Final Paper

While I am primarily a painter, I feel that I had definitely progressed greatly in ceramics. Working with clay has been an uncharted territory for me for a long time. While I had taken introductory ceramics in the previous spring semester, I found working with clay difficult as I felt that it was near impossible to create something that I was satisfied with. When it comes to ceramics I appreciate a very utilitarian style and anything and everything that I created looked less than useful. But this semester my opinion of clay was changed when I began taking Ceramics 2 and was introduced to the throwing wheel. It was definitely challenging at first but after logging away many hours in the lab I soon found that I began to finally produce the utilitarian items that I had always wanted to learn to make.
In my pottery, I drew a lot of inspiration from American folk art such as old crocks and bowls. I enjoy the clean lines and rounded forms and I tried to emulate that. I also looked at the work of Jonathan Woodward, a local potter from my home town who runs an extremely successful business Clinton Pottery. His classic forms and brightly colored glazes are very pleasing to the eye. My basic concept was to create functional items and I feel that I did create some satisfactory work this semester.
The best learning moments for me this semester was the times when I could come into the ceramics lab during non class hours and receiving help from Jeremiah or any of the extremely helpful and knowledgeable teacher's assistants. I felt that I really benefited from the one-on-one time and really enjoyed learning their techniques.
This semester I went to the " Fax" show and the Steven Barbash Collection. I found both to be very interesting. I thought the Steven Barbash collection really emphasized the importance of relationships with your fellow artists.
I'm continuously inspired by impressionistic artists such as John Singer Sargent, Manet and recently I've been drawn to Mary Cassatt. I have a love of the human figure and I love the way that these artists portray their subjects.
My classmates have definitely helped me through critique. I really enjoy hearing their feedback and what their thought process is and any advice that they have to offer. Sometimes your own judgment can become clouded, its always beneficial to have fresh opinions. I haven't had a critique moment that has stood out, but they have definitely all been helpful.
I wouldn't say my perspectives have changed exactly. I think I have a better appreciation for the time that goes into creating satisfactory work. And I definitely have a better appreciation of clay and the careful delicate touche that is required for elegant works. My goals for the next semester are definitely to develop better time management skills and try to produce a more steady output of pieces.

Final Paper

This semester, I have really surprised myself. I transferred to SUNY Cortland from Buffalo State College. My major was Fashion Design, and I didn't have a passion for it anymore. I knew that I loved designing, but I realized that a career in fashion design would not be as practical as media design. I am coming into New Media Design with no previous experience, except for art classes in high school. However, I have more of a creative mind than scientific, so I knew design was right for me. I have improved my drawing and craftsmanship skills immensely, and am proud of what I have accomplished so far.

The image below is my favorite piece that I have constructed in my design class. Before this project, we did previous work using four squares inside of each thumbnail. We had to represent playful, order, increase, bold, and congested, each in 25 different thumbnails. Once we completed this task, we needed to pick five of our most potential squares from each category, for a bigger composition containing 25 squares. We needed to think of a main theme between our different squares that would unify our new composition. For my piece, I chose a main theme of depth. I played with the size of the squares in each thumbnail to emphasize depth and make it look like the squares were popping out from the background. My next step was to make a border around each thumbnail using the contrasting color. Where there was white, the border was black, and vise versa. My last step was to matte my piece on a black background, in order to make that pop out from the black background. I really enjoyed this project, and spent a lot of time constructing it. Over all my design class has been very inspiring. I have learned more than I have learned in any class before. I am genuinely interested in the concepts of design and am excited to learn more.

I have seen a few shows at the gallery this semester. I saw "Shared Experience, the Steven Barbash Collection," the Fax show, and "Girl". I enjoyed Steven Barbash's talk about his collection. He was very inspiring and funny. He explained that a lot of the work in his collection is done by friends of his from school. I found this to be very inspiring, realizing that we may all be able to see each other's work in the future. We may also be able to collect each others' work and get inspired by each other. The Fax show was different than most shows in the gallery. It was pretty confusing to me, and I wasn't sure what the purpose was. I noticed that each piece was different from the next, and couldn't figure out the over all theme. Then I realized that that was the point of the show. It was meant to make people think about communication and what that could mean. It was also emphasizing the fact that the Fax machine is becoming outdated, and information may be lost. This was an interesting learning experience. "Girl" was also unique compared to other shows I have seen before. Each piece was unique in it's own way, but they all emphasized what it meant to be a girl. It was interesting to see all of the aspects and viewpoints about being a girl.

