Productive Day in the UWGB Photo Labs

Today was the Art Open House at UWGB...it went from 2-6, and I volunteered to demo printing. So I printed like mad...craploads of work that has never been revealed that I just left in my negative holders. I'm really loving them. The shot with the legs was printed in an edition of 7, the rest in 3, and the pine tree was just one print.






After what was nearly 8 hours spent in the darkroom--I went to see the UWGB Theatre production of "Expecting Isabel" with my friend Jessica who is also a theatre major. After which, I took her digital headshots, which I am very pleased with.




Tomorrow we are having a visiting artist on campus from California. His name is Sam Davis and he is a sculptor and photographer. I am not quite sure when I will return to life as you all know it, but at least I'm enjoying myself in my photo-nerd-land.

New Textiles Project

This morning in textiles class we were assigned something new; we must construct a wearable item with a social, political, intellectual, or philosophical message. I realized that I would probably work more politically, so I thought about what issues were important to me, and most issues that I focus on with my political views and thoughts about this world have to do with the environment. I thought about issues such as ecological conservation--particularly the oceans and rainforests, pollution, animal rights, deforestation, the ozone, etc. I decided that pollution unified most of these, so I thought about going off that for my main idea. I thought some more and thought about sealife getting mangled in discarded fishing nets, trash strewn about the beach and found tangled in seaweed (which is fish food--who wants to eat trash??)...and I felt that this would be the strongest presentation. Below are some images that inspired me, and may hopefully shock you, also check out these links:











I was so inspired by this project and idea I began sketching immediately, and I came up with something that I think is workable. The dress design consists of three different parts:

1) Upper third (shoulders-chest-upper back): Fish design. The straps would be made from a sheer fabric to emulate fins, and the chest and upper back area will look like scales. Is th e wearer the fish stuck in the net?

2) Mid-section (stomach-mid back): The main fabric will be dyed to represent polluted water. Above that will be the matrix of the fishing net. Woven/sewn into the fishing net will be objects such as:
Non-Biodegradable Trash
Sealife
Sea shells
Driftwood
Soda rings (if I can even find these--they stopped making them because this was such an issue)

3) Skirt: I want to felt seaweed to create a fringe for the skirt. I would use green wool. I might sew a few objects to unify it with the mid-section...that and you see trash stuck in seaweed washed up on the beach all the time...GROSS!




Above are my sketches and ideas explained pictorally. I also came up with an idea of bottle cap fasteners for the back of the dress. I thought more about why I am drawing an octopus holding eyeballs--as if he wrenched our eyeballs out of our faces because we as the human race are failing to realize and see how we are destroying our oceans...so why should we have eyes if we can't even see the obvious trash in this octopus' home?? I also thought more about my idea of reversed environments by photographing jellyfish flying through our everyday environments...we killed their water...so where do they go?? Perhaps they are forced to adapt to our world or they are migrating elsewhere when their home is no longer a great place to live--like a mass jellyfish exodus. This is an idea that I am still working with, probably have more solutions to find, but I feel that I am definitely on to something.

Now, back to the loom.

A must-see for every photographer

Intro Graphics

This past semester (Fall 2008) I began taking classes for my minor with Intro Graphics. We had quite a few assignments but in this post I am sharing my best and favorite assignments.





Above are my three designs for the CD Cover redesign project. I chose the band, Radiohead and focused on addressing human/technology interactions and relationships.



Above here are my button designs for Pink Week, a national celebration of nothing more than the color pink. The entire Art department here at UWGB participates.

Aside from updating my online art sites today with my Intro Graphics work, I am gathering inspiration for possible shoots. Perhaps I shall embark to the Studio Arts building to weave on the loom, before viewing Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". Next weekend I plan on multiple sessions of shooting. Either way it is nice to have a day off before the crazy week ahead of me.

Studio I and creative blocks

I haven't posted for a few days--because nothing new has been created. I'm in artist standby mode, basically. Above is an assignment for Graphics Studio I that was critiqued and turned in last week. We had to design a display font, I call my design "Skworm". Our next project has to do with the program InDesign and researching a font designer. I'm not too thrilled about this assignment, it sounds rather bland and I'm not yet friends with InDesign--the program and I tend to make enemies. I would love to photograph today. I have two willing friends/models visiting from my hometown. However, I am rather stumped at what creative aim to take. I have ideas written down but the gears in my brain are stuck and need to be spinning like crazy again. The drive is there, just not the brain juice...if that analogy works at all. I ought to go work on the loom today too, and draw the octopus.

Why do I have a feeling that this coming week is going to suck??

Photo II

Today I managed to grab my archival print box holding photographs from a year ago. In this box I found some of my favorite images I have ever created, and I have been wanting to scan in for quite some time now. Mind you, the prints are a tad dusty, but I think they're pretty successful images. I feel inspired to shoot black and white film again.

Body Space Interjections



Creating Images Based off another Photographer's Style - Anna Gaskell


Extending The Image






I miss the darkroom.

Another result from the Insomniac Epiphanies

I think I am going to continue working in this way. It was all unplanned, but I really like the results. Obviously the use of the yarn came from the Angel shoot I did this Monday. This photo might have too much going on in it, but either way, I like the texture the yarn creates and how the accidental loose straps seem to flow into the red yarn as if they are connected. Motion is something new I am trying so I like what I'm getting so far, but I want to continue to play with it, probably with longer shutter speeds so the shapes are more defined.

I have photography class this morning, and I think I may be getting my idea book, so I won't feel lost anymore.