I'm BACK with news from Erie

Hello there! After quite the hiatus I'm back on the web. My internship with the city of Erie has had more twists and turns than a roller coaster. First of all, I would like to reintroduce you to the project.

In his retirement, Mr. Robert Dorris of Erie, Kansas created large scale dinosaur sculptures in his backyard. They were created with old car and machine parts that Mr. Dorris re-imagined into creatures ranging in size with the largest being 30ft in length! After his passing, the Dorris family donated the artworks to the city of Erie. With the sculptures, a few very dedicated folks have worked hard to display them in the "Erie Dinosaur Park."

Poor quality photo, forgive me, here is the sign for the entrance of the park, designed by a former PSU student, Jenna Spencer.

 The initial project consisted of me designing dinosaur-themed playground equipment for the park. Considering liability and safety issues for children, this concept was scrapped. Next was designing and building park benches, another no-go. We then settled on the creation of a dino style trash receptacle. After testing out the materials this summer, I came to the conclusion that this idea just wasn't feasible. LITTLE DID I KNOW that when I came back in the fall, Cindy Friedrich (the lovely woman who is my liaison for the committee in Erie) had bigger plans for me!

We tossed the previous ideas and my new assignment was to formulate and illustrate a coloring book (right up my alley, huh?) as well as a brochure and a kiosk card for the park.

This new assignment has been keeping me busy all semester. But busy in the best way. I am so enjoying deadlines, something you won't hear me saying in a couple of years, I'm sure! I love that there is a client that is excited and waiting to see what comes next. I also really enjoy the freedom that Cindy and the committee in Erie has given me. Allowing me to be creative and really decide what direction I want to take the coloring book in.

My next post is going to explain the story that I'm telling and a few more details about the book itself.

STAY TUNED!

Writing 5 (blog posts) for Crit 4

Back Again for my final critique! As you know, I have been visiting Golden Living Center retirement home here in Pittsburg and getting to know a few of the residents. I've been creating portraits and other illustrations, incorporating their words into the work in an attempt at "illustrated journalism."

In the two previous critiques I presented 5x7 pencil drawings. Last time I drew Richard from Room 203 in an 8x10 format and used watercolor! 

These are cropped images of the illustrations.

Rhona and Emi were critiquing us this time and they liked the addition of the watercolor. They also encouraged me to continue with this project and look into Illustration Societies and competitions which I intend to do. 

In the upcoming critique, I will be presenting Penny Roller (yeah, that's her real name, pretty dang cute if you ask me.) 

I truly enjoyed talking to her and hearing about her life. FUN FACT: She told me that Richard is one of her very best friends at Golden Living and that he LOVES to play practical jokes on people, doesn't surprise me at all!

For this series I intend to stick to the same format that I used for Richard, 2 8x10 watercolor pieces with text. 

A few sketches for this installment. 

ARTIST POST

This time I am here to introduce Rebekah Parrish, a photographer and illustrator. Her illustration pieces are expressive, with vibrant colors and movement. It was nice reading her blog and seeing that she is progressing as an artist and taking the suggestions of the professors into account when moving forward. Please go check out her work here https://rebekahmparrish.wordpress.com/ and if you need any professional photos taken, I suggest Rebekah! She is down to earth, charming, and talented.

Writing 4(blog posts)for Crit 3

In my last critique, Portico and my peers gave me lots of suggestions on how to improve my project. She thought that it would be interesting to change the text in my pieces to better suit the personality of the subject. i hope to incorporate this idea into my next installment in the series. 

For this round I interviewed the self proclaimed "wild child" Richard! Talking with him about his motorcycle organization, his tattoos and all his adventures was quite the experience and I'm glad I met him. A truly kind and gentle soul. 

I would like to switch up the format on this installment of my project and create larger but fewer panels. This will be simply a portrait with text and a drawing of his leather jacket he wore with his crew, "his colors." I think the two images I present will best represent Richard and his character. 

This critique will be more "in process" than my other critiques.