I have come to realize that critiques can be a very helpful learning experience. My classmates have given both facts and opinions about my work that helped me to realize what I did right, and what I could have done better. Classmates are a great resource. The more viewpoints you receive on your ideas and your work, the more you learn just how much you can really do to accomplish your best work.

I have even more appreciation for art than I did before. Now that I understand main concepts about design and drawing, I have the ability to look at a composition and really understand why it works and why it doesn't. I would like to start attending more shows at different art galleries in my free time to expand my learning and appreciation for art.

My goals for next semester are to keep my learning momentum going, and to stay inspired. I would like to continue to improve my design and drawing skills. I hope to keep working hard towards a good GPA. I have always been a hard worker, and I strive to do my best in every class.

Final

This work is a part of something that has been a long time coming. The first half of the semester was extremely productive in my exploration in painting. I started working on the idea or, rather question, “what does it mean to experience fish?” This quickly evolved to include a number of different ways in which we do so, but all hinging on a general consensus that we first need to catch a fish to experience it. However as the semester came to the midpoint I changed directions. Lucky, I return to this question for further exploration.

For the second half of the semester I looked into layers that are created by the mind. In particular, I considered landscapes. I was using plexi-glass sheets and layering them and only painting on corresponding layer. Eventually I married the idea of the first half of the semester with the technique of the second half.

For the final piece of my layered plexi-glass paintings I have goldfish in layer frames. There are four layers of plexi with goldfish on corresponding sheets. This was the result of trying to communicate spatial relationships that object have to each other in a series of plains.

As the work progressed it was initially about landscape layering only. Then slowly it progressed into layering in landscape combined with the spatial relationships of layering within an object. Then lastly, this fish piece which is more about the individual objects and their spatial relationships. It was also an addition to the first half of the semester.

Considering the first half of the semester was an exploration of “what does it mean to experience fish,” this piece worked its way in rather nicely. Before moving forward in the second half of the semester I needed to preciously consider my next move. The most valuable learning moment of the semester was not of new medium or an innovative subject but rather from the desire to revisit something that I felt was concluded. The ability to go back into a segment of work that I deemed had run its course lead to the conclusion that perhaps I have jumped the gun. There is value in revisiting past works and especially with fresh eyes. This makes me consider: where have I abandoned work too earlier before? It also is enticing to revisit past works and see where I can now take them. Perhaps there is no merit to working on a series for as long as I can within a short period of time, but rather have a continuum. There is no need to commit to a conclusion and all work should be viewed as open-ended.

This semester I have seen a “John Singer Sergeant: portraits in Praise of Women”, the FAX show, “Down to Science,” and “Empire Waists, Bustles & Lace: A Century of New York Fashion.” I think the most inspiring though was the “Water Mark: Michele Harvey & Glimmerglass.” Michele Harvey’s landscape paintings are what kick-started my layered paintings. Her paintings may be on canvas but she showed heavily how landscapes are broken down by the atmosphere into layers. It seemed all the better to consider how the mind does this and creates spatial relationships itself within a frame. Michele Harvey’s paintings are showing at the Fenimore Art Museum. She typical works in a triptych format with paths and open landscapes. The landscapes tend to be misted and confronted by bold hard lines of material objects.

The best critique moment for this semester come from the first critique in my fibers class. It was a simple wall quilt but as it was discussed, a student was able to see its underlining characteristics and did not take it to be a literal piece.

Over the semester, art has become an increasingly intellectual activity. I hope this trend continues into the next semester and I am considering applying for the BFA. This will hopefully allow time to amplify my work and concrete my view of art as a meditation rather than a product.

