Transition: Assignment 1 into Assignment 2

Okay, well today we all went around and wrote a word or phrase based off their first drawing that each artist should move forward with in their next assignment. We were then instructed to draw 1 slip of paper from that pile, draw a second slip of paper from a box Amy provided us with, and a third slip of paper from another box that contained names of mediums we are to potentially work with.

So here were my three slips....

1. Dream/Oneiromancer

2. Language

3. Eraser

Yep so I am going to make a drawing around those 3 variables. I need to do some research before I dive in. There are SO many directions I could go with... I just need to figure out what is being true to myself while still addressing these variables.

The other slips of paper about my drawing include the following:

mark making

aged/history

Domestic

MEMORIES

Memorable

SENTIMENTAL/IMAGERY

creepifying (you know what I mean I think) scenes/objects

creepy

MEMORY

focus on unique strokes and tonality

mark-making

delusion of memory

Home is where the heart is.

Home

The Farm

Blurred Future

ROOTS

FAMILY "TREE"

sketching vertical lines

vertical

And thus, I move forward.

Ordinary/Extraordinary Critique

First off, sorry but I don't have my drawings documented yet. I will upload photos when I get a chance, but in the mean time, I will respond to the critique last Monday. Overall, I am excited to be in this class with all these different students. I know a few people, but the rest of you I've maybe seen around the school, or never before. So... it was interesting to see and hear feedback on everyone's work.

So, my drawings were in response to photos I had taken around my home. I grew up on a hobby farm west of the Twin Cities... my parents breed Arabians, so we have horses on the premises. I gathered pictures along the familiar walk from my house out to the horse pasture. I almost didn't know what to take pictures of because I have lived and played there for the last 23 years of my life... I know it all so well. So, the photos I drew from were of the house, some buildings on our property, and one of the horses. To me, it seemed like my drawings were more about the process and the mark makings, and not so much the content.

However, I was very surprised by the critique. I had a few comments on my drawing style, but I feel like the house picture and its message dominated most of the critique (well it was the largest drawing.) What stuck to me is that I have a creepy way of drawing things.... which led me to question what does "creepy" really mean, and why is it such and bad/good thing? I returned the question and received the response that it is my use of vertical lines. So what is the association with vertical lines and creepy? Haha. The rest of the critique people discussed the house and the trees coming out the bottom. I was surprised that no one saw the trees as roots.... that was sort of my intent in drawing the trees in the first place. I was also thinking about the idea of the family tree... the family tree of my own relatives, and the family tree of the people who have resided in the building which has been my family's house for the last 25 years. The house was built in 1880... so, it was many other families "house" before ours. This intrigues me. I have seen some weddings photos done on the farm back in the 50's... and it's neat because my wedding coming up in September will also be held on the farm.

I can't remember what else was said about my work. The name Tim Burton was thrown out... which wasn't a complete surprise but at the same time sort of bugs me just because his stuff has become so commercialized. I have always gravitated towards his work, ever since I was a little kid... but it is definitely becoming more generic as time goes on. Maybe I can get one of my drawings made into a poster and sold at Hot Topic... haha. My fiance actually has a shirt he designed for August Burns Red that is being sold at the store. It was really quite cool to see his work being sold on a mass market... and then there is something annoying about it too.

Okay well I don't know what else to say about the critique. I will be interested to see what we all come up with for our next project....

Where I've come from and where I'm going...

Since my first critique in Drawing III, I have come to question why I might be drawing the way I draw. There were several comments that were made I found sort of interesting, not that they were good or bad... it is what it is... but as an artist and designer, I am curious to why and how people view my work in the light that they do. So... before I begin to post new work, I better recap on the old. The following are drawings, sketches, sculpture, and designs I have done the last 5 years.... not chronological.

So this is Apple Man. I created him for an assignment back in Bryan Ritchie's Drawing II class in the Fall of '06. We were supposed to gather a group of dolls with our other classmates and draw from that still life, but for some reason I was really attached to this character and wanted to draw him all to myself.

This is probably the best drawing I have ever made. It's charcoal on tonal paper, a combination of materials I really enjoy working with.

Here is the second drawing from the assignment. I really enjoy this one too... not as "polished" as the first drawing, but it still seems finished. The composition makes me laugh. If you are wondering about Apple Man, I still have him... I'll post of a photo of him when I get a chance. He's an old brute these days.

