Chile

Hey, so this winter break I ventured to Chile with my family to visit some relatives. It has been a blast so far. Today, I found some really cool buildings and most of them were contemporary. It got me thinking, that maybe I can incorporate some elements from these into my concentration! I  also saw some interesting but simple bamboo planters -- something I might try to alter a bit in the future and create something new out of the idea.

Concentration Week 5

This week I officially finished my third concentration piece. I tried metal cable with this one, and I hope to use it again, but I would like to use it for a structural purpose.

Below is also a picture of me giving my poster to my sponsor.

I hope everyone has a great winter break!

Concentration Week 4

This week I continued to work on my concentration. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of anything this week but here is a recap.

-I tried moving my concentration into a few different mediums trying out the non-wood materials. I used recycled carboard packaging material for one piece, and ceramics for the other one. We will see what they look like when they are done.

Here is my photo of inspiration for the week. Something I might try sometime in the near future.




I Also posted an Empty Bowls Poster, and I'm putting one at our friends across the lake tomorrow

Concentration (Week 3)

This "week" is really the last two weeks due to the Thanksgiving Holiday and Snow Day.

Here are the two pieces that I made: Both of them are unconventional/contemporary "planters."

The interesting thing was that I didn't originally expect to go into the contemporary/industrial range but it seemed to work for these two projects, so we will see if I continue to use the wood and metal materials!

Northwest Harvested Aspen (Poplar Wood) before I sanded and cut it

Some Of the screws that I used 

The Desk Planter (Triticum Aestivum Plant)

"Balanced" Planter  (Triticum Aestivum Plant)

Concentration (Week 2)

This week was my second week working on my concentration. My first one is... An unconventional planter. Wow.

Below is my inspirational photo for the week, and maybe I'll Try some of the techniques used in the piece later this year.

Day 1

Today is officially the first day that I was able to work knowing what concentration I am doing.

I started on an experimental design for a planter. My goal with this one, was to "rethink" or "redesign" the drainage holes of a planter. I'm really looking forward to seeing what it looks like.

      

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Why did the person stare at frozen orange juice can for two whole hours?

This week I was given the task along with my classmates to come up with our concentrations. I was able to come up with a long list of ideas, but still didn't know what to do. My idea to narrow down my choices was to make a few small projects this week and this weekend to see if there is something I can picture myself committing to for the rest of the year.

So far, I have experimented with some forms of hand built bowls and tomorrow I plan on trying a few more!


Because it said "Concentrate"

This week I didn't start any new projects, but I managed to finish my "Family Project" as well as my "found object" box project. Over the next few weeks I'll get those two pieces photographed. (So you can see it!)

I spent some time thinking today about where I would like to "get to" over the course of the year.  I'm hopefully going to decide on a direction of where I would like to go sometime soon. I think this should also fall into place as I decide on a concentration.

Today I also spent some time looking at the online gallery of Jun Kaneko. Most of his works are in the category he calls "The Contemporary Ceramics Movement in America." His pieces tend to be larger than himself, and take a long time to make.

This week I had an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience to do a really cool workshop with my classmates, under the direction of Diane Lou. During this time I learned a few things that I would like to carry over into other aspects of my art working endeavors. One of these, was to be patient, and to be open minded. I learned that one should sometimes not have an end product in mind, and to rather allow for change and whatever was necessary to happen.

Here are my two projects, I am really interested in seeing what other people think about these two pieces.

This week I put a lot of time into refining some of my pieces I made over the summer, so that they would be ready to be photographed. I also managed to get most of my family project, which I intend on completing over the weekend.

I'm really excited for the long workshop we have coming up next week and I'm sure that it will be a great experience.


When I saw this photo, I really appreciated the sense of "family" as it related to this artist. This is a cool and unique approach to the topic.

This week I started my project representing my abstract interpretation of what "family" means to me. It really got me thinking. The basis for the piece is a few simple cup-like forms all connected to each other as though "holding hands" (even though the absence of actual hands is a little abstract).

This week I also stumbled upon some cool pieces of pottery that appear to be in the hand built/ slab style.

I really like the glaze  and texture on this one. I also like the contemporary feel it has.

 This week my Sarah Davis inspired pieces were bisque fired and now I'm working on some ideas as to how I would like to glaze them. Unfortunately there were a few minor cracks along the weaker seams but it appears that they won't affect the function of the final piece too greatly

Wow, already another week gone by. This week I was able to finish my two projects which I started at the retreat which I now need to bisque fire. (I will post a picture of these next week). Speaking of these projects, I really enjoyed making them, and it inspired me to maybe try and make a few more. I found some other examples of altered forms online, and would really like to make some in this style.

I also started my next piece which will be an attempt at a "shocking art" styled work of art. So far I have a collection of ideas in my head and a few found objects that I would like to incorporate into my final design.

A Great Retreat!

        The AP 3-D retreat at Menucha in Corbett was a blast. It was an awesome experience and great opportunity to create art, bond with classmates, and have fun.
         We were fortunate to have a guest artist, known for her altered pieces. I really enjoyed the process of altering the cylinder forms, to create my own version of this unique style of pottery. She also had some great things to say, and brought up some interesting ideas about individuality versus originality for discussion

        One of my highlights was the Andy Goldsworthy inspired project. For this, I took some flowers, and then some dead reed-like plant materials, and tied it with grass. I tried to make a representation of a tree. One of the lessons I learned from this was that the process of creating something can be just as valuable as the final result itself. And in this case, the experience of being out in the wilderness and creating a piece of art is what I will remember and value most. (I think the picture is nice, but does not do the experience justice).