A few live sketches here and his written quotes.

ARTIST POST

I would like to introduce you to the immensely talented Cat Jepson! Since my first day here at Pitt I was always told that Cat was the goal to aspire to. TRY TO BE LIKE CAT! Since having her in classes and seeing her talent, work ethic and professionalism I can see why she is so loved (and envied) in the department! This semester she is working on a very personal shadow box project that will incorporated her love of nature, family, textiles, and the letterpress. I beg you to troll her blog, read all of it! http://catjepson.blogspot.com 

Writing 6 (blog posts) Artist Lecture

On January 23^rd I attended the artist lecture presented by the lovely Teresa Harris! Her exhibition, Storytellers, is set up in the Harry Krug Gallery until April 30^th.

Mrs. Harris presented her work with professionalism as well as an air of relaxation. I felt very comfortable and at ease when she spoke. She took us through her artistic journey and showed a progression of her art that led her to the exhibition that is in our gallery. In college she became fascinated by the delicate craftsmanship of The Book of Hours.

Her first works were paper sculptures and involved the “book” format. However, as she progressed artistically, as did her book sculptures. Some of the works remain hinged like a book but became much more dimensional. They started coming off the walls and began featuring metals, wires, beeswax, and other found objects. Her inspirations for this shift were Jasper Johns (his creative use of encaustic and his printmaking skills), Timothy Barret (papermaking extraordinaire).

She said that the works she creates now are less about the book concept, and more about CONTENT. She incorporates old photos and her work has a familial influence. She likes the idea of physically writing out the text of her “stories.” The narrative is fragmented and she hopes that the viewer can finish the story for themselves.

She is drawn to delicate simplicity and purity. Her work is simply lovely. I asked her after her lecture if she had ever considered creating pieces that were interactive, much like books. She also included many hinged elements in her work that I was drawn to. She said that she had considered it, but that she wasn’t quite there yet! Later in the lobby she told me that if I really wanted to I could play with the hinges and I said that I better not!

The thing that I took away from this lecture was the inspiration she drew from other artists and works, such as Johns and the Book of Hours. It really inspired me to look at historical works with fresh eyes, not just as something to memorize for a test, but to really be inspired by their artistic abilities.

Writing 3 (blog posts) for Crit 2

My first Critique in my first Critique course ever went really well! I really enjoyed seeing everyone's work and hearing about their processes and their goals for the rest of the semester.

Here are a few of my final images, I brought a series of 8, 5x7 pencil drawings in a portrait series of the ever so lovely and kind Mr. Gene Shaffer:

Josie Mai was critiquing our work this time and I have to say that she was so helpful and supportive of everyone. She asked questions and I felt very comfortable and at ease.
Josie said that my pieces were delicate and poignant and she suggested that I should compile a book of the portraits! She also recommended that I really take some time to get to know the subject. Really figure out the essence of their character and try to portray that in these works.

Keeping that in mind, the series that I'm bringing to our second crit is a little different. The two men I've met with at the nursing home are very different. Gene was very reserved and gentle. Tom, the subject of this series, is rambunctious and passionate and a great story teller! I had the best time with him. I recorded over an hour of conversation (by conversation, I mean Tom telling me stories!) and have been meticulously transcribing his words.
When I asked him how he liked it there, he said some wonderful thing about the nurses and their work and although the narrative I am choosing to illustrate is not about Tom himself, I think it will make a beautiful series. For this crit, I will be doing this instead of a portrait just like Gene's.

2. ARTIST POST
This time I am here to tell you about the stunning Jacqueline Denton! She is really doing some really unique and wonderful things in the art world, AND she has over 10,000 followers on Instagram- TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, JACQUE.
On her blog, http://jacquelinedenton.blogspot.com/  Jacque describes her process and shows her work that she brought to our first critique. Check her out NOW. Her style is completely unique chock full of dripping neons, pale and beautiful femme fatales, and lots of stars.
Here it is again unless you forgot- http://jacquelinedenton.blogspot.com/ 

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.