Weekly IP Blog#8

What I did

Sun. 10/30/11: 3 hours

Explored different mediums to make realistic water storms. Drew out tsunamis and hurricanes in pastel, explored working in this medium by making rough drafts.

Mon. 10/31/11: 1.5 hours researching printing services that print on plexiglass and sent them emails explaining my project. 3 hours filling out paper work for the Arts at Michigan Mini Grant.

Tues. 11/1/11: 4 hours

Further researched different printing methods for my project. Got quotes from different printing companies and ordered samples. Learned about shipping costs, mounting options, and discovered Fujiflex paper was another good option to print with.

Weds. 11/2/11: 1.5 hours

Finished my pastel drawings of a tsunamis and hurricanes, scanned them so I could see them on a projector.

Thurs. 11/3/11: 3 hours 25min

Presented my drawings and projected them in class to get feedback. Finished and submitted my application for the Arts at Michigan Mini Grant.

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered

I really got to explore different mediums on Sunday to draw my natural disasters in a more finished and realistic fashion. Pastels were the most successful medium for the water effects I needed to create and I made rough drafts of storms in order to get the proper feel for the medium. I explored the effects different kinds of erasers could help me create, such as the cloudy misty look waves have. It was very liberating working with messier pastels. I really enjoyed exploring this medium because it had been a while since I last worked with pastels and I was excited to combine this kind of look with my digital effects. 

Filling out grant paper work this week and researching different printing methods was hard at first, but it really got me excited about working harder to make my project a reality. I felt really professional calling and emailing different printers about my project, even ordering samples of glass and paper was motivating. They were pretty helpful by offering small student discounts, but some were very blunt about how expensive it will be to ship and print my work on plexiglass. I learned about other printing methods while exploring printing costs, realizing how my intensions and research are really about using new cutting edge technology in printing, so that’s pretty cool. One of the best printers I’ve been in contact with this week is Stephanie Maus from Artisan Colour Inc. and she was even familiar with the Ann Arbor area. She told me about this great polyester based paper called FujiFlex paper, and how that would give a similar lighting transparency effect printing on glass has. She explained how I could print my work on that paper and then have it mounted on glass, as well as other options I have in dimensions based on my budget. She told me to look at Peter Lik’s immersive landscape prints on FujiFlex paper and that was really inspiring.  His work was very beautiful and immersive, something my digital prints need to be. I loved his mystical use of color because they created an wondrous space and time as if I were looking into a different world.  

Peter Lik http://www.lostateminor.com/peter-lik/

Based on my research I learned Miami, California, and Arizona are the best places so far that could help me print my work on glass because its such a rare service. One 40x60’’ print with PROLAB Digital Imaging in California is $753.00, then I would have to pay $125 for a crate to ship them in, and shipping would be between $200-230 dollars. Artisan Colour Inc. gave me a better quote, a 40x60” print would be $263, shipping for two prints is about $165 but that would include the box they would be shipped in. I really would love to get at least 3  40x60” prints for my show, and am considering combining similar natural disasters to one print. I worked really hard this week to explain my research and justify why I should be awarded the grants I’m applying for.    

What I think I should do next

I will be working on creating more immersive drawings and vantage points for my natural disasters. I will be applying for more grants and setting up a Kickstarter account to get more funding. I’ll work on designing more intricate drawings and continue working with pastels.