Pink Week T-Shirt Design

I liked this project. It wasn't an automobile brochure. We won't get on that topic because I am still quite angry about it.

Current Issues Campaign

A reader commented on my lack of updates. While I am still working on the brochure for this project (which is due tomorrow), I figured I'd post the postcard and the poster. We had to do a topic of sustainability, and I made sure to tie in the green art show that is happening instead of my 407 show at the end of the month. Yes, that is a sewing machine made from recyclable objects. I had fun with the poster and postcard, but not so much with the brochure. That is the adventure i am taking tonight. Maybe someday i'll be better friends with indesign.

Thank god I finished my annotated bibliography. ART 490 is killing me.

Branding (Snowboard, T-Shirt, Logo Design)

Tonight in my Design Arts Studio II class, we had a critique for our first project--branding. We had to design a logo for a snowboarding company along with tshirts and snowboards. My design is a play off ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN (yetis, etc). The company name, ABOM, is a shortened version of ABOMINABLE but carries a double meaning with the a-bomb/atomic bomb idea. My characters are angry snowballs so they aren't directly yeti, and the shirts and boards are gender-specific. This was a very fun project for me, so I am excited for the other projects yet-to-come this semester.

Update on 407 Show

Hello all. Just letting you know that a spot opened up in the 407 gallery so my show will be Oct 26-30th. :D

Further details will follow in the couple weeks prior to the show.

Within the next two days I will finally get around to posting examples of the senior photos I took. So be sure to check back!!!

Slightly Sad News

I realize it has been awhile since I have blogged. My apologies. Summer is wrapping up, and after this entry I plan on entering the wonderful world of packing, claiming objects as my own with sharpie, etc. I am still finishing work on one set of senior photos that I plan to have ready by this weekend.
Anyways, to the point of this entry. While UWGB is in session, starting the 3rd, I will not be there until the 7th and my first day will be the 8th. Why is this? Family obligation. The 50th Wedding anniversary of my dad's parents, which is the 5th. I have decided to miss school and stay in Milwaukee until after this event, as I would only be missing one day of class and I have off on Fridays. Sadly, this affects my 407 show. Between packing, moving, and the anniversary celebration....I would not have time to install my show, and I find that a Tuesday morning setup would be quite tacky. So I gave up my spot and will show if a spot opens up later in the semester. So I will keep you posted if that be the case! I hope everyone's summers are wrapping up nicely!

Clarissa/Rotary Park Photoshoot

Today my lovely fellow photographer friend Clarissa and I, after getting coffee, ventured to Rotary Park here in Menomonee Falls to "shoot" eachother so we have photos available of ourselves to use for our portfolios and they could perhaps serve as a photograph next to an about me section in a website or something. Needless to say we had a pretty successful day. To see more of these photographs, visit my flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilybartos).

My brother also had his professional senior portrait session today at Portraits on Pilgrim so I accompanyed him to watch the owner/photographer Nancy in action. Learned alot, especially with tech. She uses manual flashes from the 80's with her Nikon D2X which is very cool and she has abilities to take the simplest scenery and create a beautiful photograph--some studios I find overcomplicate their backdrops and settings and it takes away from the image. She gave me tips with shooting--it was a great day for an amateur photographer.

Also, I started my day with an iced chai charger. It had to have been a good day.

Papahawk 2009

Every year, my mom's side takes a week to rent a lodge to vacation at in Conover, WI just north of Eagle River. The lodge is fondly known as "Papahawk". It is always a great week there, I love that side of the family to death and its a week full of swimming in the lake, campfires, eating a meal cooked by a different family each night, playing games...just being lazy. Shopping, rafting, gokarting, and horseback riding were mixed in there too. Either way, although the weather wasn't the best...I managed to get some pretty shots. Northern Wisconsin is so beautiful, no matter how much you might feel like you are in the middle-of-nowhere.

As of Saturday I am back in Menomonee Falls finishing up my last month of summer break. It is crunchtime to get work done for my show, but aside from working I think I might be able to get it done. Back to reality, and soon enough back to Green Bay. Stay tuned as I attempt to finish my wad of work! :D

Kissing the Lipless

Called to see
If your back
Was still aligned
And your sheets
Were growing grass
All on the corners of your bed

Inspired by the Shins song, I have been dying to do these photographs since February when the idea first crossed my mind. Similar to another set of photographs inspired by music by the Shins, these photographs will be in my show this fall. The idea has barely evolved since I've been sketching it for months. I don't want to get too much into content, but I loved the green and white color palette, the quality of environment I created with natural aspects, and challenging reality. Anyways, here they are, as promised!