My work has progressed quite a bit throughout the semester. As always, it seems like the first half of the semester started out very slow. In the past, I have had to go through a few "crap" paintings before getting the rust off enough to start producing paintings that were actually worthwhile. And this semester was no different. I found myself producing less than stellar quality paintings, only to be discouraged and upset about my progress. But after sticking with it for a while I began to get more comfortable painting again, and started to come around. What I thought were okay paintings were merely studies that pointed me in the right direction to go. I started out with very minimal and incomplete paintings that lent itself towards more descriptive ones. In result, my paintings have become more advanced and honest. I have started to realize more what it is I need to be painting.

What I am painting are the landscapes that inspire me when I am out running. What particularly inspires me are my physical and mental states of mind. After being by myself on the roads or in the woods for an hour to two hours, my body enters a realm that I call "floating". Being surrounded by empty and calm landscapes help put my body in that place.

The best learning/critique moment came during a committee critique of mine. I was told that my paintings looked more like under-paintings than actual finished pieces, something that needed many more layers before it could become successful. This made me look not only outwards at my paintings, but also inward. It made me think about what it was I had been painting and why. It forced me to think about the decisions I was making and if they were the right ones. This made me look at my paintings in a different way than I had been. Having heard that was such a turning point in the semester that I am very thankful that it happened. If it had not occurred, my paintings would not be where there currently are.

I viewed both the "Fax" and "Girls" exhibitions. I was not particularly blown away by these shows. They were certainly interesting and worthwhile in their own ways, but collectively they were not my favorite shows I have seen in the gallery. I liked the different media presented in the "Girls" show, with paintings, sculptures, weavings, and prints being shown. It was a nice variety of artwork. I needed more time to warm up to the idea of the "Fax" show. At first I was more or less confused about what I was looking at and why, but after a brief description by Bryan Thomas I saw it in a different context. And at the closing with Professor Kramer talking about the history of the show, it became much more clear and interesting.

There is no single artist that has been the most inspiring. During the semester while searching for artists that are working in the landscape genre in the way that I am, I found three artists that I liked. They are Toni Grote, Eric Fredine, and Steven Kozar. Although the three artists work in different media, they all seem to share similar qualities to my paintings. Their ideas and concepts might be different than those of mine, but what I was particularly drawn to were the subject matter and their use of space and how they divided the canvas.

Classmates have also influenced my work by giving me feedback. I have had students come up to me and say what their thoughts are about certain paintings, i.e. the feelings that are created when standing in front of a painting, what is working for them versus what is not. Hearing their personal responses is a great way for me to look back at what I am making and seeing if others are experiencing what I am. Having that fresh pair of eyes makes it easier to see what I am over looking. What is really beneficial to me is when I have different people look at my paintings and receive opinions other than mine.

My perspective on the arts has changed due to being involved with media I really have not worked with before. I am currently taking a weaving and a second level sculpture class. It has taught me ways to be involved with art other than painting, which is what I am very used to. Having to physically work with items such as wax, polypropylene threads, sand, wood, plasticine, etc. has opened not only my eyes to new media but also my thoughts as to what is possible to make, and how I can or cannot relate it to painting.

My goals for next semester are straight forward:

Have a successful Thesis show

Produce quality paintings

Stick to a better schedule

Finalize my Artist Statement

This is the first semester that I have started doing work towards my major, New Media Design. I am finally taking art classes and enjoying college. I have progressed this semester so much. I took Drawing one and Design one. My final drawing shows so much improvement in comparison to the one we did the first day of classes. I was nervous because drawing was never one of my strong points, but I have developed many skills that I will carry with me forever.

In the picture I drew a nose. The actual nose was a nose made out of a plastered block. The concepts shown in my work are working with shadows, mid-tones and the highlights. The aim of realist value drawing is to show the light and shadow and surface tones, creating a three-dimensional illusion. Outlines only define visible edges and don't tell us anything about light and dark. When creating a value drawing, my teacher told me I needed to shift out of line-drawing mode, and the best way to do this was to forbid myself to draw a line and focus on areas of value. I used the lightest of lines to get down the basic shapes. From there, I build up the shading. The outline was the joining between two different values, which was created by the contrast between the light and dark area. It was a challenging piece.

