Weekly IP Blog#7

What I did

Sun. 10/23/11: 3 hours

Sketched out tsunamis, hurricanes, and water storms.

Mon. 10/24/11: 2 hours

Watched personal stories about being in a hurricane and the show “Twist of Fate” on the weather channel.

Tues. 10/25/11: For 45min I met with Janie Paul, she helped point my sketches in the right direction and gave me great feedback. Finished sketching out and researched more stories in my studio for about 3 hours.

Thurs. 10/27/11: about 3 hours of in class critiques on my sketches, and talked about our grant applications. About 1 hour planning out a realistic water storm sketch.

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered

On Sunday, sketching out new vantage points of water storms was a bit difficult. It all came out pretty abstract and I was not sure how to capture the fierceness and easy identification of the storm all at the same time. I did enjoy exploring liquidly motions and actions in my drawings.  I concentrated more on the movements and shapes than the storms themselves this time and played with strips of my drawings being hung and the ceiling. Hanging them was interesting, but the drawings themselves needed to be a lot more finished and impacting. I think I’m trying to get too much work done for all the storms, and not concentrating enough on pushing more quality into one direction.

Monday was fun because I was flipping through channels and I ended watching the weather channel and a pretty cool show called “Twist of Fate”. The episode was about a mother and her daughter being trapped on top of a car with three babies because of a hurricane that had hit their home. I had been hearing a lot about natural disasters over the weekend, such as the small earthquake that took place in San Francisco and how Hurricane Rina surpassingly developing this week near Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula. I also watched a show about the crazy Kauai hurricane that hit the Hawaiian Islands during the filming of “Jurassic Park”. I had no idea that a hurricane had ruined the film set and how Steven Spielberg and his crew experienced such an event. I really like the movie, but seeing how the waves and air affected both the land and people was very interesting. The wind was something that really scared them, not so much the water, and that kind of surprised me. http://acrossthepondandbackagain.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/paper-and-lace/

On Tuesday I met with Janie Paul and shared with my ideas and sketches of my Natural disasters. She gave me great advice because she knows my working tendencies from having me in her classes over the years. She brought up the point that I was abstracting the storms too much. She told me to first draw out the natural disasters realistically, maybe in other mediums, and then start abstracting them. I learned that my sketches were too pretty but that they sort of looked like dancing as well, which was interesting to hear because I’m currently taking a ballet history course. Janie was really encouraging really liked my ideas for my project. I need to step back and draw better my natural disasters and not rush so much to get them all produced at once.  I also sketched out some more Tuesday in a more explosive style, it was fun to do but needed to be pushed more. I also found during my research this great article of paper storm recreations and that was really inspiring because of the light effects the paper had that made it seem a bit realistic.

Thursday in class critique was good because I got to share the feedback I got from Janie and hear how others agreed or add other suggestions. I got really encouraged to draw a nice sketch of a natural disaster and to blow up real big so people can see it. I need to explore how much of an impact and change scale can have on my sketches. It was nice to hear how people want to see my sketches bigger and better because it helps me be motivated. I also learned that some of the forms and movements of liquid that I was exploring could also be used to draw out lava because some people thought that was what I originally drew. I’m learning how a lot more of the properties of the storms and natural disaster are crossing over each other, so I have to be more carful with that.

What I think I should do next

This week I plane to draw a hurricane or tsunami, maybe both combined, in a more realistic fashion. I’m going to slow down a bit, study the actual forms of the storm and not concentrate so much on manipulating or magnifying their beauty just yet. I also plan on working on my grant application, especially the Arts at Michigan application I’ve started because its due next week.

Weekly IP Blog#6

What I did

Sat. 10/15/11: 2 hour and 1/2

Read poems and online articles about storm forms and symbolism.

Mon. 10/17/11: 3 hours 25min

Sketched and drafted whirlpools, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

Tue. 10/18/11: 1 hour and 1/2

Watch video game remakes of storms and online clips about natural disasters.

Thur. 10/20/11: 3 hours

Had small discussions on my sketches, presented them for feedback. Reflected on the feedback I got and worked on my blog. Started sketching more in depth vantage points for my tsunami/hurricane.  