The Incident of the Baby Squirrels Waterskiing

Someone sent me this dream about baby squirrels waterskiing and I was immediately inspired to make art about this for my show in the fall. I used watercolors, prismacolors, chalk pastels, marker, and embroidery on stonehenge paper.

Untitled (Sleeper on The Porch)

Tonight after work around sunset-time, I borrowed my friend Mikey to model in a shoot for my gallery show this fall. Obviously, the main drive behind the work is sleep. So I gave him a blanket. And a pillow. And shot pictures of him outside my house. I made him wear pajamas too that he didnt really need because you could never see them. Anyways, this shot is on my porch. My cat, Zoe, was quite curious as to what we were doing but although her "cuteness" may consider to be a damaging factor behind this shot, I think it is somewhat appropriate that she is in the shot. Someone pondering why Mike is outside on the porch sleeping...gives the photo a bit more life. I have more to edit but I really like the lighting in this one and obviously the slight intereaction between the subjects! I also finished a drawing and I plan on photographing it to show you all. I may post more as I complete pieces, but at the same time I want it to be somewhat of a surprise. But we will see how I feel as more work happens. I hope you enjoy the shot! I must think of a title though...

Fireworks

I shot these on the Fourth of July at a park in Elm Brook, Wisconsin. These shots were taken during the grand finale. I loved how the "plumes" of the fireworks shot from the landscape mimicking the shape of the large tree on the horizon line and lit up the haze from the fireworks from earlier in the show. I like one shot better for its colors, but the other I like better for the amount of light on the horizon line. Obviously the more colorful shot came at the beginning of the finale, because there is more haze in the second photo to light up. Both photographs were shot under the same manual settings. I hope you enjoy these!

Also, PLEASE check out my Nature/Landscapes set on Flickr!! I have tons of new shots from an excursion to the domes this past week!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilybartos

Help me brainstorm a new body of work!

"Sleeping Lessons 3"

Many of you may remember my photographic triptych "Sleeping Lessons" (example above). I have a solo show this coming fall in UWGB's 407 Gallery. After months of pondering a theme or any hope for ideas, I have decided to further explore the content that exists within this photograph dealing with the subconscious vs. consciousness, dreams, sleep, etc. I will explore this concept with both photographs AND drawings. While I have this triptych to start with, I obviously need to create more work...and this entry is here to ask for your help brainstorming/creating in two ways.

1) Tell me your dreams! Email me at emiannebee@gmail.com and let me know what's going on. Nightmares? Daydreams? I don't care how bizzare and twisted it is. I will try my best to illustrate them, particularly with drawings.

2) MODELS!!! I have a few shoot ideas and I need participants. Contact me as well if you are interested.

Of course I'll try to start work right away but if you've got a dream or feel like posing in my photographs, PLEASE contact me ASAP! I have two months to make work.

Giraffe

Here is a drawing I did for OneMillionGiraffes.com

Please check out the site and I hope you enjoy the drawing. You too can submit giraffes so hopefully the creator/collector can reach one million. I thought it was a very fun idea.

Nature's Aesthetics

As of late, I've been working to gather images from our everyday environment. Right off the bat, I consider these semi-boring, as landscapes and nature shots have been practiced FOREVER, and know what? They're still beautiful images and they sell. I brought my camera to my cousin's grad party in Burnett, Wisconsin and took some shots that I'm rather proud of. I love the light on a cloudy day, especially a stormy day, days which have been happening a lot lately here in southern Wisconsin. I loved the storm clouds arriving and the contrast of the dark sky against the green rural landscape. Simply stunning. I realize I need to shoot more art that I would call my own, but why not shoot some work that I find beautiful in the environment I find beautiful, and share it with others who would appreciate it to. Hopefully I get some more artistic ideas soon, but if not, I can always walk around and find what the world has to offer in front of my lens.

Amy's Professional Portraits

Amy had me take her photos for her involvement with Wisconsin Council of Teachers in English. Here are a couple examples.

