Final

I was influenced by the contemporary artist Heather Hansen when I created my charcoal artwork. My piece was charcoal on wood to make a tree, and I used the elements line and value in my piece. I was inspired by Hansen's use of charcoal and her movements that created lines. Her work pushed me to be more creative in terms of the materials I used.

I was also influenced by Maud Vantours when I made my piece using paper. I used layered paper to create butterflies and a caterpillar. Vantour's work influenced me because of his layered paper art that reminds me of nature. His work inspired me to work with new mediums and create art that is dimensional.

What is something you never got the chance to say?

For this project, I had a hard time coming up with an idea that related to the question, "What is something you never got the chance to say?" Eventually I had an idea tha related to the question and incorporated print making. My project is about my grandma because I never got the chance to say much to her, so the answer to the question is "a lot". She lived in New York and had Alzheimer's at the end of her life. When I turned 16, my parents gave me her necklace which means a lot to me because it's the only thing I have of hers. Since the necklace has a significance, I decided to paint a figure wearing a necklace as the main part of my project. I used a bracelet chain and necklace chain to create a print as the background.

NCMA

A piece I had an immediate reaction to was Out of the Box, because it was so large and dimensional.  I liked the swirls and texture, because it reminded me a lot of nature. I thought it kind of looked like a bird's nest.

A piece that I didn't have a reaction to until after I looked at it closer was The Bad Promise. At first I didn't realize that the artist used paper and collage to create the raindrops/teardrops. I also didn't notice all the detail of the hand which I really liked. I also found the misshapen hand interesting.

A piece that I didn't really he was Elegy Study because there wasn't any kind of explanation or description that allowed me to understand what it was. To me it was just boring, but maybe that's just because I have no idea what it's supposed to be.

Non-traditional Material

For this project I wanted to have a connection between the material I used and the subject, so after I got the idea to use yarn I immediately thought to make cats. I originally wanted to do a few different cats out of yarn, but Mr. Sands influenced me to try stop motion animation. At first, I really didn't like the way the cats were turning out, but it got better once I started using tracing paper.  I also realized I could repeat cats multiple times in the stop motion, so I didn't need to make as many as I had thought. I decided to glue the yarn down onto the tracing paper. I like the way the cats turned out because the fraying of the yarn gives the cat a fuzzy texture. I'm glad I tried stop motion because it was challenging and something new to try.

Post-Modern Principles Project

For this project I chose to use the principle text in order to create my piece.  I decided I wanted to make art relating to dance, because I've been dancing since I was three. I wanted to use the dancer's body to make the letters, and I got the idea to make them spell out "evolution of a dancer" because that is the theme for my dance studio's recital. Evolution of a dancer is supposed to represent a dancer's journey beginning from when they are little and as they evolve they become more flexible and creative. I showed this through the letters because the dancer starts out as a little girl making basic shapes to create a letter and  she evolves into an older dancer that creates more complicated shapes. I used pen on illustration board and framed it with different papers to add color.

"The Best Art Supply Store" Doesn't Sell Art Supplies

I agree with the line from the article, "artists can create using any number of materials," because although an artist may be experienced using a certain material, I don't think the materials make the artist. I've seen really amazing artwork made out of paint samples or sticks, so I think using non-traditional materials can turn out better than artwork made from fine art supplies.  I think limitations allow creativity and make art more interesting and intriguing.  Art made out of random materials can be less limiting and more unique.  I prefer looking at art made out of non-traditional materials because it always surprises me how the materials can transform to create art.

               

Olivia Gude Post-modern Principles Response

In the article, there were a lot of points I agreed with. I think that the elements and principles of art that are taught are limiting and can be insignificant concerning modern art. I believe the elements and principles of art are important basics that people should have understanding of.  However, I don't think they should be used extensively or independently. There's more to understanding and creating art than these concepts.  Learning about post-modern principles should be put into art classes in order to make the curriculum more modern and less traditional.  I think this would allow for more inspiring and innovative art.