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered

Relaxing over fall break was ok; I had to study for midterms so completely relaxing did not happen for me. I did get to sketch when I took a break from studying and I also got to explore some symbolism and poems about natural disasters. I found an odd website called crystalrivers.com, and it featured a lot art and articles about “the many forms of symbolic imagery”, such as waves and other storm elements. It mentioned some ties between mandalas, waves, mediation, religious symbols, and dreaming, to storms and imagery about nature.  This was all very interesting to explore, especially the images because they were all very expressive. I also read about the symbolism of Gods and storm elements, and learned things such as the eruption of a volcano can mean that something has triumphed or been let go.

A nice thing about the break was that it allowed me to let lose in sketching out new compositions and representations of whirlpools, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. I enjoyed working more this week because I was not rushed in the way I usually am with classes. I even got to watch some of my friends play video games during the break and see how storms were recreated in the game to look realistic but cool. That got me into looking at some clips on Youtube, but I did not find anything more interesting than the website I mentioned before. 

The small discussion group on Thursday with my piers was very helpful this week! It reassured me not rush so much in getting all my storms sketched out again, but to instead consider new vantage points from witch my natural disasters can be represented. We talked about the scale of my work, how it can be immersive for an audience to see, and how I should try to view my sketches in different places like the ceiling or floor. All this helped a lot because it keeps me exploring new and perhaps better ways in which I can create my natural disasters, in capturing their paradox of being beautifully terrifying.  I need to capture more intensity and severity in the sketches I’m making, they maybe are becoming too abstract or nice to look at. I also liked the idea of maybe combining storms, such as a whirlpool being represented within a tsunami and hurricane or a sand storm within a tornado.

What I think I should do next

For this coming week I plan to stick with one natural disaster, a tsunami/hurricane, and to come up with ways and sketches of vantage points in which in can be designed in. I also plan on working with ways to immerse my viewers in the work, so I’m going to try to push my sketches in being more fierce and severe. I want to try placing layers of some of sketches over on another for effect and maybe place them on ceiling windows, such as the kind in cars. Also combining the water storms into one piece would be fun to try this week. I really want to find the level of intensity, beauty, abstractness, and reality my work should have in order to be the most successful.       

 

Weekly IP Blog#6

What I did

Sat. 10/15/11: 2 hour and 1/2

Read poems and online articles about storm forms and symbolism.

Mon. 10/17/11: 3 hours 25min

Sketched and drafted whirlpools, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

Tue. 10/18/11: 1 hour and 1/2

Watch video game remakes of storms and online clips about natural disasters.

Thur. 10/20/11: 3 hours

Had small discussions on my sketches, presented them for feedback. Reflected on the feedback I got and worked on my blog. Started sketching more in depth vantage points for my tsunami/hurricane.  

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered

Relaxing over fall break was ok; I had to study for midterms so completely relaxing did not happen for me. I did get to sketch when I took a break from studying and I also got to explore some symbolism and poems about natural disasters. I found an odd website called crystalrivers.com, and it featured a lot art and articles about “the many forms of symbolic imagery”, such as waves and other storm elements. It mentioned some ties between mandalas, waves, mediation, religious symbols, and dreaming, to storms and imagery about nature.  This was all very interesting to explore, especially the images because they were all very expressive. I also read about the symbolism of Gods and storm elements, and learned things such as the eruption of a volcano can mean that something has triumphed or been let go.

A nice thing about the break was that it allowed me to let lose in sketching out new compositions and representations of whirlpools, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. I enjoyed working more this week because I was not rushed in the way I usually am with classes. I even got to watch some of my friends play video games during the break and see how storms were recreated in the game to look realistic but cool. That got me into looking at some clips on Youtube, but I did not find anything more interesting than the website I mentioned before. 