Amy & Jacob's Engagement Photos! (Digital Session 1)

I've done engagement photos for my dear friends Amy and Jacob before, however they were done this winter and in film. I offered them another series of photographs upon aquiring my beloved Jezebel and we were eager to capture a change of scenery that didn't require winter jackets. Although it is June, Saturday did decide to be cold. And rainy. We're having another session because of this. Despite the weather, the lighting was perfect and I did manage a couple great shots! Stay tuned!

Also, I need to make art.

First Artsy Photo of the Summer

I decided to play with light and spaces, mostly in my basement where the light was scarce but there are patches of natural light that cause some cool dramatic effects. Most of my photos aren't usable because my cat kept deciding to be in them. Above is one of the last few I shot because Yogie decided that she was scared of cameras at one point in time after appearing in many images...she's random. And wierd. Anyways, enjoy?

Jazz & Java Paintings (Commission)

I apologize for the image quality (as in you can see parts of the garage), but I wanted to show what I worked on for the Menomonee Falls High School Jazz and Java concert yesterday (5/30/09). The theme was "Cities around The World" and each painting was done on 4'x8' drywall. This iss my first completed commission of the summer.

Amy/Lime Kiln Park

Okay, if you are a regular reader/follower you probably realize that I have not updated my blog in two weeks. This is true....sadly. But the good news is the semester ended well and I am back in Menomonee Falls. Up until today I have been slaving away at one of my two Noodles & Company stores--the store I like the least, but that has nothing to do with art so we will not get into that. Today my friend Amy and I wound up at the local coffee shop and eventually meandered across the street to Lime Kiln Park to photograph whatever happened. We tried some shots with an umbrella, but those didn't work too well. Above are two shots that I yoinked from the shoot that I felt okay putting on my portfolios. They're pretty. Amy is pretty. So that is good. Let me say it was so great to shoot again. I have to do that every day so I don't go crazy.

I plan on doing a post with my work with drawings but sadly the door where the artwork was in a flatfile at school were locked in. I will definitely get around to doing a post with some highlights from Graphics Studio I. I have a solo show early this fall and 3 months to make art. Let's see what I come up with--the summer has only begun.

Shooting in DePere and Finals

Long story short, ventured to DePere with Adam and Jason to shoot whatever caught our eye. I think I found a few interesting things: worn, aesthetically interested buildings in particular--one with fake windows that looked real far away and a brick wall in an alleyway where you could see that a door and stairway had once been there. There were many other interesting finds as well such as White Pelicans, an abundance of rabbits, a geometric sculpture on the St. Norbert College campus that is supposedly called "The Abortion" according to Jason, Seroogy's amazing chocolate, and we also managed to stumble upon a great european style bakery where their chai tea and gyros make me want to return. So, above, as you probably figured, are some images I shot while on this adventure. They're just interesting and for fun.

So as of right now I have one obligation remaining with finals. My drawing portfolio is due tomorrow and we are critiqued on an individual basis. Rather nervous for this one, and I really hope the outcome is good and that I can finish my last drawing in time---it is taking forever! I am doing detail work of a shoebox study with Prismacolor. Talk about time-consuming. Today we cleaned the darkroom as well. It was bittersweet. I won't miss being at school, but I really do love the photo dept. and our facilities. I will be without a darkroom.

As I clean and move, be sure to find posts reguarding work this semester from Graphics Studio I and Advanced Drawing. And for those of you who still have finals yet, and I know you, good luck!

I Shot A Concert!

As Jason put it, "Welcome to the World of Photojournalism. I love this planet!"

Said planet is new to me, but after tonight's experience, I might explore it more. We the Living, one of my favorite bands came to campus like they do every year so I photographed them. It was good that I knew the band, and that made my environment more comfortable. I was thrown into an environment where figures were constantly moving in front of my lens and the light was CONSTANTLY changing. I also found that the setting sun was blinding me and washing out my frame...so we didn't get along but eventually I got a better handle on it. Lessons I've learned:

1) The lead singer WILL look the best in your photos, it's just the way it goes.
2) Snap the shutter CONSTANTLY.
3) The sun is evil.
4) High ISO's are fun! Even though I hate using them.