I went to a few shows this semester in the gallery here on campus, “Shared Experience, the Steven Barbash Collection,” the Fax exhibit and “Girl.” There were so many pieces in the gallery with each show, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The pieces were so vast that I knew right away what ones I liked and didn’t.

During the Fax Exhibit, many of the pieces that where in the gallery were baffling. I started doing research to help me understand the actual exhibit more. I found it to be ironic that I was using google to get information on this Fax exhibit, I did however get some vague details. I actually had to use my brain to piece together the information that I just had read; later I learned that that was the point of the exhibit.

I truly enjoyed “Girl”, even more so than the Fax. It explored the concept of girlhood within the works of seven contemporary female artists. Lori Ellis’ painting entitled “Onion Gown,” was a truly remarkable piece. The authenticity of it and the way it spoke to me, truly took my breath away. The colors and concept just worked so well with each other. The wedding dress was on a mannequin. There were falling onion pedals all around, at first glance what seemed to be rose pedals. At your wedding you typically cry for no reason at all, emotions over flow your body. In this painting is was somewhat compared with cutting an onion, for no apparent reason your eyes start to tear. This was done in such a tasteful manner that one could not just walk away. You had to sit, look and interpret; as all art should make you do.

The most inspiring artist that I found this semester was Alexa Meade. She creates incredible paintings using real people as her canvas. She is truly inspiring because she took “thinking out of the box” to the next level. My friend was telling me about her one day and I became completely fascinated. Her work can truly be enjoyed by all.

In Design one I am completely influenced by my surroundings classmates. Every critique they bring something new to the table. I have learned from all the critiques we have done; compiled together I can leave this semester with a more open mind. There is not a specific critique that stands out as I walked away from all of them with more knowledge than before.

My perspective on art has not really changed but I have tried to have more of an open mind this semester. If I saw something I didn’t like at the gallery I would try to look at it more and find one aspect I could appreciate about it and truly understand what about it I didn’t like.

Next semester I hope to advance more in Design two. I am very excited to see what the assignments are and what my fellow classmates have to bring to the table. It’s so important to learn from other people and grow as an individual.

This work is a life size sculpture of ballerina legs and tutu made out of wire, wire mesh, and woven fabric. This particular piece was a big turning point for me this semester. Not only have I never had a chance to work in three dimensions, but I have never made anything quite so large. One way that my work has progresses is that I have begun to build larger pieces-- a year ago I never would have thought of building a life size model of legs, and I still hope to continue to make even larger pieces. I have also progressed in that I have begun to experiment with other materials; this was my first attempt at making something with wire. This piece was inspired by a ballerina painting by Degas. I wanted to bring the painting to 3D and also add some humor by flipping the legs upside down so that the legs are up in the air—a very clumsy position for a graceful ballet dancer to be in. Making this piece was a great learning moment in many ways. I learned how to manipulate new materials and I learned how to manage my time since due dates always seem to come much faster than it takes to create my ideas. I’ve also learned a lot about what I want my work to say and how to talk about them through the critiques that I’ve attended this semester.

I’ve been to a few shows and events this semester which were very interesting and informative. A couple weeks ago I attended the opening for Tara’s show, “down to a science”. The large, glowing blood drops that she hung from the ceiling were visually amazing and she had a great concept behind the installation as well. Earlier this semester I helped hang a student show downtown at the Beard gallery. It was my first time helping to hang one and was interesting to learn about the work that needs to be done to prepare a show; I also enjoyed seeing other students work. I also went on the art club’s NYC trip to see PS1. The art there was modern and unlike anything I’d seen before. There were many video installations and performance art that was very different. I’ve attended a few other events through the art club such as an enameling workshop by Jen Bell which was very interesting as well. Being a part of the art club was a really good way for me to get involved in events around campus and also introduced me to other art students whose advice and encouragement was beneficial to my work.

After seeing the “Fax” and “Girl” exhibits at the Dowd gallery, I discovered an artist named Minna Resnick whose art I really enjoy. She does prints and drawings that are both unbelievable and display strong messages. I like that her drawings are so realistic and she will make prints over the top of her drawings that are very graphic, which gives her works some strong contrast. I would love to find more shows that she is in to see more of her work.