The small discussion group on Thursday with my piers was very helpful this week! It reassured me not rush so much in getting all my storms sketched out again, but to instead consider new vantage points from witch my natural disasters can be represented. We talked about the scale of my work, how it can be immersive for an audience to see, and how I should try to view my sketches in different places like the ceiling or floor. All this helped a lot because it keeps me exploring new and perhaps better ways in which I can create my natural disasters, in capturing their paradox of being beautifully terrifying.  I need to capture more intensity and severity in the sketches I’m making, they maybe are becoming too abstract or nice to look at. I also liked the idea of maybe combining storms, such as a whirlpool being represented within a tsunami and hurricane or a sand storm within a tornado.

What I think I should do next

For this coming week I plan to stick with one natural disaster, a tsunami/hurricane, and to come up with ways and sketches of vantage points in which in can be designed in. I also plan on working with ways to immerse my viewers in the work, so I’m going to try to push my sketches in being more fierce and severe. I want to try placing layers of some of sketches over on another for effect and maybe place them on ceiling windows, such as the kind in cars. Also combining the water storms into one piece would be fun to try this week. I really want to find the level of intensity, beauty, abstractness, and reality my work should have in order to be the most successful.       

 

Weekly IP Blog#5

What I did

Sat. 10/8/11: 1 hour, 20min

Started my digital painting of a tornado. Studied the kind of colors and style I could have. 

Sun. 10/9/11: 6 hours and 1/2

Painted two versions of my tornado. Got feed back from my Tutor online. Edited my drafts and color studies. Worked on digital effects.

Mon. 10/10/11: 24min. printing my tornado on three different kinds of paper. 1 hour and 1/2 working on my IP proposal.

Tues. 10/11/11: 6 hours and about 20min

Got feedback on my IP proposal, got answers to some of things I was confused about. Read other people’s proposals and talked about how to make them better.  I meet with Hannah and Stephanie to get help on my sources and timeline. Reworked and edited my IP proposal based on the feedback I got, wrote my timeline and sources in depth.

Weds. 10/12/11: 1 hour getting my IP Proposal peer edited and printed.

Thurs. 10/13/11: 1 hour or so reflecting on this week’s work, my proposal, and studio meeting with Hannah and James. Wrote my IP blog based on these reflections and added to my sketching ideas, this took about 2 hours. Read poems and heard stories of natural disasters for about an hour. 

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered

I really worked hard this week to create a  descent digital painting to present on Tuesday. I got a head start on it Saturday, but still ended up reworking and painting my tornado a lot on Sunday. After creating the first lighter version of my tornado, I got on Skype with my tutor from CCS and they did not like my tornado at all. They said it was too messy and that the colors were a bit off for a storm. They gave me tips on how to make it better; my strokes were too thick and could be lighter. So I created a second darker version of my tornado that had more of a stormier effect than the first version. I personally liked both versions, but I really wanted to get feedback from others as to which of the two was stronger. I printed the lighter version on normal printing paper and then the darker version on thick tracing paper and also on photo paper, so I had three prints to present in total. I really liked the effect the tracing paper had on my print. I played around with it a lot by placing it on top different colored papers and textures and also held it up to different light sources. 

On Tuesday’s in class critique people liked my digital painting of a tornado and were very curious about the 3 different printing methods I tried. People overall seemed to like both the lighter and darker versions of my tornados equally the same. Each version of the tornado presented good and bad qualities the other did not. The lighter version’s good attributes were that it was unique in being more abstract, was alluring, had interesting colors that were not too straightforward, had better form, and shape. It had softer and gentle qualities, so it played off my idea of capturing the paradox of natural disasters more appropriately. The darker version was successful in having cleaner line strokes and better digital effects, but people told me that too many effects could be distracting such as the lightening. It also had a lot more depth in colors so people liked how that made it stormier, thus more recognizable as a tornado.   