I am so used to controlling my shots, from the lighting to the figures...and having them pose. This was reality. It was such a fun experience, I enjoyed the challenge of live-action photography. Enclosed in this entry are my two best shots.

Also, sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been living the life of a college student during finals time where you stay up past midnight every night and eat one thing a day because you can't make time to eat. Orange sodas are a great coping mechanism during these times. And as today was the last day of classes, taking Jezebel out of her case and using her for the first time in a few weeks--actively shooting--was what I needed. I'm so happy when I'm out there snappin the shutter and working behind my lens. I cannot wait until summer...just a little over a week to go.

Please keep updated for updates on projects from the semester :D

Protest Art aka Corky

Inspiration from Music and Imagery

Artist Statement Spring 2009 (Advanced Photography)

Identity is a necessary aspect to a character. Without it the character becomes flat, or like an object with nothing more than a physical aspect to its identity. The details of one’s personality is what ties this all together – their mannerisms, their likes and dislikes, how they maintain their appearance, their possessions, their environment, their lifestyle, their diet, and also their bloodlines whether or not they carry on family traditions or expectations. Every character, fictitious or real, has a story, which is the main element that drives me to capture the identity of the characters I photograph.
As I create characters or attempt to capture an already existing character with my imagery, I realize that a very obvious character to portray is also myself. I find that self portraits are bold, fearless statements of an artist to clarify who the person is behind the artwork, and if it is at all possible to relate this imagery to their other work. I have come to find that my self portraits are not only attempts of bravely putting myself out there as an artist, but also as an exploration of my own character, which in turn may help me find other characters.

Self Portrait 3

My friend Nik lives above a funeral home. Turns out his apartment is pretty fabulous to shoot in. I had shot in the apartment this past Wednesday, but all the images I gathered from the shoot that I really loved were too out-of-focus. This time around I managed to gather 36 in-focus images and pulled this one from the lot. This is my grandma's wedding dress (you've seen it before, I'm sure), and the window is in the breezeway of the upper level of the funeral home. The next goal is to shoot an image in which I am wearing my mother's wedding dress.

Also this past Wednesday, Art Agency held the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser. Customers purchased a ceramic bowl thrown by UWGB advanced ceramics students and were filled with soup or chili from local area restaurants. We raised $2148 for Paul's Pantry!



The semester is drawing to an end. And I am in fear of getting my work done. Cross your fingers that I do...cuz I sure am.

Lynda Barry comes to UWGB

Me and Lynda Barry

Today was one of the greatest days of my life as an artist. Comic artist Lynda Barry came and visited campus today. We had the opportunity to partake in a workshop and listen to her artist talk. I now consider her one of my greatest inspirations/influences. My favorite part of the day was the workshop where she challenged our minds and inspired us to be creative at play exploring our childhoods, particularly with writing. During the workshop, we would create lists off a topic thinking back to our childhoods (cars, neighbors, and accidents). We would then select one that stuck out to us. After that Lynda asked us questions about it and we wrote answers. Next we wrote for 6-8 minutes prompted with "I am" or "You are" or What You Don't Know". After writing we would focus on drawing a spiral with the lines as close together as possible and listen to the stories. We weren't allowed to read over them which is why my writings sound so poorly written...that and I was trying to write like a little kid. Lynda believes that every person on this planet is a storyteller, and while Oprah told me this I heard so many great stories from people...and it didn't matter if that person was a creative writing major or not.

Now, I will share my stories I wrote today.

The Woody Brown Minivan Named "Chocolate"
I am in the middle seat of the car driving back from Disney World and I don't want to drink my soda because I don't want to lift up the can and see that sticky goo leftover from when Ben spilledhis soda there weeks before. So I'll just draw. Oh crap the car just died, and the smoker man from the Waffle House is going to help us. Looks like we may have to stay in a smokers hotel. I should scramble about the floor of the car to make sure my markers and crayons are safe. I feel bad for Chocolate and I hope she doesn't die. My hair is frizzing up because it is too humid. The air smells funny and musty. Must be that Spanish moss stuff in the trees. I am so taking some home. I wish mom and dad would let me take an anole home and I could catch it crickets in the yard. But we can't get anymore pets because Elsbeth is mean. But I like her I guess...