Onto more drawings... coming up are works from Drawing I and II.

This last piece holds an interesting story behind it. This was from Drawing II, and we were assigned to do something out of the ordinary, perhaps something you would never do. The easy way out would have been to go someplace you had never visited... perhaps church if you weren't a believer, or the butcher shop if you were a vegetarian. I didn't really think of anything like that, but something that did pop in my head was "I would never get a tattoo." So, I went up to the local tattoo parlor and inquired if I could get a tattoo done, but without the ink. The guy looked at me kind of funny and said they hadn't done it before, but would be willing to give it a try. So we set up an appointment, I paid the $40 minimum fee, picked out my design, and I laid on the table to get my left rib cage drawn on. It was pretty sweet actually, I had these beautiful blood lines that eventually healed over and were a faint color under my skin. One day I looked in the mirror and they were totally gone! So... I totally know what it is like to get a tattoo, however, I don't know what it feels like to have something permanently applied to my body, but that's okay with me.

Here are a few more things from my sketch book...

And here is some photography and sculpture work...

So yep! These are some of my pieces... not sure what they tell about me as an artist. I will post some of my design work too when I get a chance... I am very intrigued by the relationship of art and design. I think I would be lying if I didn't admit to being both a designer and an artist... but I have heard people argue that you are either on or the other.

Introduction and Art Lessons Response

Hey! I'm Jen... a 5th year student at UW-Stout. I am finishing up my BFA in Industrial Design and Philosophy minor this spring (2010) and will be moving on to the next stages of my life ("real" job, marriage in September, more bills, etc. ) I was born and raised in the rural area of Greenfield, Minnesota on a hobby farm - horses, Arabians in particular, pigeons, dogs, cats, hamsters, ground squirrels, hermit crabs, etc. I am the biggest animal lover I know, aside from the creator himself. My mom is an interior designer and my dad does commercial real estate, so both business folk which has also rubbed off on me in ways I'm sure.

Why am I taking Drawing III? Well... I love drawing. It's bittersweet really because nothing stresses me out more than a blank page I can't get myself to look at, let alone create a fantastic masterpiece on. Really, this is a mental game that simply boils down to e-x-p-e-c-t-a-t-i-o-n. I think that Deborah Haynes begins to unpack this box labeled "art," but I will touch on that in a minute. Back to Drawing III - I draw because that's what I do? Perhaps because I have been esteemed to think that this is a "talent" and thus I perform to receive gratification? Possibly because I am walking towards an industry that demands me to be dangerous with this skill? Or maybe because I simply enjoy the past time of making marks on surfaces, sort of an odd conversation with myself. I would say I'm not an introverted person by any means, but when it comes to me and my "work" (a.k.a. pride), I need solitude; this is one of the challenges for working openly in a studio setting. I guess I will claim this as a goal for myself, to be more comfortable working in the presence of others. Brilliant.

Responding to Haynes first few pages of her "Art Lessons," I have to say I am impressed by the determination she has set forth in chasing after her innate curiosity and interest in her surroundings. Do I agree with all she is suggesting? Absolutely not, but this is not the point of her book anyway. "Art" is one of those things that can't be fully owned or defined... it is truly unique. At least that's my opinion. I guess, art is opportunity in my mind.

I could sit an ask questions all day as to what art is, what is its origin, what does it mean, etc. Frankly, I am a visual person. Furthermore, I am very influenced by my senses in general, which plays into how I perceive and communicate in life. This is my basis for claiming myself as an "artist." It's my nature. However, I don't agree that there is a particular template or standard of what a true artist is. For me, growing up I was always "artsy." I'm sure you know the story, or are this person too. I always drew pictures and painted things, won the art contests, people just referred to me as "the artist." I truly understood myself to be elite in this world, and prided myself on this factor that I'm not sure I can even take full credit for in the first place. Well thankfully, my ego bubble got popped a few years down the road when my senior class ended up voting another girl "Most Artistic," when she only started showing her interest in art the last 2 years of her high school career. I was very annoyed for a while since I apparently depended on other people to define me, or even letting the term "artist" or "art" define me. These days, I like the phrase "It is what it is."

Well... I will be interested to read more from Haynes. She throws A LOT of material at you, lots to process... I'm sure I've missed several boats already...