Mlima Art Blog

Reflecting at the end of the course

2010-02-24T11:03:00.003-05:00

When art first started i was very excited. I felt like i was a good artist and it was something i loved to do. In the beginning I only drew pictures using a pencil and just drawing as things came to mind. But over the course of the year i grew into an artist that planned art painted,sculpted and much more. This art class has not only taught me tricks in drawing but it has also opened my eyes to new and exciting ways in which to make art. During the year i had many ups and downs. I would say my biggest down was the final project which was lost. But also i need to work on my sculpting skills my painting skills and my skills in focusing in and getting the job done. But I also had many highlights as-well. The self portrait was my favorite highlight. It showed so much of who I am as a biracial and multicultural person. It showed the struggle my family has gone through and the things i hold dearest. It also is the most natural piece of art i've made all year. I am really proud of the outcome of it. Other accomplishments were the Found Object project, and the emotional lines project. During the middle of the year i became distracted but in the last term i have realized how important art is to me and how much i really love it. I will definitely continue with it in the future. Art is not only a pass time for me, it is also an emotional release and a passion that is deeper then a pen and paper. I will be sure to take advantage of the art options next year.

Classmates Art

2010-01-25T21:23:00.003-05:00

Sonia: I liked how there were sections of your thought bubble that were separated by the influence different people in your family had and have on you. It gives it structure and makes it easier to follow. The Yellow background gives the drawing the effect that it is popping out and it makes it stand out more. The flower was also very interesting g and cool because it was the only 3D item in the picture which gave it a certain importance.

Sarah G: I really liked the hair in the portrait because it framed your face and it gave it a texture that was appealing to the eye. I like how the background is white which is very dull and all the color is in your face making it seem like you are a colorful person and you stand out. I also like how you divided your face up with a peace sign, I thought that was really cool and said something about your beliefs.

Rene: I liked how you used a dull brown for the background and then used such a bright pink for the circle of things that mean the most to you. This made it stand out. I liked how the white b-ball hoops and ipod created a border around your picture. The flag stood out because of its color which made it seem very important to who you were.

Sophia: I really liked the windmill shape of your portrait, it gave it rhythm and movement. The way everything tide into the main points of who you are made it very interesting. For the disarray and "choatism"of the picture spoke about who you re and how you behave. The different branches of the windmill were each distinct and told a different story of who you are, which made it easier to break down who you are in different groups of characteristics. Your attention to detail and symbalism throughout your project made it very enjoyable to look at.

I am

2010-01-25T08:06:00.002-05:00

I am Brazilian, Canadian. I am a son, brother, and friend. The story of y portrait is very complex. Its main goal is to tell a story of immigration of my family and the different branches of my family. It shows my mothers side of the family from Canada, my fathers from brazil and the combination of them in the USA. It also incorporates some of my hobies.

Alexander DeMaria

2010-01-06T12:15:00.002-05:00

I like this specific picture because it shows so much imagination and creativity. I makes you think. Its not possible to look at this photo and know what it conveys without really studying it. It make you examine every little detail before you can truly know the meaning of it.

Reflecting on self-portrait progress

2010-01-04T08:28:00.005-05:00

I shared myself portrait with my group and received lots of feedback. I told my group the story of my parents immigrating from Brazil and Canada to the USA. I shared with them that my favorite sport is soccer and that immigration is very important to my family. The feedback was to define my shapes and finish the globe. To finish I need to color in the rest of the globe and to finish the the body of my portrait.

Why Do People Make Art

2009-12-01T12:05:00.002-05:00

People make art because it lets them and helps them express themselves in way other than words. Art is also sometimes pleasing to the eye and makes you happy when you have completed something you are proud of. Art can be used to tell a story or it can be used to document history. People use art to show there opinions, feeling, and as a pass time.

Reflect on Four Hour Project

2009-11-30T15:27:00.002-05:00

This project was different than all the other projects we have done because this project allowed us to work with what whatever we did, and we were allowed to use any materials. My process started with observing other peoples work for inspiration. Then once i got the idea of Yandel I looked a picture of him on the internet. Than I began to draw the face. Once i was done i waited a day and then went back and made any changes I found.

The Book Project...progress and planning

2009-11-09T09:46:00.003-05:00

My original plan for my first page was a scene where a father is walking into a war vehicle going of to war, while his wife and children watch from the distance. I have not finished my first page but sp far my plans have not changed. Everything is going well but I need to pick up the pace.