I also spoke with Stephanie and Hannah on Tuesday about reading poems and people’s experiences with natural disasters. I really want to explore these topics and the metaphoric meanings natural disasters can have. I also want to investigate how dreams and fairy tails symbolize natural disasters. Stephanie shared this great website with me, poetryfoundation.org, and I found an interesting poem. The poem was Burning Island by Gary Snyder, and it mentions wave, volcano, and sky Gods in a way that personifies nature’s elements. It was very nice to read because it characterized nature in a mystical way and I like that more than reading sad aftermath stories. In reading other poems and stories, I started to notice how people have described nature as a female. There’s the expression of “mother nature” and how most hurricane names are female, addressing them as “her” and “she”.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the long days I worked on my IP proposal. I wish I had more of a chance to draw or read more about natural disasters. But getting a good idea of the kind of timeline my project needs and what I should be doing between now and December was important. Now I know that drawing more sketches and exploring all the disasters a bit more is ok and that I should not worry so much about digitally painting right this second.

During my studio visit on Thursday with Hannah and James, we talked about me doing more sketches for each natural disaster, and what kind of concrete sketches or prints I should have for my IP presentation. James suggested getting sample packs of paper from different printing services so that I can explore more methods of printing. Sketching out more compositions and styles for each natural disaster, on the basis of the keywords I have in mind, will help me a lot.     

What I think I should do next

This weekend I will plan out what one or two natural disasters I can study and design on a week-to-week basis in order to be ready for my IP presentation in December. I also will be making more sketches of each natural disasters during the fall study break. Sketching on tracing paper will help me draw a bit quicker and allow me to play with layering and compositions. I’m excited to just make more stuff. Looking at different cultural representations and stories about natural disasters is something I plan to explore more. The poems and personal experiences I am finding online are helpful, but I want to read a bit more to see if they inspire me to explore new things.      

IP Project Proposal

        For my IP project I will be creating digital paintings that embody natural disasters, depicting the unexpected paradox of both the beauty and terror found in these events.  With a series of 6 digital prints displaying a tornado, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, volcanic eruption, and avalanche, different aspects and characteristics of each natural disaster will be presented in an abstracted digital style. Our world today is experiencing more frequent and stronger natural disasters. This has caused me to question our perception of natural disasters and how it has changed over time. Therefore, my project will allow people to see natural disasters from a new point of view that is not the constant negative aftermath the media associates natural disasters with. Instead they will highlight the powerful forms, elements, and dimensions natural disasters posses in the paradox of being visually beautiful yet terrifying. The painter Oliver Vernon has inspired the kind of abstract and active painting style I want my natural disasters to embody.  He depicts certain elements that seem to derive form nature, such as wind and water, and captivates their free flowing properties in intriguingly twisting ways.

        In abstracting and highlighting powerful characteristics and elements of each natural disaster visually, people can use their imaginations or own personal experiences to explore nature’s incredible power. By creating these natural disasters digitally I will be enhancing nature’s realism with digital effects in order to really capture people’s attention. I would like to exhibit my digital series with Diasec prints, prints on acrylic glass, allowing light to show through the work to highlight the digital effects, delicacy, and fierceness my series will poses. My work will need a nice gallery space or room with large windows to efficiently display the power of my work. I plan to work in my studio space at school and at home, network with galleries in Downtown Ann Arbor, and to pay for the prints and space with grants.  

        To create my series of natural disasters I will be developing my digital painting skills by referring to tutorials on websites, such as Concpetart.org, and meet with a tutor from the College of Creative Studies. My own research and new studies in weather effects, metaphors of natural disasters, digital painting, illustration, and design will also help me create the digital style my series needs in order to be impacting. I think it is important for people to respect and keep in mind how beautifully powerful nature truly is and my digital representation of natural disasters will show that. 

IP Project Proposal, Sources & References, Weekly Timeline

Sources & References

1.) Painter Oliver Vernon

Oliver Vernon creates abstract movements and action in his paintings that are very inspirational for the kind of action I want my natural disaster series to have. He has a very surreal and figurative style that references nature and how it takes can use space. I like the physical and chaotic presence of his work, it’s the kind of presence I want to portray digitally.       

Oliver Vernon, Last Stop, acrylic on panel

2.) Photographic References

Photos of real natural disasters and geological images to help remind me what these storms actually look like. They also serve as a reference for the colors I can use for each storm. 