Caley
I am in Caley's bedroom playing with our toy horses. She has more than me. Oh well my palomino toy stallion is better. His name is Sunspot. I broke his leg last week and daddy fixed it. I hope her 18 month old brother doesn't try to eat one of my horses or get drool all over it. I would be mad. Caley's mom makes her play piano. Like, forces her. My mom can't make me do that. I'm just going to take horseback riding lessons and sing instead. This house has so much flowery victorian stuff in it and the outside is painted blue. Even though the stupid carpet on the stairs has flowers on it. Our horses should go exploring and the stairs should be a mountain. But we should feed them first. The toy apples have magnets in them and so it looks like they are really eating! I have riding lessons later. I'll prolly ride Pebbles. She likes to bite me but she's better than that fat stupid pony called Suzi. But back to playing. I had grilled cheese and apple juice for lunch and it was delicious. They must get free Kraft Singles because her dad works there. Caley's going to move in a year. She said because her dad moves a lot for work. I'd give up Kraft singles to stay in Menomonee Falls. Then we could still play with our toy horses and we could still have grilled cheese we'd just use different cheese.

Falling Off My Bike and Skinning My Knees While Camping
You are a family member of mine. A cousin, an aunt, or an uncle. You might be cooking lunch on the grill or fire. You might be talking to another relative. Let's just say you're my Aunt Mary. You have three boys. Your 3 nieces and 2 nephews are here. They all have this obsession with riding bikes. There is a circular gravel drive at the campsite. Your boys, nephews, and niece Emily are riding bikes. Emily always tries so hard to fit in and play with the boys. It's hard because her bike is florescent pink, and instead of it being a dirt bike or motorcycle, it is a horse. It's name is Flessorent (Flessie for short) because she can't say florescent. At least her brother named his bicycle "Steve". But still, she's the odd one out. After all, she did lose her training wheels last while she is the oldest. Anyways, the children want to race. Someone is going to get hurt. You hear "vroom vroom" noises, some neighing, and soon enough Emily is screaming bloody murder. She fell off her bike. She always falls off her bike. Her parents come to their dramatic daughters aid. So do you, to make the boys stop biking. Flessorent and rider have collapsed. Emily's knees are skinned. Bloody gravel, no big deal. Her parents clean the wounds, and place little mermaid bandaids on her knees. She still cries and Flessorent gets put away. The boys are ready to race again. Soon enough Amy is crying because she dropped her plastic vending machine ring into the fire. Is Rose going to cry too? Even if Emily cries at the sight of a flush toilet that she is deathly afraid of you try to convince her the one toilet with the green cover is special and not scary...the trip is so worth it. What you don't know is that your boys and nephews will intrude a wasp's nest and get badly stung while playing in the playground tires. Adam will have one even behind his ear.

We created these images, and I want to try more exercises like this to help my work happen. It is indeed a VERY good day.

Self Portrait 2

Took this one this morning. The dress was one of my mother's that she wore as a bridesmaid in a wedding once in case you were curious.

I Thought the Fire had already started but it actually is right now

I had a fabulous martini tonight. I can still feel the blackberry brandy warm my bloodstream through to my bones. I'm back at my apartment, it's warm, it's quiet and I'm listening to a band I've never heard before but their introduction at this very moment couldn't be more perfect. They are exactly what I needed to be listening to right now. (For those of you who are curious, they are called Flowers of Hell--check out their myspace--www.myspace.com/flowersofhell).

I've had a lot of downs the last two days. Art student has been beaten to a pulp. Your stuff sucks, go make good stuff now is what I have been hearing from professors. Some critiques have been helpful, others, not so much. But I think I might be creeping towards the light through the door crack in this dark room that I've been working in...I know what I want to create and I have my pride for everything I want to do. Artist. I chose my path of life and I couldn't have it any other way. I would master it all if I could. I picked up a third focus...I'm doing drawing, photo, and textiles. I should be considered insane. I know I'd be a fabulous sculptor too. I'm a designer. I'm loving it all so much and although I got so down on myself after this week's crits and was afraid it would kill my motivation, I think I found by throwing everything I have into my work--my blood, my flesh, my soul--even if I create stuff that has potential but isn't quite there yet--I just want to keep searching.