Studying Nighthawks

2009-10-27T23:48:00.002-04:00

Nighthawks-1942

By Edward Hopper an America artists

The painting is very detailed. I see a man and a women sitting at a bar with one other women. There is also a bartender and a street. The painting is very balanced because of the colors chosen.

Edward Hopper is an American artist who lived in cape cod during the 1930's and 40's. He was a very famous and talented artist who married a model. He made the painting Nighthawks to resemble a restaurant. The painting is really about three customers all alone in the bar feeling lonely.

He puts Emphasis on the yellow door on the back by making it a bright color on top of a dull color. He balances the picture well by focusing on the people on one side but also using a bright color to even the balance out on the other side. There is no rhythm or movement.

Finding Images That are Balanced

2009-10-26T11:44:00.005-04:00

The Artists Habitat

2009-10-20T21:06:00.003-04:00

An artist is someone who expresses anything thinkable through a visual, or hearable representation. An artist is someone who can express them selves and describe something in many different ways. Being creative means being able to think about everything in two ways, and being able to see what others don't see at first.

Giving Up Control: POURS

2009-10-20T20:56:00.002-04:00

To make a pour painting you had two pick several colors of paint pour them onto a blank sheet of paper and tilt the paper to move the paint around. It felt weird and somewhat frustrating to do something where I had almost no control. Surprisingly enough, the paintings in the end turned out beautiful and the only way could could have their unique beauty was by letting go of control and leaving it up to physics. The paintings were very good because the paterns and shapes and mixed colors, could not have been accomplished if there was control in what you wanted the outcome to look like.

Revisiting My Pour Panting

2009-10-20T20:54:00.001-04:00

Man with sun glasses
Monster with an open mouth
Devil faced human
Robed man
Animal slepping

Revisiting Observation/Description Activity

2009-10-20T20:45:00.002-04:00

The parts of the painting that looked like the original were the one that described the layer and clearly stated the relativity to other objects in it. Describing what the general shape was and not the details worked very well. To many times the paintings were off because people focused on the details and not the key points. Describing size relative to the actual sheet of paper was also helpful. When people draw shapes inside shapes, and when people focused on detail the drawings became to confusing and it made the drawer feel disoriented in terms of shape and space in the drawing. If I were to do the activity again I would focus on color and general shapes in space more.

Reflecting on The First Week

2009-10-20T20:28:00.002-04:00

This week we did three activities, the collaborative drawings, the pour paintings, and the mapping the still life drawing. All of these three activities required us to be able to work out of our comfort zone, we had to cope with change and we had to work without control of the outcome. In the collaborative drawings we had to let other people draw in our drawing and let them take it in any direction. To do this assignment properly we had to work out of our comfort zone by having someone else do what ever they wanted to something we worked hard on, we had to cope with the changes our peers made and we had work knowing we had know control of the out come of what it would look like. In the pour paintings we had to work out of comfort zone because we had to give up control, we had to cope with change because the painting was constantly mixing and moving, and we had to somewhat work without having control of the outcome because of how the paint would hit the paper, how it would mix and how it would dry. In the mapping still life activity we had to utilize these three skills to the best of our ability. It was out of our comfort zone to have someone else controlling the change in our drawing and having to add and take away objects. For this same reason we also had to cope with change and be prepared to give up control of the outcome.

The Principles of Design

2009-10-20T10:56:00.005-04:00

Artist use pod to create unity (everything goes together).

Want everything together but you want variety.

Balance

Is when the visual weight of the picture is equal everywhere.

Four types of balance.

1.)Symmetry

Draw line down middle of a picture same on right and left

2.)Approximately Symmetrical

Almost symmetrical

3.)Asymmetry

Opposite if symmetry

4.)Radial Balance

Everything is the same coming out of the center

Emphasis

Rhythm & Movement

Same elements

Alternating Elements

Progression

Proportion

Size relationships of

1.)Colors

2.)Shapes

3.)Forms

Reflecting on Found Object Sculptures

2009-10-20T08:56:00.002-04:00

I began my sculpture product by looking through objects i had found an grouping them according to how they looked and how they could be used. When I found the the black stringy tape from the tape recorder I knew I to use it. It inspired me to think about all the different things i could use it for. I finally decided that it could be best put to use as the fur of a animal. I began to look through my stuff again to try to find more objects. Now knowing what direction I was going in it was a little bit easier to zero in and filter out unusable objects, or objects that would not be practical for what I was creating. When I finally came upon a side to a black DvD player I was able to start building. The DvD player side had two walls that lifted it from the ground immediately standing out in my mind as a body. It was also black so it was color coordinated with the black tape. I came up with two ideas for animals, a zebra and a raccoon. I deiced that the zebra was not as good of a fit because the legs formed by the DvD player were two short and fat to be a zebra. This left me with only one choice the raccoon. I found more and more things helping me build my raccoon. I had completed the body when I realized that I what I had made resembled a panther more than a raccoon. When I looked for objects that could be made into a panther, I realized that they were all there. In the end I did end up completing my panther and it turned out better than I originally thought it would. The feedback I got back from my peers focused mainly on the lack of colors, but the variety in material and great use of material. Though I do appreciate colorful sculptures my sculpture was purposefully made to be unanimously colored black because of what I was building.

