Giving Back

I think that this project is excellent idea because giving back is the perfect theme around Christmas time. Giving back has always been a priority in my life. I joined the rotary club in grade 10 and every year we do a local fundraiser, national, and international project. Doing the local activity is the most important to me. Last year, played bingo with the local elderly residents at the Nipigon Memorial Hospital. It was great to actually be able to see the impact you are having on local residents. Hopefully, with this next project I will be able to have the same effect expect utilizing my art skills. Can't wait to see what happens next!

Cross curricular final product

I changed ideas for my cross curricular. I stuck with the idea of animals, but went for a more simpler and detailed approach. Biology is my favourite subject in school, I also have a love for animals so I decided on a butterfly. I actually began doodling one day during a student senate meeting and came up with the idea some what based on pointillism. However, instead of dots I used music notes. The music notes also tied into this project because I have been playing piano ever since the age of six, and recently I have taken to teaching young kids. Obviously music is a very large part of my life so I enjoyed incorporating it into this project. Here is a look at my rough doodle and a close up:

After deciding to continue with this idea I researched simple butterfly designs that could offer some possible inspiration. The first I came across was a monarch design. The lines in the top half of the wings were actually incorporated into my design.

I chose my materials wisely. I have recently been using felt tip pens, and decided it would be a good fit for this project. I then decided to go for a black and white look with a blank white background to make the music notes pop.

In order to do this effect of fading on the notes I made them smaller and farther apart.

At first I was confused on what to do with the bottom I was actually considering leaving it as is, but in the end I thought I'd would look better filled.

Final product:

I am super happy with my final product. This project tested my patience, but I am happy I persevered. 

Growth mindset class setting

I find that the subject I struggle with having a growth mind set the most in is my university functions class. Although my marks are still satisfactory I find this year I am struggling to come to terms with new concepts. I also noticed I enjoyed my math class more last year when most of the curriculum was expanding on concepts already taught in grade nine. This year however most of the information is new to me, and I am having trouble coming to terms with the direction the curriculum has took. 

In order for me to improve my mind set in this class I need to do a series of things. The first, is to remain positive. If I believe in my strong math background I know I will be able to overcome my lack of confidence when facing issues that make me feel defeated and unmotivated to learn anymore. The second, is to ask more questions. I need to stop being afraid of the possibility of being incorrect, and voice my questions and concerns to not only my teacher, but my peers.

Hopefully I can implement these ideas in my course and continue to succeed.

The growth mindset

A growth mindset is the ability to keep learning thinks despite failure. Success depends on the effort of a student, not the intelligence. 

As I student I see myself struggling with this concept because when I am praised for my natural intellectual ability I have a hard time pushing myself when times get tough. However, I believe I do have a growth mindset because my work effort and ambition is reflected through my school work. This video scientifically proved that my effort does pay off, and I should continue my hard work in order to achieve my goals, and continue to grow.

Cross curricular ideas

I really like this photo because I wanted to do something  a while ago that involved a map but it never happened. However, I think it might be too hard to use as my inspiration for this project because I am too afraid mine will turn out too similar. Now I am looking at more images. One that interests me is:

It's like an animal inside another animal! It also plays to the saying "concrete jungle". I'm thinking of using this idea but incorporating more animals. Also thinking about using the lyrics from a song about New York to fill the buildings.

What I've Been Up To

Lately, I have been lacking inspiration. I have been jumping from project to project without being able to commit. At first I was considering doing a painting of the Brooklyn bridge because I love New

York. However, the thought of drawing many lines for the bricks turned me off. Then I thought of doing a painting with mountains in Switzerland because they are beautiful.

I didn't end up getting very far, but I did do a small painting inspired by a Renaissance colour scheme. Instead of using the usual blue, white, and grey. I used burgundy as the shadow side on the mountain. I did have some troubles though mixing the paint to get the shade that I was looking for. I think it might have been too close to red but, I was satisfied with the product. The photo is on my old phone and will be added as soon as possible! In grade 10 I did tons of experiencing and a project with calligraphy, and the other day I thought I would try it out again because it did kind of tie in with our recent unit the Renaissance. 

I just did some basic experimenting, but I still really enjoy it hopefully I can find a way to utilize it in a future project!

