Writing 2 Blog Post for Crit 1

CRITIQUE POST:
Our first critique meeting is finally HEEEEEERE. My concept has changed very little since the last time I posted, which is good! I thought about this project a lot before deciding on it for the course and I'm happy with how it's turning out. I had originally decided to sketch on the spot at the nursing home as well as at home, but since meeting with a couple residents that idea has changed. When meeting with Gene (who will be featured in my first "portrait,") I found that sketching and not giving my full attention to my interviewee was a little rude, therefore I've decided just to record our conversation and take photographs- with Gene's permission.

Another thing that has changed is my choice of medium. I had initially envisioned the works done in pen and ink with graywash or possibly watercolor. I have since changed my medium to strictly pencil on mixed media paper (5x7 drawings on 9x12 paper.) I find that the pencil gives a more sketched and journal-like feel to the works. I'm pretty happy with my choice! 


 This is Gene Shaffer, and he is the subject for my first series of pages! He was kind enough to sit down and talk with me about his life- where he grew up, what he did for a living, how he likes living at the nursing home etc. It was so great to get to know him, there were a few hiccups along the way, he couldn't hear much and the his roommates TV was much too loud for me to be able to record our conversation, but overall it was a success.
 
  Here I've just included a few sketches, a preliminary study of Gene as well as a few things I noticed in his room. With the images in the final project, I will include a quote from our conversation.


I also intend on drawing a few of his favorite things, like this print of Jesus that he has had for 40 years (!!!)
OVERALL I'm happy with where this project is going and I have met with my next interviewee, Tom Turner and I'm really excited to get started on his pieces!



Sneak Peek of Tom!

ARTIST POST
I chose to check out Rudi's blog this week ( http://rudirodebushart.blogspot.com/ ) and what a truly impressive blogger she turned out to be! Put me to shame. Rudi's work is clean and organized and quite the inspiration to my mess! I am excited to see her project for this semester. I think her paper cutouts are precise and the craftsmanship involved is clearly evident. Check out her work, y'all! Here's the link again in case you missed it:  http://rudirodebushart.blogspot.com/

ID SERIES

I attended Dr. Wu's lecture as well as Josie Mai's and Maria Lupo's. The talk that I found most compelling was Josie's discussion over the artistic explosion that happened after the 2011 Joplin Tornado. I was still in high school when this happened and I live about 40 minutes south. I had many friends and an uncle who lost everything in the tornado so it really hit close to home for me. I was interested in Josie's talk because I was completely unaware of all the art and healing that came from this event. It was really beautiful to see some lovely things come out of something so tragic and to learn about the healing that came with it.

Erie Internship- Bench Sketches

We are now in the "design" phase of the project!
I have almost completely abandoned the initial idea of playground equipment. Any concepts I come up with that meet all the guidelines (no moving parts, no bars, no metal, no slide) are mediocre and I really don't think they would be very satisfying. PLUS with our budget and materials we could probably only make one piece. The legal side of things also seems to be a deciding factor, lots of regulations and safety issues.

I have since shifted my interest to creating benches and the like.We will be able to make more of them within the budget and I think they would get more use and better benefit the park. So onward we go! These are the top 3 ideas that i have sent on to Kathy for approval and for her selection:

 

This concept would include 2 bone benches, a bone trashcan holder, and a series of dinosaur footprint tiles that would go along on the gravel path in the park. (My favorite design)

This would be a series of 2 benches with wooden slats for the seats. 

This would also be a series of 2 benches, the relief on the bench back could be different on each of them, depending on what Kathy and the committee wants. 

Writing (blog posts)_1

For me, art has always been about people. Faces in particular. If you ever see me doodling, 99.9% of the time it is a face, one that I just made up on the spot or is based on a wonderful nose I saw earlier that day.
Ever since I was a little girl, the only thing I wanted to draw was portraits. I have sketchbooks and sketchbooks chock full of pencil drawings of celebrities that I found in magazines and drew. This obsession stayed with me in middle school and into high school where I dealt strictly in realistic portraiture (most images taken from magazines.)

Middle/High School Sketchbook.

To this day I still choose to draw faces. I have branched out and abandoned the realistic pencil sketches, instead choosing to do more exaggerated caricatures or just inventing a strange face (generally the elderly- wrinkles are more fun!) I think I've stuck with portraits and faces for all these years because I love to examine how each face smiles. And how they cry. And I like to imagine all the life that this particular face has seen.
 

Current Sketchbook.

For this project I am going to explore the field of illustrated journalism. I will be visiting a nursing home in the area and interviewing some of the residents and proceed to create "portraits" of them. I will be recording our conversations and taking a few pictures that I will then turn into sketches, along with bringing a journal to sketch in on the spot. I plan on incorporating typography into this project and writing down direct quotes from the residents.

I love wrinkles and I love listening to stories and I hate paraphrasing. I wanted to interview these residents because their stories aren't often heard, and they deserve to be.

This project is largely inspired by Humans of New York but mostly the work of the amazing and badass Wendy Macaughton. Go to link below to see her wonderful portrait of the San Francisco Public Library:
http://wendymacnaughton.com/#portfolio#journalism01

Wendy Macnaughton's work can be found at  http://wendymacnaughton.com/ PLEASE DO IT SHE'S INCREDIBLE.
Humans of New York is another inspiration of mine. Photographer Brandon Stanton asks strangers on New York City to allow him to photograph them and then on his blog he includes a direct quote or short story that they tell him. These often become intimate portraits. Brandon's work can be found on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, his website http://www.humansofnewyork.com/ and basically everywhere because THIS THING IS HUGE.
 

Erie Internship

January 24th, Post #1

This semester I am participating in an internship that is pushing me out of my warm little nest I've built in Porter Hall and into the real world. I am excited and nervous in the best of ways. I have a great support system that is helping me along and I'm ready to embark! Off we go!

In his retirement, Mr. Robert Dorris of Erie, Kansas created life size dinosaur sculptures in his backyard. They are composed of old machine parts and vary in size from a few inches to 30 feet in length! After Robert's passing, the Dorris family has chosen to donate the wonderful sculptures to the town of Erie.

 
 This is where I come in! I was commissioned by the town to design some additional pieces to go along with the Dinosaur Park. I had the pleasure of visiting the town last weekend and meeting with the committee, headed by the patient and kind Kathy Brennon. They have given me the freedom to choose what sort of additions I will be contributing. The initial idea was to create some small playground equipment that would be located in the city park across the street. Other ideas were to design some benches that would go in the dinosaur park itself. Meeting with these caring individuals was very reassuring; the confidence that they have in me is wonderful.

Right now we're in the early stages of development- dealing with the less exciting things such as a budget, legal documents, liability, materials etc. However time seems to always move so quickly around here and I am beginning to work on some preliminary sketches for the equipment. More updates to follow!

Snow Bunny

He was also created in my Drawing with Ink class last spring. This work shows strong use of black and white as well as a middle gray wash for the background.

First Blog Post Ever

This is an untitled work, but lets call it "I Wish I Was One of These Old Men Playing Chess in the Park." I created it last spring in my Drawing with Ink class at Pitt State, and it continues to be one of my favorites. Really, think about being one of these guys. That's the life. (9x11 Ink on Bristol)