Reflecting at Mid Term

2009-10-19T10:40:00.004-04:00

This term I have made lots of progress. I have learned to see the potential in things I before viewed as regular everyday objects. I have learned to pull ideas from everything in my surroundings and to be as creative as possible with my materials. I have learned to build off my ideas and to cope with change. I have also learned to do the best I can even when I feel like I don't have the materials, time or skills to complete a task. I have struggled at times to turn in work do to missed classes caused by soccer, sickness and dentist appointments but I have caught up and completed all of them. Though I am far from a perfect artist I do believe I have become a respectable artists and have learned a great deal from this class. It is always hard for me to get started but when I did I ended up completing pieces of art I was proud to call mine. I always try my hardest to produce artwork that i am proud of.

The Work of Ingrid Calame

2009-10-09T14:53:00.003-04:00

This does not seem very familiar. The way she creates her paintings is much different then the way i create. When she sits down to a start working she has a no plan instead she starts and lets the art lead her. When I start artwork i like to know what I am about to create. Though that is not always a good thing because sometimes its better to just dive in and see where you end up. Ingrid Calame is an artist from California who make art that is based on cartographyy. She makes her paintings by tracing interesting things that she finds and then bringing them back to her studio and painting in the lines. She does this because she feels like the real art in life can be found on the streets and in everyday life.

This picture is my favorite out of all her drawings. The different lines my seem out of order and all over the place but if you look at it closely every line is carefully traced and continues in a very precise way. The color contrast makes every line different. The variety in the pattern of the lines make every line and unique as well. When you look at this painting a number of times it never looks the same. Of course some lines you remember but there is always something knew to notice.

The Changing Still Life

2009-10-08T14:01:00.003-04:00

The assignment today was very hard. To be able to complete it we needed to do three things. One we needed to be able to adjust to changes in the drawing. We needed this skill because the drawing was always changing. Mrs Robert's added and took away parts of the drawing. The second thing we needed to be able to was stay focused on the point of the assignment. The assignment was to keep up with the changes in the drawing and focus on the big aspects. We needed to be able to not get caught up in all the small details. Finally the last thing we needed to do to complete this assignment was to be able to focus and make sure you were able to draw while things were changing.

The Potential of Found Objects

2009-10-07T00:52:00.003-04:00

The shape and size of an object tells you how you could use it. The color does not matter because it does not affect the outcome unless you are trying to make it one color. The size matters because you usually want it to be in purporting to the rest of the sculpture. And of course the shape matters because it needs to be in the general shape of what the object you are looking for is.

Reflecting on My First Critic.

2009-10-05T10:17:00.003-04:00

I need to fill out more space on my drawing and finish it. I could add orange sparks coming from the red and yellow explosion. I should have more emotion coming from and involving more of my characters. The yellow red contrast was very good. It worked well. The way the two met in the center was also cool. I liked having my classmates comment on my artwork. I think it was good because I can see how many different people interpret it. I thought it was very helpful. I thought it was nice to have criticism.

Revisiting Observations

2009-09-24T13:31:00.003-04:00

Allot of things worked out well. But many things didn't work out. If i had to do this assignment again i would be more specific in telling the person where things were in perspective to each-other. I would try to give more specific colors and shapes and i would make my self more clear.

Collaborative Drawing

2009-09-21T11:24:00.002-04:00

Today we made collaborative drawings. I enjoyed having other people work on my drawing. I let me see what I thought looked like one thing looked like through someone else's eyes. I learned that people saw the beginning of my drawing and interpreted it entirely differently. Having someone else working on a drawing of mine would probably not be so helpful, but maybe someone making constructive criticism.

Ancient Art

2009-09-14T10:11:00.005-04:00

Mask

Olmec, Mexico

10th-6th century B.C.E

First Impression:

I like how the masks color is dark green. I think it makes it very dark but celebratory.

What I have learned:

This mask was made by the Olmec people in Mexico. It is neither human nor supernatural.