Renaissance post card progress

I started my post card today. Rather then copying an exact painting, or an artist style, and colour palette I chose to draw the architecture. During the renaissance many beautiful buildings were built, and painted. I found a photo online of a sketch or a building showing key architecture features that were created during the Renaissance. Here is the photo: 

I enjoy using my sketching abilities, which I haven't In a while, so I thought I would draw rather then paint. I sketched the building free-hand. I thought if the proportions were off it would add a modern effect. Here is my beginning sketch: 

Then I had to decide where to go next. To continue with the pencil and shade, or use a black pen? I decided on tracing with a black pen over the existing pencil lines. 

I enjoy the way it turned out considering I only did it in one period. Tomorrow I am going to add a more realistic effect by shading. I'm not sure if I will continue with the pen or a pencil. I have asked a couple class mates and they have suggested pen. However, I'm worrying the shading will be too prominent and take away from the building itself. Using a pencil however might look odd with the shift from materials. Perhaps I will experiment tomorrow than make my decision! They will be sent out on Thursday!

Artists Observe

As an artist when I think of observing other art works the first word that comes to mind is: analyzing. By analyzing I mean asking myself questions such as: what techniques did this artist use? why? What is the main message of this piece? What is the most prominent part? Is it visually enjoyable? Is the piece made to be looked at or thought about? The last question is the most important in my opinion. All pieces are meant to be thought about, but some are meant to speak a message in another form then word of mouth, and other are made to be hung in your living room. I personally enjoy works that keep me thinking about it wondering how creative and genius the artist is. An example of this is the contemporary artist Ai WeiWei. His pieces make statements, and shed light on controversial topics. Such as this one, which was made in honor of the collapsing of a school killing many children.

An example of a piece made to be visually enjoyable is:

#AskACuratorDay

Awhile back my art class celebrated ask a curator day. It was an opportunity to tweet question to curators from museums all over the world. A curator is a person responsible for the collection, art pieces, preservation of historic pieces, and displaying. They also might over see fundraising or be the museum director. For this specific project I chose to ask a Canadian museum is there was any preference of Canadian artist over international artist to have their works displayed. Sadly I did not get a response. However, I did learn plenty of useful information which related to our contemporary vs. traditional project. Mrs.Rose tweeted Johannes Burg for example and they actually responded with pictures of traditional, and contemporary pieces that were in their museum. Overall, it was a great learning experience.

Italian Renaissance

Our class assignment is to due a piece of art that is inspired by the Renaissance age. These pieces with be done on jumbo cue cards and sent to North Carolina. So right now I am looking at pieces from that century to find a piece that inspires me. I'm also looking into maybe making a piece of my own using a specific artists style or colour palette.

Here are some pieces that caught my eye:

Italian Renaissance

My grade 11 art class is beginning to research/learn about the renaissance ago (specifically in Italy). Our teacher showed us a video mainly about the early stages of the renaissance ago, and when it was thriving. Our task is to create an art piece of our own inspired by the renaissance age. But, first we must ask ourselves a few questions.

The first: who were the major players in the renaissance age? Leonardo Da Vinci: mostly known from the Mona Lisa. Michelangelo: was a sculptor painter and architect, mostly known for his painting of the Sistine chapel. Raphael: an Italian painter, was asked by the pope to paint rooms in the Vatican.

Life in Europe during the Renaissance was completely different. The typical home for a farmer was a one room hut, however wealthier merchants did live in larger homes (with of course no running water). People mostly ate bread and stew, but the rich did enjoy larger fancier meals. Wine and beer were often drank because drinking water would result in getting ill. Clothing within the century was very important as it represented social status. Women wore long dresses, and men a coat called the doublet. The main religion was Christianity, however there was new ideas introduced such as Protestantism, and Humanism. Humanism played a very important role in this age because it placed values on human accomplishments and the study of nature.

During this time there were many significant rulers, but one in specific would be the Medici family. The house of Medici gained money and political in Florence in the 13th century through there success in commerce and banking. In 1434 Cosimo came into power ruled Florence for the rest as his life as the uncrowned monarch. During this time humanism and culture flourished in Florence making it the cultural center in Europe.