On Sunday I took a photograph. It's so different than what I was working so hard to shoot on spring break. While I keep trapping myself with trying so many ideas (which isn't bad at all and I'm not going to stop) I never took any of them further. My brain is just like "Work work try this work work ooh shiny...whats that try that work work work"...i never sat down to breathe, take in the imagery and see where it would go. The photograph I took this Sunday is one that I find phenomenal beyond all measures to what my brain can actually take in--which sounds quite conceited but it's more to me than a pretty picture. Sure, it references classic romantic art with the figure yet with my tattoo and it being my bedroom it's become my self portrait. It has great contrast and nice light quality...it's pretty...but what floors me most about this photograph is that it has been hiding in me for so long. I want to create more characters, those have so much potential. But I was afraid to take that photograph. Because it was of myself...and I could have had this image all along as I struggled. I don't have all the answers but I realize that this is something that I MUST keep trying. Sure, I'm a stronger drawer. It's effortless for me, but photography didn't just introduce me to an exhilerating art form--it has affected ALL my artwork and nothing will ever be the same so I have to keep up with it. So for the rest of the semester I am going to attempt to make myself focus. Characters and self portraiture. I can play with the toys a little but I have to shoot. I will get children's books. I'll read more on Cindy Sherman and Anna Gaskell for my characters. The self portraits are my own journey. I think I can do this.

There isn't any new art in this entry. This entry might be too confusing to comprehend and might just be a "word salad" as my friend puts it. But I can tell you this. The best is yet to come. Just you wait.

Self Portrait 1

So, after much anxiety and not following through with an idea, I finally shot a self-portrait. I like it, but I know that it is only the first one. I thought hard about why I had so much trouble shooting this. And I really only shot around 10 frames when I should have shot a lot more. I wrote an entry about it into my idea book this weekend while I was on break at work:

"I've let myself down on a goal that I need to make happen because I seriously want to succeed in this. I need to shoot my weekly self-portraits. I hadn't realized my anxiety with this until recently. I really have no idea what causes such a rediculous fear, perhaps it is general low-self esteem, but then again a lot of people who have low self-esteem are able to shoot their self-portraits. Perhaps I am too concerned about interfering with the environment I choose occasionally when I do use myself as a model. Perhaps I'm avoiding using my bedroom as an environment. I don't think I'm afraid of possibly letting the viewers of my art into my world and into my mind. Not everything that is of myself can be depicted in a single photo...or can it be? Either way I need to stop putting this off and just shoot it because I believe I could shoot a decent self-portrait. I need to give my photos more credit, put more of a mark down for myself, and wear the wearables I created in some of these."

Today has been rather unproductive. I hadn't got much sleep all weekend so I slept in and have been watching the goonies aside from shooting that photo. I have to catch up on my brochure project big time and plan on venturing to Studio Arts later to do so. Another challenge I am facing is the pouch project in textiles. We must sew together a pouch with a zipper...my challenge is making a boring project into something creative. But how do I do this? What is my bright yellow pouch to me?

Last night I hung my photos in the photo classroom for critique on Monday. I wonder how they will be recieved.

Don't Pollute My Dress

Here it is! As promised! This dress protests littering and pollution. Got trash you wanna throw it on the ground? Give it to me, I'll just sew it on my dress. This may continue to be a work in progress, I already found two clear plastic rings I plan on sewing to it. If not I am bound to create others like it as I have decided to take Advanced Textiles next fall and most likely major in it.

Right now in Graphics we are working on a brochure I am rather excited for. Chances are I will upload that on here. Until then, maybe I'll shoot more. Or draw.

Productivity and Technical Difficulties

I did four photo shoots today. One was for Emily, a former UWGB Theatre Major who still participates in shows. After we did her headshots she agreed to model for a shoot for my art portfolio out on the golf course. She wore a very tiny outfit but was such a trooper as it was very cold and windy outside. She never complained and even wants to go play in the culvert when it gets warmer. I also took photographs of my friend Alex tonight, just pretty portrait shots, we had fun with it.

Right now I am frustrated with my macbook. I finally was able to figure out how to unlock the raw files in my trash can but there is random crap labled .NEF on my desktop that is in use and apparently nothing can be done with it. I was editing off the camera and just want to upload them and drop them on my jump drive.

I will bring my camera to textiles tomorrow morning so I might photograph the dress.

Now, I will restart my computer. And hopefully get the crap off my desktop and upload my photos.