Final Post

Paper Project:

This project was meant to be centered around an environmental issue, and had two stages: the first one made from regular paper pulp, and the one made on combat paper. Let's have the paper pulp one first:

The issue I'd settled on was the algae blooms in Lake Erie, since I'm particularly fond of Erie and I figured it would be fun to abstract. I really love drips and splatters, so I tried to mix the two ideas and this was the result. The idea here, since it's probably not very clear, is that the boat going across the water, representing harmful practices as a whole, is leaving a growing body of algae in its wake, represented by the green paint. Clearly, this wasn't well thought out nor well executed, and I hated it for quite some time. Now, however, I think of it as a draft for this next piece:

Now this I like, especially considering what a disaster it was shaping out to be in the beginning. I'd intended to xerox transfer a map of the Lake Erie watershed onto the combat paper, but it transferred poorly and I ended up tracing over it with a fountain pen (I had to do the same with the title too--I guess this particular piece of paper just doesn't like xerox transfer!). The water and algae is actually pieces of crayons, cut up with a cheese grater and glued with rubber cement. I was really nervous that the cement would dry too quickly, or I would screw up trying to mix the blue and green in the middle, but it actually turned out very well! This is certainly one of my favorite pieces.

Photoshop Project 

(because I still don't remember what it was actually called...)

In this project we were meant to take photos of an artwork made of mostly natural materials and/or shot in a natural setting, and for it to be something temporary that would soon be destroyed or dismantled. then mess around with them in photoshop. The intent was to change our perceptions of a particular place, or object, or idea. I'm not sure how well I managed that, but I at least had fun with it.

Allow me to present both pictures together:

This project brought me a great amount of frustration. I had little inspiration, and the idea I settled on was a 2D tree made from gathered sticks and leaves stuck onto a wall with clay. I'd originally wanted to also draw flames around it in chalk in an attempt to invoke an idea of the destruction that had to happen in order for that building to be, well, built. However, I am too short and not very good at drawing fire, so I gave up and now it is just a random fake tree. I also just barely knew how to operate photoshop and couldn't get the tree to stand out from the wall enough--the whole thing was just a mess. So what I decided to do was channel that frustration and disappointment into a somewhat more abstract version, which is the second picture. It's still not great, but since adding the second image I feel much better about the project as a whole, and for now I am happy to declare it done.

3D Collage

Now this, this I like. We were meant to make a 3D collage about an environment, any environment. I admit this is probably more of a straight-up sculpture than a 3D collage, but I'm so proud of it I don't even really care. In light of the personal issues I've been having this semester, I decided to portray the mental environment of a person with depression and anxiety. All alone in a tall, narrow box that seems impossible to escape from, nothing to see but black all around. I think I conveyed it fairly well. I may make a follow up piece some day that shows the clay figure trying to crawl out of the box, but for now I'm happy with it as it is.

And now, the big finale...

... how disappointing.

When taken out of context, I am quite fond of this piece. It’s an experimentation with style and content, and for a first attempt at these sorts of things I think it came out rather well.

As a final art project, it falls pretty flat. It hardly incorporates any of the skills we’ve practiced in this class, and is in fact even less polished than most of my drawing. Though drawing was listed as an acceptable medium, I wish that I could have at least attempted to make it out of clay or wire, but unfortunately time was simply too short.

This piece was inspired by the ideas of Albert Flynn DeSilver. He’s expressed interest in how words and phrases often resemble the things they stand for, which is an idea I attempted to convey in “Hanging Vines.” 

11.16: I don't remember what this project was called

For this project I decided to make a small tree on a wall using sticks, leaves, and clay. It is certainly underwhelming and not at all indicative of the five-ish hours needed to make it, but to be honest I had very little inspiration for this project and settled for what I could get.

The tree was originally supposed to be surrounded by flames drawn in chalk, so the piece as a whole would represent the destruction that was necessary for that wall to be built, but I abandoned this idea when I realized I was neither skilled nor tall enough. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely wipe the chalk off the wall, evidenced by the red smudges to the left. If I took more time to do it I probably would have, but the tree was about to fall apart for a third time and I wanted to get the picture taken as soon as possible.