Sites Used: http://www.history.com/topics/medici-family
http://www.biographyonline.net/people/famous/renaissance.html
http://www.ducksters.com/history/renaissance/daily_life_in_the_renaissance.php

Pottery Design Ideas

Expression of Aesthetic Judgment

Aesthetically these pieces are very different. Megan Duncanson (the top piece) has a whimsical element to her painting. Her strokes at the bottom are clean and smooth contrasting directly with the rest of the background which is short thick strokes. The tree is solid back standing out from the colourful background of blue, purple, red, and orange. The bulbs at the end of the tree are lighter shades accentuating the ends of the branches. However, the tree is thin slightly blending in with the dark background which I believe is the downfall of this piece.
Lawren Harris did the bottom piece. In my opinion it is a classic painting of the Ontario landscape. The trees are solid more subdued colours of dark orange and yellow, but the sky is a bright blue which reflects on the water giving the piece a classic Fall day vibe. This piece is more realistic making the trees look full and alive while Duncansons was more mystical.
Aesthetically, I personally believe Lawren Harris piece was more successful  because of his colour use, technique, and the eye-catching piece it is.

Consideration of Cultural Context

In this post I will be comparing the differences in cultural context between traditional and contemporary art. Traditional artists such as Lawren Harris pieces are mainly based off of traditional Canadian landscape and culture. Harris rarely did work based on other countries. This could be because it was harder to travel in the 1920's. So if Harris couldn't travel to international places he could not paint about them. Harris sat and viewed landscapes, and experienced them first-hand in order to create his master pieces. However, as technology has evolved now anyone could paint a picture of a place half way across the world by just "googling" it. Almost in a way contemporary artist have more freedom because they are not stuck experiencing one culture. Travel is much more convenient now so artist can travel the world. I also believe pieces now are made to prove a point or make a statement about the flaws within our present day culture.

Analysis & Interpretation Contemporary

For my contemporary art pieces I chose Megan Duncanson and Leonid Afremov. Both these pieces use bright vibrant colours thickly applied. Leonid Afremov takes realistic scenes, and often uses shades of blues, yellow, and pink. I chose some of his landscape pieces in order to compare to Lawren Harris. Afremov uses contrasting bright colours, he also has thin long brush stokes which are noticeable unlike Harris's paintings which normally are blended very well. Afremov is also an impressionist, and does a lot of portrait work as well, also unlike Harris who stuck to abstract and landscape. Afremov also did paintings based on cities all around the world especially Italy and Paris.The painting at the very top is by Megan Duncanson. I thought this piece would be a good example of a contemporary piece which included some nature element in order to compare to Harris.  Duncanson's work includes somewhat of a mystical element which traditional pieces did not have. She uses vibrant blues, oranges, and reds. The tree is unrealistic such as Harris's work, however her painting style includes short thick strokes in the middle and smooth lines towards the bottom. Overall, my analysis and interpretation of traditional vs. contemporary revealed that contemporary pieces often have an element of entertainment and romance.

Analysis & Interpretation Traditional Art

For traditional art I chose my favourite group of seven artist Lawrence Harris. His art is traditional to Canadian history. Harris's lines are clean, with few details. His colours normally range from darker blues, and green because most pieces focus on Canadian landscapes. Most pieces of Harris's are simplified however, Harris not only took an interest in landscapes but also expanded to abstract paintings. Although, his inspiration shifted his techniques remained in each painting. Few paintings include vibrant colours as Harris clearly favoured more subdued neutral shades for his abstract pieces. Even though, the abstract portion of his career was prominent it was the landscape pieces which helped him develop the style he is best known for. His pieces early in his career were seen as rich, and applied with think paint however, later in his career Harris became more simplified. In my own personal opinion I enjoy his landscape pieces rather than the abstract. I also enjoy pieces that include rich blue shades for the winter season, and fall leaf colours because it reminds me of Northern Ontario. Overall, the pieces above are some of my favourite art works of his.

Pottery

Last Friday, I experimented with pottery. It was harder then I had expected. Pieces that interested me to start trying pottery are:

You have to always have a steady hand! Also, especially remember to keep putting your hands in the water to keep lubrication. I made both these mistakes and the result was very damaging to the pot. I was trying to make a pot with a larger base and a smaller top however, that is very hard! As soon as I began I regretted such a complicated design for my first try with the pottery wheel. Finally, I came to the conclusion that the pottery wheel session would the classified as "experimenting" because no final product ever came about. The biggest problem that kept occurring to me was the pot either the sides being uneven or the clay cracking. I figured if I couldn't be satisfied in the final product there was no use in wasting the clay. All in all I was happy I tried out the wheel, and next time I have decided to try to make small cups. These are some ideas: