word visualization

- When visualizing the poem I wanted to emphasize mainly the beginning and the end. The images of me by myself at the beginning stand out, and the type being so large at the end draws attention to it.
- At first I wanted the structure to be small and portable, but the type was impossible to read. I like the way it stands or can be folded up, and putting it on tiles gives it a sort of weight it would not have otherwise on foam or paper backing.
- I took images in photoshop, made them black and white, gave each one a different effect, and then blended them together with the smudge tool. After that I put a filter over the entire background layer to make it less saturated, and then put the text on top.
- I used floor tiles that I stuck together with sketch paper in between, and then mod poged the image onto that.
- The typeface I used is called Savoye LET and the title is in Myriad Pro.

word visualization

my concept for this project basically was just to focus on me on the outside and the roles i play or have played in life. it's pretty straight forward and there's not too much to say about it except that i like the way the display turned out however i would have liked it to be larger.

word visualization exercise

my poem will be...

Lack of Gravity
by Bob Childs

Sometimes this world can
Whirl and wheel so fucking fast
I don't know how anything is
Able to stay on the ground
Any day I expect to see busses and buildings
Launch from the earth and spin off into space
Boulders tumble skyward and
Trees uproot flying out of sight
Everything from elephants to salamanders
Scramble for something to hold onto

That's how it felt back then
And there I was with that stupid look on my face
Running in circles
Without a rope
Without a clue
Looking for someone to call out to
Expecting at any second to be
Pitched off into the sun
Just one quick spit into the fire

But just then
A hand grabbed hold and pulled me down
It was you who laid me out and made me warm
You held me close and sang to me
You brushed my forehead with the
Palm of your hand
Without the fear of spinning free
Unaffected by the lack of gravity
As if you were somehow part of this planet
A piece of this puzzle
One cell in a larger organism

Now the world still reels
But I am rooted
The room still spins
But I am seated
And though the wind blows leaves all about me
I am no longer in fear of
Shooting up into the darkness
Again I feel the weight of my form
Planted on the earth
I can see both my feet
Placed beneath me on the ground
I can lay my head back and
Rest upon the soil

So I give you my endless thanks
And my undying love
For all of this
And more.

it just really speaks to me because the author has bipolar disorder and so do i and i know what its like to feel out of control and have someone bring me back down and make everything okay.
for my book i want it to be really small, like pocket sized so as to carry it around in case i feel a crazy mood coming on. i want to fill it with pictures of me and people in my life that helped me through the hard times of my illness. thats all i have for ideas right now.

just kidding!

scratch my last idea for this second project. instead i'll be creating myself as a life-size paper doll, with outfits that are significant to me such as my salisbury cheerleading uniform, my lifeguard uniform, my tcnj hoodie, and maybe one of my prom dresses. i like this idea way better because it's more unique and more about me externally than internally, which is different than most others in the class.

illustrator project #1

Project 2 Idea

For my self portrait project I plan on keeping the composition as random as possible. I want it to look like a page from a notebook covered with doodles, with random objects and polaroids all over like a cluttered desk. This is significant to me because my life right now is all over the place and confused, but at the same time whimsical and fun. I plan on making it look like one big picture but just separating it into three to make it a triptych. I’d like to do several simple photo manipulations to different pictures of me and space them all over the final project. I took pictures over break for this project of me, my best friend, my neice and her mom. Those girls are the light of my life and without them I'd be nothing, they're a part of me and that's why I'm including them in my self-portrait. I might add a few pictures of me with other people and make it like a scrap book but we'll see how it goes... I don't like to plan out my projects fully ahead of time because then it will turn out differently than I expected and I won't be happy with it.

artist comparison

Frida Khalo's work shows her as regal and strong. She often portrays herself in nature, with strong features and upright posture. Her work celebrates her as a person, and represents her perseverance through struggles in her life. Her work shows her position as a strong female artist, and conveys a message of feminine strength and importance. To be honest I feel like her work makes her seem conceited. It just seems to me like the self portraits she created are a false interpretation of strength, almost as a cover-up for how she felt underneath.
Cindy Sherman definitely makes a strong feminine statement through her work. She points out female sexuality and strength, but also vulnerability. Her work is reminiscent of the 70's and 80's and it recalls a time where women, despite their right to vote and emergence in the workplace, were still not as recognized as they should have been. This helps remind us that women are still being undermined today.
Xiuwen shows females as frail and vulnerable. Her fascination with pregnancy is shown in many of her works, and it provides an interesting contradiction to the frailty of women. Reproduction is probably the most crucial aspect of life, and pointing out female pregnancy makes women seem more important and vital. This juxtaposition of strength and vulnerability to me is the most true portrayal of women as a whole, and that as well as the style of her photos made her my favorite artist of the three.

Photoshop Project 1

Illustrator Exercise

Photoshop Exercise 1 Before&After

I was absent for the last class so these are the three pictures I am considering for our project.

Out of the four artists we looked at, Gregory Crewdson was my favorite. Every one of his photos was thought-provoking and emotional. The juxtaposition of everyday scenes with dark, nude figures creates a dark sense of mystery and misery. The small town settings remind me of my hometown.
Teun Hocks' work to me just seemed humorous. The way he creates his images was fascinating to me, and I like that he combines painting with photography in such a unique way. The objects and settings in the images are easy to relate to and establish a connection between the work and the viewer.
I honestly don't really like Jeff Wall's work. Some of his images just seem like an amateur took them without really paying attention. This may have been intentional, but I think it takes away from the artistic aspect of photography. One work I did like was the one with the flooded grave, because it was more altered than the others and I enjoyed the composition.
Cindy Sherman's film stills are emotional but at the same time beautiful in a classic, pin-up sort of way. They are very posed and intentional, with her eyes averted from the camera in almost every frame. I really like black and white photographs because I think they give the image more style and more of a timeless and traditional look.

...inspirations

Kurt Halsey is probably my favorite artist of all time. I really like his use of text and the subjects he portrays in his artworks.

In my senior year of high school I did an independent series based on human disfunction and substance abuse. I think it's really important to invoke thought and emotion in artwork and to let people know how I feel about issues I feel strongly about.

Lately I've really had no time to do any serious artwork, so I've just been doodling in notebooks. I think it's really interesting how so many people, even those that don't enjoy art, are always doodling at random in class or at work. I like the disorganization of them and the free sketching that can be inspired from any random thought that crosses your mind.

I really like pin-up girls and old school tattoo images like koi fish, anchors, pirate ships, etc.

Sorry some of these images have gray around them, I didn't really know how to resize them correctly.