3.) Sailor Moon, series and concept art

The art illustrations of Sailor Moon have symbolized elements of nature in the powers and attacks the characters in the story use. The illustrated forces, movements, and exaggerated effects highlight the forces of nature in a similar way my digital effects will enhance my natural disaster.

4.) Artist Gary Fernández

Gary Fernández’s elegant and demanding style in his prints are extremely inspirational. He uses patterns and organic silhouettes that reminds me of water, leafs, and hill valleys. His large prints are visually powerful by displaying wondrous forms that convey dimensions in space. Creating strong graphic dimensions in the forms of my natural disasters is what his work is inspiring me to do.   

http://www.garyfernandez.net/

5.) Fairies by Yoshitaka Amano, DH Press.

I very much enjoy Yoshitaka Amano’s serene and lovely style. The free flowing flowers and scenery depictions in this book are visually inspiring in how lose my painting style and stokes can be, especially for wind or snow.  He is also another artist that captures chaotic movements in his work and that helps me think about better compositions for my project. 

6.) Anselm Kiefer

His work is visually very powerful and demands attention. I think it is important for my work to be demanding in order to depict the ironic phenomenal natural disasters are in being beautiful and terrible. His color tones are also very inspiring for the earthquake digital painting I want to create. 

Weekly Timeline

Oct. 16-Oct. 22: Do more in depth research on the metamorphic meanings of natural disasters. Read poems, personal accounts, and stories about natural disasters. Sketch and further develop my series by thinking about dimensions for each print and their qualities. 

Oct. 23-Oct .29: Have improved compositions from my research and inspirations in exploring different meanings of natural disasters.  Better improve my digital painting skills and style. Find out where and how much it will cost to get Diasec prints, also explore other alternatives. Start researching grants or scholarships to apply for. Look into applying for a Student Mini Grant with Arts at Michigan.   

Oct. 30-Nov. 5: Start applications for grants and scholarships. Have at least three digital paintings created. Continue researching and sketching ideas. Try to finalize what my project is really about and why it is important for people to see the unexpected paradox of the beauty and terror found in natural disasters. Try to get feedback on why people should fund my work by asking professors, other artists, and friends for input. Finish and turn in application for Student Mini Grant with Arts at Michigan.

            Friday Nov. 4: Deadline for Student Mini Grant with Arts at Michigan.

  

Nov. 6-Nov. 12: Have a good amount of research material gathered about natural disasters, what makes them unique and worth depicting. Meet with my tutor from CCS; receive feedback on my digital skills and ideas. Have an improved proposal and three to four strong digital prints done for my grant application. Try to know what dimensions, methods of printing, and number of natural disasters my project will have.  

      Thursday Nov. 10: Turn in grant application.

Nov. 13-Nov. 19: Have four strong digital pieces done to present. Meet with my tutor from CCS if not having done so the week before. Know if it is possible for me to get Diasec prints ordered, if not what alternatives will I be using. Have the scale size of my prints determined, depending on my printing methods and funding.

Nov. 20-Nov. 26: Have five to six digital prints done; get feedback on prints and work. Fix what’s not working in my project and maybe keep exploring different printing methods. Make sure my decisions about printing and scale size is possible to achieve and will appropriately present my work. Find out what galleries or spaces I should get in contact with.

Nov. 27-Dec. 3: Have six digital natural disasters done, at the latest by Nov. 30. Have all my strong research gathered for my presentation. Practice presenting and figure out the best way to show my work and process. Try to have a good idea of where I can present my work and methods of printing by now. Have most of my IP Faculty Consultations materials ready to turn in along with a rough outline of my presentation. Work on improving my thesis and proposal.  

Dec. 4-Dec. 10: Reflect on feedback from presenting in front of mentors and friends. Have another version of my thesis and proposal more finalized with specifics about location and printing methods. Make refinements or changes to my digital paintings if needed. Be prepared for the next week’s IP Faculty Consultations by writing a more concise outline and thesis. Also make sure all the natural disasters are printed properly and that my thesis is refined.  

