glass Lecture

The latest lecture combined the fields of fibers and glass. Silk painting was touched upon and lots of student work was shown for the fibers part. There are a few fibers classes available to sophomores that include Fabric Pattern & Image, Woven Structure, and Structural Embellishment. These courses do not include only working on the loom; it is actually possible to do most of the work off the loom. You might like to try fibers if you are interested in working with color, texture, and the surface of fabrics. I really loved the Bear Rug by Nathan Vincent and the Bathroom Vest created by Joan Steiner. Christo was another famous artist who incorporated fibers elements into the natural world (see picture). During the glass section of the lecture, a brief overview was given about the art of glass blowing. The aspects of the Glass major at Tyler were also addressed - it is a very team-based type of work that is impossible to do by yourself. It is imperative to help each other and work in teams to help your partner achieve a piece they are satisfied with. The Intro to Pulled Glass is a good glass class to start with next year. There are also a variety of methods that tie into the glass category, like planeworking, which incorporates working on a smaller scale of glass to possibly include in future pieces of art.

Room Drawing and Warning Label

The idea for this assignment was to create a space we either live in or would like to live in and create a warning label for that space. I chose to recreate my bedroom at home where I spend a lot of my time doing art projects. Before I start a project, my room appears clean and untouched; however, once the art making begins, there is no stopping the disaster that is surely on its way, thus giving way to the warning sign I created using special effect brushes to portray art marks. For the room I made use of the pathfinder tool, gradients, and drop shadows to give this space more of a 3D quality. I chose an analogous color palette that reflects the true colors of my room. At first I was not too excited about this project because it felt like an architecture assignment but once I started adding the little details and getting creative (like with my art desk in the lower right hand corner) I began to enjoy this project much more.

Photography/Printmaking Lecture

This lecture included faculty from Tyler's photography and printmaking facilities. The guy discussing photography talked about how our future is rapidly becoming digitized and how Tyler is the first school to have color photography (how cool is that!?). He encouraged us to take at least one of two electives as a sophomore - Digital Imaging, which covers the basics and not-so-basic things in Photoshop, and Photo 1, an introductory to photography class. In Junior year we are eligible to take Photo 2 where we can shoot film, work in the dark room, and discover the whole photography experience. Another elective that a student who is interested in photography might consider is Digital Projects, a course in web design that teaches Dreamweaver. Tyler also houses a lighting studio where students can check out lighting equipment for their photography use.

The guy discussing printmaking was a tad late, so Gerard attempted to keep the students' attention by playing some infamous YouTube videos, including a video of a flying elephant and a Yale admissions pitch that was set to dance and music. It didn't go over very well, but the next speaker showed up soon after that and immediately got into the details of printmaking, saying that this art form is the only type of art that always requires the transfer of one material to another. Printmaking also plays a role in the social concern of people, and it is cheap and easy to distribute among masses. He showed us a few examples (I especially liked the Japanese woodcuts and Frank Stella prints - see picture) and ended by briefly talking about the Silkscreen elective class next year.

Text Drawings!

These text drawings were the first computer-related assignment we had. I really enjoyed working solely with text to create images. It was challenging at first but then I started to know which letters would be useful for which shapes I was trying to portray. In some pictures (like the leg) you can discern the letters I used but in others (like the guitar) I manipulate the letters to a point where they become unrecognizable. After looking at the other students' work I began to think I could rework some of these and put them in a setting so they really are "drawings" and not just images.

Painting, Sculpture, and GAID Lecture 2/16

The lecture today focused on the majors of Painting, Sculpture, and Graphic & Interactive Design. Frank discussed the painting classes Tyler offers and talked about the importance of the artist's painting palette in relation to their actual painting. He handed out a sheet that listed possible painting/drawing courses we are eligible to take as sophomores and stressed the importance of traveling to Rome junior year. Jude was the next speaker and she represented the sculpture major. In doing so she showed us slides of some student work and also works by other artists (such as Tino Sehgal) which were really cool. I especially liked the river turned green (see picture) and the walk-in capsule that makes everyone inside look black and white (both by Olafur Eliasson). Jude thinks it's a good idea to take the sculpture class twice in order to be more familiar with the processed and materials. The final professor introduced Tyler's Graphic and Interactive Design (GAID) major. He discussed the basic differences between print design (brochures, t-shirts) and interactive design (animation). He also suggested GAID majors should study abroad in their sophomore year so they are not behind once they declare their major in junior year. The only design course offered abroad is in a 6 week summer session titled Collaborative Design Workshop. He finished by talking about an active internship program for GAID where students can receive credit for studio electives if they are involved in a paid internship.

3 videos on copyright laws concerning technology

These three videos address copyright issues. The first documents a 16-year old girl named Alison who was made the subject of Virgin mobile ads in Australia without her consent. Virgin got the picture of her from Flickr where her friend posted it. I think this is wrong because she is not a legal age and she or her friend were never reached to inquire if they will allow Virgin to use the image. Companies should make an effort to contact the person who owns the image to receive their consent, no matter how old the person is. This instance is a basic breach of privacy rights. Just because a picture you like is on the internet does not mean you can take it and post it all over the country. I hope Alison wins her privacy back from Virgin because that is a right everyone is entitled to.

The next video talked about Photosynth which takes numerous photos and compiles them into one image. It is a neat program and I really liked the panoramic shots and images of the Notre Dame cathedral where you can really see the amount of 3D space in a 2D format. However, the guy talking about this program mentioned the pictures are taken from a variety of sources, such as the internet and cell phones. I wonder if Photosynth requires consent for photos to be used by anyone, even though I'm not sure in this case it is that important. None of these superimposed images are used for advertisements seen in public so I don't think it violates any privacy rights.