I'm afraid I completely forgot to redo it so that it 'owned' the space. I'm very sorry about that.

Overall I'm not happy at all with this piece, but I do not have the time, patience, or ideas to recreate/fix it.

As a side note, this was rather heavily photoshopped. In the original photo, which I do not have with me at the moment but will probably add later, the tree was barely visible, the leaves not at all. However, I couldn't really remember how to reach the tools you showed us in class (and I'm fairly certain I used a different version of PS anyway) so I improvised.


EDIT: I did not realize how saturated this looks on other computers. It seems fine on my laptop, but then I saw it on a Mac and it burned my eyes.

Also, here is the un-photoshopped version for those who are interested:

10.30: 3D collage inspiration

First off, I really, really need to apologize for my absence. I don't think I can offer a suitable excuse so I may as well not even bother, but for what it's worth I'm so sorry. Also yes, I know this is late but oh well.

Unfortunately, I did not find any particular artist whose work repeatedly inspired me, so instead I will discuss the various images I did draw inspiration from.

I was particularly interested in paper overlay (if that's what it's called, I'll admit I'm not entirely sure), and I figured that would be the most dramatic and most difficult part of the project, so that's what I tended to focus on while searching for inspiration.


[link]
If I'm completely honest, this didn't really inspire me. However, it seemed very relevant and probably a good reference for all the different things that could be made with boxes and paper overlay. Also, look at it. It's adorable.


[link]
This is the image that got me thinking about paper overlay as a possible way to make things more visually interesting. Professor Geffen is the one who showed this to me and suggested it, and I'm not sure if it entirely counts because I didn't find it on my own, but it deserves and honorary mention.


[link]
I quite like the simplicity of this. A simple, battered black box mounted to a wall, displaying its contents with little comment. I think it was this image that encouraged me to switch gears and do something a bit more minimal with my project. The paper swirls would probably have looked great (given the proper time and effort), but something about the idea didn't really sit well with me, and I wasn't sure if that was quite the message I wanted to send anymore. This image got me wondering if I could just do away with the swirls and other stuff and just leave the box and its contents.

And to wrap things up, I should probably give a shoutout to the various inspirational quotes I found, that helped me realize that no, there is no wrong answer to art, and reminded me that when my art talks to me, I should shut up and listen to it.

Sept. 14: The 5 C's

I will be perfectly honest: I still don't fully understand the five C's. I'm not sure what they all mean in this context, or how exactly they're supposed to relate to each other, so instead I'll just talk about the project itself.

I think we did fairly well on our sculpture, considering that neither of us have engaged in wirework before. I particularly like the concept behind it, all credit of which must go to my partner. She translated the swirled part of the bamboo into sound waves, meant to mimic the sounds of the ocean that are supposedly emitted from every shell. I am also happy with the accidental contrast between the 'sound waves' and the shell: when making the shell I thought the wires would be off the ground, completely supported by he shell, so I made the shell out of the stronger and heavier black wire so it could support it. Nadiya went the opposite route and made her bambooo/sound waves out of brass, copper, and nickel, and as a result the dull, dark shell contrasted with the bright and, well, loud sound waves. I like to think this symbolizes the dullness of daily life versus the color and flair of our imaginations (to get a bit corny for a moment). We decided to emphasize this contrast by covering the shell with dark grey paper pulp.

In short, our project does lack skill and probably execution, but with creativity and serendipity it still managed to become an interesting piece.

Sept 7: 8HP Final Impressions

At this point it seems likely that I simply did not pay enough attention during my visits, but there were yet again projects on display that I wasn't even aware were being made during the WIP day.

One such project was the music made by unknowing passers-by, by taking a photo every minute and writing notes depending on where each person was. The result was not some disjointed, rhythmless noise like one might expect, but a quite peaceful and even beautiful tune. That really struck me.

There was another project, a television that, if I recall correctly, was just labeled 'video.' All the TV showed, however, was the history channel, leading me to believe that a mistake had been made and the intended video was not being shown. Unless of course the showing of the history channel was an artistic statement. What that statement might be, though, I'm afraid I can't say.

I never did find out what was with the ceramics and the grinding. The project was titled Colonialistic Tourism, but I'm afraid that doesn't really help me understand.