This semester, I’ve had many classmates whose thoughts have influenced my work. I’ve had a couple of classes with students in the BFA program who are very helpful when giving feedback about my work. They are very good sources when looking for advice or a second opinion and are always willing to help. My best critique moment was with a fibers project that turned out to not be very good. It was the constructive criticism in that project that helped me to go above and beyond with my next project which came out much better and received a much more positive critique. It helped that the students in my class were not afraid to put down aspects of my piece so that next time I could have something to improve upon. My perspective of the arts has also changed in that the more time I spend working on projects for hours and days at a time trying to make them flawless, the more inspired I become to create something bigger and better the next time. When I look at a huge sculpture or large painting it amazes me how someone has enough passion to spend so much time perfecting a piece.

Next semester I plan on continuing my concentration in painting and hopefully learn to create large pieces that convey strong messages. Continuing to experiment with different materials and mediums is also important to me. I would like to get better at talking about my pieces and coming up with more concrete concepts. I plan on doing this by participating more in the class critiques and asking questions.

Final Essay

This semester I have worked on developing a strong concept and have focused on gender stereotypes. Stereotypes plague all societies and are taught by culture, which provides a set of rules to live our lives by. Culture gives guidelines that teach us how to act, how to look, and how to think. Anything that does not conform to these inflexible rules is considered "not normal" and is condemned by society. I am interested in these rules that brainwash us as soon as we enter the world. In our culture, colors are often assigned to us as we are born, girls receive pink beanies at the hospital and boys receive "baby blue." This is the beginning of a life-long exposure to stereotypes and the pressure to conform. The roots of gender stereotypes emerged early on in human evolution. There has been a sexual division of labor in the beginning stages of evolution. I understand that humans are sexual dimorphic, meaning body size varies between males and females. Therefore, one gender may physically be better suited for a particular job. However, I do not agree that a person is not capable of certain job based on their gender. For example, men commonly occupy jobs that require strength because males generally have larger bodies and are stronger, but I do not believe that a woman is not capable of doing just as well as a man. I believe the best work I produced this semester is my second steel dress. It addresses gender stereotypes and forms a relationship between aspects that are cultural recognized as either male or female. The form, a corset and hoop skirt set is recognized as feminine, while the material, formed steel is recognized to be masculine. I chose a hoop skirt and corset with a bustle to reference the 18th century, indicating that stereotypes are not something new. By leaving the corset bare, with no sleeves, a fashion-don't in the 18th century, the piece references present time and suggests that stereotypes continue. I chose to rust the surface of the steel to give a rough and tough appearance, characteristics that males are expected to uphold. The feedback from other students at a critique for this dress was very beneficial. The dress transformed greatly from its original design. I am happy with the way the dress turned out and agreed with many of the suggestions given to me by classmates. The response to the dress was much better after I made changes to the dress. Critiques also help me learn how to better explain the concept behind my work. Thinking about the concept and actually being able to communicate are very different and critiques enable me to work on better communication. Critiques are good learning experiences that allow me to further develop my concept. Goals for next semester include continuing my "Steel Heels" series. The first of the series, "Steel-toed Stilettos," serves as a model for me to further expand the form and concept. This series too deals with gender stereotypes, combining a form that is cultural known as feminine, the stiletto, and a material that is known to be masculine, steel. I am interested in incorporating photography by taking the series of heels to work cites to document female workers wearing them. I also plan to design and fabricate another dress form. The most inspiring artist have encountered so far is sculptor Cal Lane. She also works with steel and uses metal fabrication techniques. Often her work deals with creating relationships between opposing concepts. She cuts intricate doily-like patterns into industrial steel objects, creating a relationship between domestic and industry, delicate and strong, and feminine and masculine. She works to reach a balance between the opposites to create a harmonious work of art. During this semester I visited art shows at the Dowd Gallery, where I attended the Steven Barbash Exhibition and the "Girl" Show. I found the "Girl" show interesting and relevant to the concept I am developing. I attended Tara Evan's BFA Thesis Show at the Cortland Corset Factory. I have also visited the Johnson Museum at Cornell University with Professor Paul Parks for our Far Eastern Art History class. On this visit I noted the artists of works that I enjoyed and would like to further research.