paper

Making paper was a fairly simple process, but got a little complicated. My first sheet came out well, but was a little thick, so i trimmed it and rolled it out with a rolling pin. The next sheet of paper I was supposed to make didn't go nearly as well. The person before me broke the blender for pulping the paper, so I wasn't able to start until the very end of class. By the time I had my pulp, class was just about over, so I rushed through and got an awful piece of paper the next day. I decided that rather than making three pieces of paper, I was going to create something out of the paper that I had already made. THe result was the picture you see above, and I believe that it turned out pretty well.

PLASTER PALS!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

Basically, Plaster Pals are the safest, easiest, and most crowd-pleasing plaster creation that we can make. Plaster hands would be just as "unuseful" (it's art, it doesn't have to be useful!) and since it's more time consuming and unfamiliar, we could come out with a less-than-favorable product to present. With Plaster Pals, we could make as many as we wanted until the ones which were perfect were ready to be presented. Also, plaster casts and masks are dangerous to make (i.e. plaster casts, if too tight, can store fat globules, which when released, can travel to the heart and stop it; plaster masks can BURN YOUR FACE OFF...) Considering our inexperience with plaster, it's best that we stick to something easy that we can really perfect.

Sketch + Sculpture

My sketch looks pretty similar to my sculpture. The lines in both are very precise. A main difference is that my sculpture has color, whereas my sketch is in black and white. Also, the sculpture is actually a better representation of the actual sculpture, as it gives depth which a sketch cannot. The sketch is also much thinner.

In addition, there are a few small details with which I took artistic liberties. Slices in the cardboard make for non-sharp angles, a feature which, in my opinion, adds character to the sculpture. The skis are more separated in the sculpture, as it is a replica of the original. I also left out a plaque as the bottom, which is too small to read. Overall, I think that the sketch was not necessarily helpful in my creation of the sculpture, as I looked at it, maybe, once before making it.

Independent Project

Symbolic Portrait

Symbolic portrait of John Coltrane

Artist Statement

Most people say that being an artist requires patience with your work. In my case, it's the exact opposite. At the beginning of the year, before Ms. Roberts knew me as an artist, she wanted to me to plan out my work beforehand. As we got further into the year, she decided to let my work flow and have me reflect on it afterwards. I dislike both. I feel that real passionate artwork can't be planned because a lack of spontaneity makes art bland. I can't reflect afterwards because it just makes me over-think my work and waste time when I could be making more art. I can't be restrained by mundane tasks when I make art, because the work that those tasks revolve around will turn out to be the same thing: mundane. I love making art when I can make it real. Since I rarely to never think about my artwork, whether or not it is good is determined solely by whether I am passionate about the work I am making. My favorite medium to work with is permanent marker, because whatever is marked is irreversible. This forces me to work with any mistakes I've made if I want to preserve what I've already taken the time to create.

Process Reflection #2

This week, I've finished my final project. I called it SHAPES: A Collective Piece of Artwork by Joe Chafkin. It turned out pretty well. My three main pictures were glued up with a title piece. Next week, I just have to get my blog more up to date, then I will be done with all of my work.