The newspaper headline is from Zimbabwe. It reads "21-Day Quarantine for Ebola Suspects." According to the artist's description, the article the headline was taken from stated that people coming to the Zimbabwe from countries in which there has been an outbreak of Ebola will be quarantined. I'm not sure what to make of it, to be perfectly honest. Admittedly, I'm not well-versed in world affairs or even local ones, nor what legal quarantine entails, so what thoughts I do have would be ill-informed and probably best kept to myself.

I still really like Acts of Mann, which, the description makes clear, is a drawing of the fight between Jack Johnson and James Jefferies as a metaphor for racism in America and the struggles caused by it. It is very skillfully drawn and the symbolism is strong enough to leave a person thinking long after viewing the piece.

I am quite intrigued by the idea behind Long Lost. No one, I think, is simply one person. Though the extent to which varies from person to person, we are all many personalities occupying one body, and I think Long Lost does help to demonstrate that.

As you said in class, John painted over several of the tags and items on his net. You told us his reasons for doing this but I'm afraid I cannot recall it. My guess is that he obscured their appearance to emphasis the losses they represent. Or was it to symbolize them being obscured by a fading memory, suggesting that we should allow time to blur the past and stop dwelling?

August 31: 8 Hour Projects

I admit, I did not do well with this. It wasn't out of disinterest--I was very intrigued by the projects and the assignment--I just forgot to read the instructions before taking part. Go there, take notes and maybe some pictures? Seemed simple enough. However, I failed to realize we should stay there for an hour each time, whereas my visits hovered around twenty minutes, or that we were to be taking note n the artistic process specifically, rahter than just how the projects were progressing. I also didn't know that we would no longer be able to visit after six, so I did not even get to visit all three times. In short, I have failed miserably at this relatively simple task and I am very very sorry.


I was surprised by the woman with the makeup. I'd seen so many photos online of people who had used makeup to completely alter their face, or even use their face as a canvas of sorts, that I automatically assumed that's what she was going to do. But instead she applied makeup to volunteers, to help them look their most masculine or most feminine, and took photos

There were several projects that I didn't even know where going to be there when I first visited: the drawing of the boxers, the painting of a headline, and the abstract painting loosely tracing a projection of a brain all caught me by surprise when I came for my second visit.

I especially liked the pieces focused on loss. The artist asked people to select items that represented things they've lost or are afraid of losing and place them on a wire, which was added to the piece. Decorating my wire was definitely an experience, as I have lost so many things and fear losing so many more.

During my first visit I noticed him using drills and hammers to nail the disks into the wall, using a string to ensure the columns were straight. I felt this was much more clever and simple than using a bubble level or laser. When I came back for my second visit, I was surprised to see what it had turned into, and also that there was a piece that relied so heavily on bystander involvement

There were several other pieces that required involvement as well. One artist took photos of people and, using photoshop or a similar program, split them in half and mirrored them, creating two photos which, depending on the person, could be almost imperceptibly different or dramatically so.

He sat at his computer, working on altering photos until someone volunteered to have their photo taken. Then he would seat them in the little photo-taking area, which I honestly have no idea what to call, and instruct them to move their head until it was perfectly centered, and take the photo. Once he finished a set of photos, he printed them using a photocopier or a similar machine, and pin them to the wall.

I thought this was a rather creative piece. People don't often think about their own symmetry, and this really highlights just how different two sides of the same face can be.

This is probably my favorite piece. When I first visited I wasn't even aware that anything was going to be in this area, but then I came back to this beautiful abstract piece. Though it's difficult to tell in this photo, an image of a brain is being projected on the wall and the artist is loosely tracing it. I saw the image get projected in several different spots on the wall, leading me to believe that the whole painting was done in that manner, tracing the brain's loops and curves into a piece that's at once haphazard and elegant, and very fun to look at. I can't help but wonder what inspired the artist to create something so strange and creative.

A particularly thought-provoking project was the collaborative dance. A video was taken of one person, and another person would be videotaped attempting to mimic everything the first person did. Seventy people later, it evolved into a bizarre, humorous, and very tiring sort of dance. Of all the projects I participated in this was certainly the most fun, and of all the artists this one was certainly the most approachable, because it was clear she was at ease and having just as much fun as the people watching and participating.

