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11/7 - 18

Large Clear Object

1^st quarter we had to do a project, and draw a clear glass with all the shadings. But it was 8x6 paper, and very simple. So now it’s 2^nd quarter and Ms. Hull told us to draw a clear object but this time the paper was 22x36. I got really nervous and didn’t know what to do. Then I just relaxed and thought about what she told us. I got my paper and black charcoal pastols. I remembered back in 1^st quarter when we watched the artist start the glass. I shaded the background lightly so in the end it can look great. Then I drew a wide circle to start. Not all the way to the edge though. I started to form the rim of my 3-D glass, so it can look like it stick out my paper.

       I drew the rim and made it bend into the circle, which was the format of the bowl. Then I started to blend and shade the color. The outside of my bowl is not solid black; I tried to find light and dark areas. That was difficult because sometimes it was hard to find. So when I got done my vase. I looked at it and made sure I didn’t see anything in the background.

I spent a while walking around Center City taking photos, especially in Rittenhouse Square.  The Christmas decorations at night make for some great pictures.  The second photo is from Rittenhouse Square, and I didn't edit it as much as the other ones because it already had so much going on.  I just fooled around with things like brightness, contrast and saturation.  The third photo is also from Rittenhouse Square, but it didn't have any lights or anything.  It was so simple and dark and colorless that I wanted to challenge myself to make it bright and full of color.  I used the quick selection tool and the lasso tool to select parts of the tree, and used the paint bucket tool to fill them in.  I think it ended up looking like one of those trees with the knitted covers.  It's more silly and fun than the others.
The first picture is actually of a window display at the Tiffany's on Walnut street.  Since it was the first picture I edited, I ended up mostly playing around with filters and contrast and brightness.  I didn't have a specific goal in mind except hiding the reflection of my camera.
The fourth photo I took while walking along the bike path.  I liked the way the light was sort of "contained" by the leaves.  It reminded me of a galaxy, so I decided to make it a cool color instead of the usual streetlight orange-yellow.
The fifth picture is of a tree in front of someone's house.  They were having a party, so I got some weird looks from arriving guests when I was taking a picture of their tree.  All I could think of when I saw the tree was the star that led the wise men to Jesus on the first christmas (which is weird because I'm atheist, but whatever).  I decided to make the lantern look more like a real star by using the lasso tool to select it and make it brighter.  Then I used the magic wand tool to select everything in the background and make it darker and blurred, so that the lantern stood out more and looked like it was glowing.
​ This project turned out to be great fun and I'm actually pretty proud of some of these pictures.  I think I'm going to continue to do photography and photo editing, and maybe make a Tumblr to put the pictures on.


Photo 1:  A display window at Tiffany's






Photo 2: Decorated trees in Rittenhouse Square






Photo 3: Undecorated trees in Rittenhouse Square






Photo 4: A streetlamp on the bike path






Photo 5: A tree outside someone's house

Browsing the internet for craft ideas, I found some pictures of jewelry made using old computer parts.  I decided it looked amazing and wanted to make some myself.  People have used computer parts to make other things, too, like desk organizers, furniture, and in one case even a hamster cage, but I thought jewelry would be best because I have enough furniture, my desk clutter is beyond help and I don't have a hamster.  Also, jewelry is easy to transport between school and my house, it's hard to screw up, and I can make the product fit the materials I have instead of the other way around.
As I was trying to get my hands on a computer whose owner would approve of me permanently disassembling it, I imagined writing in my artist's statement that the hardest part of the project was simply gathering the materials.  It wasn't.  I put up notices on Craigslist and Freecycle saying I was looking for old computer parts and eventually a woman on Freecycle offered me an old printer.  Without really considering how much the average printer weighs, I walked to One Logan Square to pick it up.  Even taking a bus more than halfway back, I had to constantly stop and rest on the way home.
I thought the hard part was over.  I brought it to school the next day, a Wednesday, (in a rolling suitcase) so that I could take it apart with Mr. VK's tools (a pair of pliers and two screwdrivers) while the school stayed open for report card conferences.  I spent a good three hours sitting in the third-floor ballroom taking the printer apart while parents waited around giving me strange looks.  The ink didn't come off my hands for days.
The next day I once again took advantage of the half-day and conferences to work in the third-floor ballroom with VK's tools, this time taking apart just the cool-looking pieces so I could use them.  The biggest challenge was cutting the motherboard up into pieces.  Motherboards primarily consist of fiberglass, copper, and epoxy resin, but there are many attached components such as memory cards and connectors to other parts of the machine that are impossible to cut through except with tools that VK probably wouldn't let me use even if he had.  I removed as many of the attached components as I could with the pliers before deciding how to cut the motherboard.  I used a pen to draw outlines on the smoother "back" of the motherboard.  I had to keep in mind what kinds of jewelry I wanted to make, where the holes were on the motherboard (I could probably have made holes in it with a screwdriver, but they would have looked messy, so I preferred to use the ready-made holes), and what parts would be easy or hard to cut.
Again, I spent about three hours working before my mother insisted I come home.  I hadn't finished cutting the motherboard so I used my own scissors, which worked somewhat but caused the edges to crumble and get lots of dust everywhere.  Aside from the motherboard, I'd brought home some plastic gears colored wires that I thought I could use.  The wires ended up being hard to work with so I gave up on using them.  Fortunately I have my own hot glue gun and jewelry materials (cord, clasps, earring hooks and bobbi pins) so I managed to finish everything at home.
By the time I was done I was sleep-deprived, my arms were sore, my fingers were sore, my hands were covered in ink, and I'd probably breathed a lot of unhealthy chemicals, but honestly the whole project was incredibly fun.  I'd never done anything like it before, so even though it didn't go as I'd expected I really enjoyed it.

The first drawing, is a figure drawing of a student in my art class. We had to draw her at the angle was standing. At first is was hard and I didn't know where to start but after a while I got the hang of it. I wasn't finished the drawing because I was more focused on getting the proportion correct on the body shape. I didn't like this art project very much but it was fun to draw.

We had to draw a clear or see through object for the next assignment in class. At first before I even started drawing I thought it would be impossible. After a brief explanation and video, I went right to work. Drawing a clear is nothing but light and dark toning used with charcoal. 

I did not like this project at all. It was extreamly hard for me to get the shapes and try not to draw the basic shapes. Also it was hard focusing on her because the modal was moving a whole lot. I did this project because it was an assignment and because I wanted to try and be like at least I tried and not give up

For this project I did the clear drawing. At first it was a little hard but then when I really started using my eyes and stop thinking about what I see it became easier. I did this because it was a class assignment and also because I really enjoyed this unit in art. I thought it was simple and it made me feel like a real artist

For this photo I first created a shaded background so that the clear object would stand out. Next I drew exactly what I saw. once I created something for the object to sit on I then drew the object and I used the eraser to create the clear part of it. It was hard to get the roundness of the object exact. Overall I did pretty good.

After been giving the this test as I like to call it I found myself wanting to create more. So several of times i found myself coming home and drawing people in my household, one of them being my little brother jose. He is five and maybe not the best still model. This is what made this a challenge, which I enjoyed. I love this kid with all my heart and drawing him was a pleasure not only did he make it fun but he gave me an honest opinion through out the process. At a certain point I found him being a teacher to me.

 The ending result is one of my favorites which is why i decided it would be best to post this one. I found myself drawing random things that went along with who he is. Being a high risk pregnancy for my mom his birth is a miracle. Which is why the clouds are drawn. They represent his calm peaceful side as well as him being my little angel. Also along with the clouds are lighting striking. I find him to be this little big ball of energy that makes me want to enjoy life even more.