I developed my design by first coming up with an idea, and then drawing a simple version of it in a bigger scale than my actual book. I then measured the exact size of my book and cut a piece of paper to those dimensions. I then cut off the paper that would be my border. I made the border bigger on the inside crease of the book, which made carving my book much easier. I then drew my design on the remaining paper, and labeled my levels from the outside edges of the paper in. It was so important to have a clear plan for this project. If you didn't know exactly how you were going to create your book, it was very easy to mess up. When I first started, the paper of my book was quite thin and it continuously ripped. My design was also hard to cut, as there were small holes near the border. These were time consuming and didn't look good. I ended up restarting my book, with a wider border at the inside edge and a simpler design, along with less pages, as I had used up precious time. The design I chose includes different sizes of circles. My book was an atlas, and the circles relate to my book as they represent the Earth. I tried to make my design something that wouldn't be ruined if it wasn't exact, because in my first trial of this project, my shapes morphed as I continued to cut. I didn't really take any risks with this project. I'd never used this medium before and I tried to make the execution of this project easy for myself. I really enjoyed this project and the exploration of a new medium. I feel that for my first time, it went well, but if I did this project again I would use a larger book and make a more complex design, with more overlapping layers. I would maybe use a book with color pictures in it so when I cut through the paper you could see the differing colors. My atlas was mostly blue and the layers don't stand out from each other like I wanted them to.
ART TWO FINAL
My mixed media project was my most successful. I decorated all the sides of an old cigar box. The theme was amusement, which I transferred into the idea of the lifestyles of the rich and the famous. I think my choices for my materials, which tended to be impulsive and on the spot, helped my project to become what it did. I would create one layer, decide it needed something else, and I would usually end up completely covering the first layer with another. I used magazine clippings, acrylic paint, and found materials the most during this project. My material use gave my box the complex, chaotic, fast paced tone that I aimed for and that I love. I think my materials and my flexible plan made my project successful.
The project that overcame the most obstacles was my book carving. I wasn't present on the day of the demonstration, and I ended up having to restart my project two or three days into the process. One obstacle was the imprecision of my carving. I often tilted my knife as I carved, and it showed in the tilted layers of my book. My first book was old, and the paper often ripped. Once I figured out how to plan my book and restarted, this project became much easier, but I was pretty confused at the beginning.
My first work that shows growth is my nontraditional portrait. I used different fabrics of different colors to illustrate my face. When I first started this project, I had some doubts that I would be able to accomplish my project effectively, but the end product was fantastic. I planned well, I took my time, and I thought of and used a medium that no one else in the class thought of. I think I grew throughout my creation of this piece, as I got faster and better at seeing the colors the more I worked, and I think I am a better artist after making this portrait.
My second piece is my painting, "Head Over Heels." I am so proud of this painting. I took a vague idea and turned it into a well planned and executed design. I think the way I took "repetition" literally was really fun to work with, and my use of contrasting colors created an amazing effect. I had to be really careful while painting to not get the black on the yellow, and that helped me grow as an artist as well.
I really liked the way we were allowed to make choices this semester. I think coming up with ten to twenty ideas made it harder for me, because after I thought of all my ideas it was really difficult to pick one and I would usually end up doing the very first idea I came up with. I would try to let my ideas evolve through my thumbnails but I would get caught on a singular idea, and then I would have to wait to start working because I had to come up with more ideas! Still, I loved how were were allowed to pick our own subject matters as it made seeing other people's work more interesting and no one else's work would be close to your own in execution. I think the way were were allowed to choose materials was fantastic, and that especially showed in my mixed media project, a box instead of a canvas, and my painting work, which was a geometric design rather than a landscape, portrait, or other traditional painting. I had a lot of fun this semester and think a few changes could be made to the way we were told to plan, but in general I think it was very effective and fun!
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