This was another project that was a surprise for the second visit. As a person who is very familiar with pencil art I was astounded by the skill this artist demonstrated on this piece. Something like that would probably take me three months, if I could finish it at all! 

The drawing is of a black man and a white man boxing, and the black man just landed a punch on the white man's face.

From what I can gather, this person started with a sketch and then a rough outline, and then began shading once the majority of the sketch/outline was done. Some details like the white boxer's other hand and his legs were still missing at the time of the photo, as you can see.

This project confused me. I'm not sure what exactly the artist has in mind. From what I saw, he was apparently grinding something to dust and brushing the dust onto the paper. Perhaps he intends to use the dust to make art, or maybe the patterns in which the dust falls onto the paper is itself the art. Also, what are the little shelves with the small objects for, as well as the scale?

The last project is this, which is apparently a recreation of a newspaper headline. I'm not sure what exactly the headline is, I'm afraid I'll have to wait until the projects are opened again for exhibition, but I noticed that the artists used a grid to ensure that the letters were straight and the right size/angles, which I thought was very clever. Lettering can be very difficult to draw/paint, especially if you're trying to make them look clean and printed. 

Aug. 31: Introduction and art examples.

Hello. I'm Julene Haller. I'm from Avon, Ohio, which is a small but very dense and rather rude town about twenty minutes outside of Cleveland. The most significant influence Avon had on me is probably just that I'm nervous about driving, because the streets are overcrowded with people don't care about putting themselves and others in danger. I've always felt more at home on Kelleys Island, where I've spent nearly every summer of my life. In stark contrast to Avon, Kelleys is a very quiet and mellow place with more trees than people, and probably more deer and snakes, too. It's the place that fostered my appreciation for nature and my love for geology.

I came to Allegheny looking for something similar. It's a small school, not necessarily quiet but certainly without the mindless bustle of Avon. It's a place where I can help the environment even more than I could on my own and pursue a major in geology.

A photo of me, taken with my webcam. 

In class you requested that we share some examples of art we've done, so here are a few drawings of mine, with brief notes for each:

Concepts from Welcome to Night Vale applied to characters from Gravity Falls. There's supposed to be words in the blank spaces, but I didn't like how they turned out so I scrapped them. I was toying with my drawing style a bit in this, and I really like the result. Not great at drawing space, though. I kind of winged it.
I don't know why the top left part is so blurry; I've uploaded and reuploaded this a dozen times but it still refuses to be clear, which is especially irritating because that's my favorite part. So here's a link to a clearer (and bigger) version: link 
(the bottom right is also far too pixelly, but unfortunately I can't seem to fix that)
Drawn in Sketchbook Pro

GLaDOS (the big angry one) and Wheatley (the little round one) from Portal and Portal 2. This was drawn a few years ago, actually, but it's still pretty good. It looks much nicer in person, though. Or, well, it did. That's the crappy thing about pencil art, unless you laminate it or something it'll inevitably smudge and fade. Inking's off a bit too, but that's my fault. I'm rambling now, sorry.
Drawn in a sketchbook with mechanical pencil and Pigma pens

I tried doing something funky here with my style, and it turned out surprisingly okay. Anyway, this is a slightly different take on Danny's emergence from the portal at the beginning of Danny Phantom, because I liked the idea that the accident really messed up his physical stability (and also hands/feet are a pain, even silhouetted), hence the melting and whispiness and general body horror. 
The white airbrushing could use some work. A lot of work. I wasn't familiar with the program I was using at the time, so honestly I'm surprised it came out as well as it did.
Drawn in ArtRage 3

And to wrap up, here's some sort-of humanoid Bill Cipher sketches that popped up in my drawing notebook yesterday and turned out surprisingly well. I'm planning on cleaning these up digitally later.
Bill's from Gravity Falls. Sorry about the scribbles.
Wide ruled notebook and mechanical pencil.

There's more I want to add but I should probably stop there. I wanted to add a few monster drawings as well, but I don't have any handy I don't think. Still, this should be an okay demonstration of what I can do and what kind of art I tend to make.