The last video discussed 'laws that choke creativity' and how kids these days are much different than adults were when they were young. He shows examples of this in how kids remake videos and mix tapes to say or portray something in a different way. He also touches on the subject of theses actions possibly "trespassing" violation rights, but in a different way than one of his first stories on how planes flying over a farm did not get permission to fly there and as a result caused the chickens on the farm to run into a wall in their following the plane's flight. In all these cases I think the main concept is protecting rights if new images are going to be brought into the public eye. This is a time where copyright laws should be followed all the way through because it is only fair to the parties involved. If someone does not want their picture on ads all the way around the world, they should get the choice to say no. However, creating images for our own personal use should not necessarily require permission. I know we do this all the time and if we needed permission constantly it would become a useless mode of creativity. All in all, when it comes down to public images, the laws should be followed much more carefully in order to not cause a havoc like it did in the first video.

response to 'Digital Designers Rediscover Their Hands'

This article greatly interested me because I feel like I fall into this category of designers. I have always been fond of designing art on the computer but I enjoy working with my hands also. I feel this experience offers the chance for artists to have the best of both worlds and not only make use of their hands just to maneuver a computer mouse. I think creating things with your hands can make you a more creative and well-rounded individual because you can learn a great deal concerning material usage and the way objects work together that you cannot learn from the computer. I like the quote "You learn by your hands" said by Mr. Burnett because I feel it's so true. You can learn such different things by working physically with your hands instead of solely on design software. Plus the chance for designs to become safer and longer-lasting makes these hands-on workshops worthwhile. I hope I get the chance to do this if I end up choosing Graphic Design for my major because it is something I have always liked doing. I have been afraid of choosing the computer as my main form of art and losing the ability to make art directly from my own hands, but these guys showed it's possible to do both, which I'm all for.

Ceramics, Jewelry, and Flying Ring Pops!

The lecture today featured faculty from Ceramics and Metals/Jewelry/Cad-Cam. The woman talking about Tyler's Ceramics major discussed the various ways ceramics are used today, from ceramic tiles used in space shuttles to knives and contemporary looking Japanese pots dating back to 10,000 BC. She also explained the different processes on how to create ceramics, such as mold making, salt kiln firing, potter's wheel, and hand building. Last semester in my 3D class I was able to experience mold making which was a quite interesting and laborious art form (see picture). Lastly, she briefly discussed some ceramic artists, including Allegheny Meadows, Sanam Enmani, and Kristin Keifer. At this time Gerard began pelting the audience with Ring Pops and stressed that Tyler is not reliable for any injuries as a result of his bad aim. The next lady represented Tyler's Metals Department. She showed us a variety of works students have done as part of this major, like body adornment jewelry and home and table objects. My favorite piece was the necklaces made out of balloons because I feel these pieces captured a unique quality that they could not have reached with a different material. She stressed the idea of function which is the basis for all the projects Tyler students create. She finished the lecture by talking about Business Practices - a course designed for the artist's life after Tyler which includes making business cards, artist statements, and photos of the artists' work.

Art Education, History, and Repono - 2/2 Lecture

Today's lecture featured professors from the Art Ed department, Art History department, and the community arts group Repono. The first speaker discussed Art Education and how urban education is highly regarded these days. She listed the numerous pre-requisites, such as passing the Praxis and taking both ceramic and printmaking courses, as well as describing a good candidate for this field: someone who loves kids and really wants to teach. Next a guy from Repono talked about the community arts and showed us some previous projects the students worked on. My favorite was a wired bust on a dress form that represented a female trying to protect her children. It was made out of barbed wire. You only need to complete 4 courses to get a certificate that signifies you as a community artist. This type of art is a very different type compared to the normal fine arts courses at Tyler, and the community aspect is not limited to Philadelphia. The final speaker, who is actually my Art Heritage professor, was none other than Dr. Kline! He taught us how simple it is to receive an Art History minor - you would only need to take 2 extra art history classes. Having a minor in this field shows that you can work in both an academic and studio field. It can easily pay off and make a difference even though it requires a little extra work. He strongly suggested this because nowadays landing a job is highly competitive and a minor in art history may just make the difference between getting your dream job and getting a job that you are less than pleased about.

Walk/Ride/Bike

For this assignment I combined some photos I had already taken of the city of Philadelphia previously with the new ones I took today. Despite the cold weather, I walked around Temple's campus and tried to capture the city life I love in most of the shots. I made the trip late morning immediately after my Art Heritage class got out and was able to be back to Tyler just in time for the lecture. For the photos I tried to get some pictures that focused more on detail close up (like a fire hydrant and pay phone) and others that were more about landscapes (such as the skyline of Philly). All in all, this assignment made me appreciate the finer details of this lovely city and also the vast scenery that it has to offer.

Wanna Join???

Today’s lecture involved different leaders who are active in the variety of organizations Tyler students are a part of. They each gave a brief overview of their group and announced future meetings and contact information. Mary Jachetti was the first speaker. She talked about the Tyler Student Alliance, a group devoted to meet the needs and issues that Tyler students experience. Mary is the Tyler representative of Temple’s student government and she is looking for other students to help get the alliance back on its feet since Tyler’s relocation to Temple’s main campus. The next student discussed Temple’s Community Garden group, which aims to create gardens in the community surrounding Temple. Their project for 2010 consists of installing a garden at the Penrose Recreation Center. Another student from Produce exhibitions spoke about the importance of connecting with current artists in the area. Produce helps to bring artists to lectures and exhibitions in Tyler’s galleries. The last student who talked works with Hyphen – Temple’s literary and art magazine. Hyphen publishes both written and artistic work made by Temple students. The work is chosen in the fall semester and the layout is created during the spring. The lecture ended with a woman who came to discuss studying abroad at Temple, either for a year, semester, or summer, in places such as Rome (most popular for Tyler students).