            Monday Dec. 5: Turn in IP Faculty Consultations materials

Dec. 11-Dec 17: Be comfortable presenting and familiar with my outline. Present my natural disasters to the IP Faculty in a professional and understanding way, clearly highlight my thesis. Reflect on my presentation, what points were successful and what points were not. Make proper changed to my natural disasters series based on my IP Faculty Consultation.

            Dec. 14-15: IP Faculty Presentations

Dec. 18-Dec 24: Continue to reflect on IP Faculty Consultation and maybe get new input from different people. Refine my schedule and project timeline for the winter semester. Get the resources I need in order to continue working on my natural disasters, try to edit my thesis more thoroughly.

Dec. 25-Dec. 31: Relax a bit and step back from my project. Take some time to think about how I want to finish my senior year, remind myself what makes my project important. Edit and finish my fist written thesis before the winter semester begins.

Jan. 1-Jan 7: Come back to school a bit more refreshed. Start working with the changes I’ve made in my thesis and project. Sketch or recreate new and improved versions of my natural disasters.

            Jan. 4-5: Turn in first draft of written thesis.

Jan. 8-Jan. 14: Meet up with my CCS tutor and get more input on developing my natural disasters. Work on making the necessary changes my project needs based on my development and presentations thus far.

Jan. 15- Jan. 21: Continue my working processes on reestablishing and improving my natural disasters. Check that my printing and presentation methods are still in check or make changes.

Jan. 22- Jan. 28: Have the new versions of my natural disasters critiqued; make sure I am really making the proper changes and not losing the important aspects of my work. Check what parts of my work or skills still need to be improved. Revisit my first written thesis after turning it in.

 Jan. 29- Feb. 4: Make sure my work is looking ok and that I’m not falling behind schedule. Check in early February that my funding, printing, and showcasing arrangements have been made and if not hurry to get them figured out by the end of the month.

Feb. 5-Feb. 11: Continue working and refining my project. Get at the details of each disaster. Print off work to see how it comes out in comparison to how it looks on screen. Display prints in reference to the dimensions and methods of showcasing for others and myself to see.    

Feb. 12-Feb. 18: Still work and improve my series, run more prints and experiments with digital effects. Check I’m not falling behind schedule.

Feb. 19-Feb. 25: Research more methods that could further push the aesthetics or theme of my work. Refresh my thoughts by sketching or visiting art shows if needed.   

Feb. 26-Mar. 3: Try to limit changes by early March. Start setting up the orders or printing process for my natural disasters. Set up a better timeline for March and April, think about arranging help for setting up my work.

Mar. 4-Mar. 10: Finalize my natural disaster paintings this week, or at the latest next week. Have final critiques and get really concise reactions from people as to what they see in my natural disasters. Leave time open to get my project printed and set up for display. Check the test prints look good and imagine them in the space I arranged for display.

Mar. 11- Mar 17: Really push to get my series printed off early this week just incase something goes wrong. Keep track of print order or other methods of display. Continue getting feedback on test prints from peers and mentors. Finalize the location for displaying my work if not having done so already, or make new arrangements.

Mar. 18-Mar. 24: Make proper arrangements to have my digital prints taken to the space or gallery where they will be displayed. Start inviting people to the space to get feedback on how they like the location and how the natural disasters can be arranged. 

Mar. 25-Mar. 31: Brainstorm on my final written thesis. Explore and experience setting up the space properly for my project. Try several different arrangements of my work. Bring people to see the different arrangements, what they like or don’t like. Consider adding or removing lighting effects to the space.

Apr. 1-Apr. 7: Really have my project arrangements finalized. Be ready to turn in prints to the gallery and leave them in the space. Reflect on my work and how it evolved. Revisit my first written thesis and write about the changes and growth in my project thus far.

            Apr. 2-3: Turn in work to gallery installers

Apr. 8-Apr. 14: Work on writing my final thesis. Have people edit it; get some reactions to my overall work. Consider how I could have done the project better and why it turned out the way it did.

Apr. 15-Apr. 22: Write my final thesis with a true understanding on how my natural disasters project evolved during the year. Consider how it conveyed a message about nature. Reflect on how I grew as an artist and impacted people with my IP project.

            Apr. 22: turn in final written thesis.