Lee Jeffries

Stumbled upon the photographer Lee Jeffries on my search for a them for my relief project and I am so impressed I had to take the time to stop and blog about it.

Lee Jeffries

I love how he's doing an old thing in a new way and I love the expressiveness behind the one picture of the person. It's mysterious and revealing all at the same time? I don't know, but I really enjoy looking and thinking about it. hope he comes somewhere near to me in a show so I can check it all out in person!

Reflections

So I've been thinking a lot about how I view art and what I think art is and I'm not really sure if I have an answer for the general world to agree upon but I think I am starting to understand how I view things on my own. At the very beginning of fall semester when we first had to start writing these blogs I wrote that I hoped to figure out the things that I personally consider art, or my own style and I think I now have a piece of that puzzle. Things that I consider true art, or things that really impress me the most are the innovative and repurposing of old ideas or objects. They are the ones that get me to think oh hey, now that's cool! They make me wonder how the artist even thought of that idea. Or like Rob Doisneau how he happened to be in those exact places in that certain time.  I find that I am a difficult person to please in this criteria, not because I don't enjoy life or anything-I'm actually a very easily amused person- but because I think that true art is not something that every one can do no matter how hard they try. It's a really strange concept that I even think like that because in my own work ethic at school and in life I think that effort counts for 99% of the result. Seeing my peers' work at school really reinforces this idea that art is not all something you can learn. To be blatantly honest, I have yet to see a piece of work that someone has made at my school that has given me that feeling of being impressed. Sounds super harsh I know, but I also apply those rules to myself too soooo I guess they even out? Looking back on all the artwork that I have ever done, I see a lot of attention to detail and hard work put into it -but is all that enough to call myself an artist by my own standards? I don't really think so. ha ha ha. I yet to impress myself I guess!! More later on this, I'm sure.

Where was this when I needed it?

Got an email from the art teacher: D-Money. And it had this really cool article about this upcoming artist Michael Anthony Simon and his outdoor installations concerning nature.
 isn't that interesting?? When I looked up installation ideas for our project I couldn't find anything like this. Given, I probably wouldn't have been able to use the "environmentally friendly" material that he uses since I am after all, just a college student, but it would've been super interesting! I put environmentally friendly in quotations because I wonder if it really is true. Leaves get their nutrients from the sun by absorbing it through chlorophyll and if the paint is added over the natural green then wouldn't that starve the plant?
Anyways, he also does some really cool work by painting spider webs.
 he captures spiders and releases them after they build a web. I have so many questions to ask about that....does he feed the spiders bugs? How does he get them to only build between the poles and create those different web designs?

I will overcome!!

My life is often characterized by experiences that challenge me in some way. Often times, I usually am on a hunt to find new challenges that will test part of me. Recently I've been challenging myself with outdoor/sporty activities. Usually I know it's working when I am pushed to a limit where I don't think I will be able to do anymore but somehow, I'm just so determined to finish what I've started, I somehow do it--often times to my own amazement.
 This weekend however, my artwork has been the most frustrating for me! Right now we have two projects occurring simultaneously (well at least for the people that haven't finished the first one haha) and that has been a bit hard to chew. I went down to the trail to work on my outdoor installation yesterday morning and I found that part of it was torn apart. Here in Arkansas the weather is unpredictably crazy and the day before the wind snapped a few of my support strings so that I had to redo half of it instead of spending my morning finishing it. I can't tell you how frustrated I was, I spent the first 15 minutes crying big tears of frustration while I was working on it....of all weeks that this had to happen to me, Finals week??? Really now?? Anyways, I pushed through my frustration and finished it....now all it has to do is make it through the next few Arkansas days to our critique. *fingers crossed* I don't really know how much I like it though:/
  So, if that wasn't enough, I started working on my other project. I'm making paper mache energy drinks out of homework and it's a lengthy multiple step process. Well last night I was finishing the tops of the cans and when I pulled them off the mold it pulled everything in on itself so that it basically collapsed what I just spent two hours making. It was so frustrating because I made two others before these few and I didn't have the same problem because I used saran wrap as an intermediate layer. However, the extra gave it this sloppy look when I was done because I wasn't able to wrap it as closely to the can as I did the others. So now, I'm faced with another dilemma: do I risk the aesthetics for easier construction or should I just push through it and it'll fix itself as I keep working on them??
  I guess we shall see! :]

Oh Em Gee New Fave!

Two words: Robert Doisneau. He is awesome! so you know how Google has a doodle for also every day of the week? Well a few weeks ago they had a bunch of pictures of his up on Google and it really caught my eye. There are so many pictures that I love. I don't know how he manages to capture these certain moments cause a lot of them don't look posed but they have a certain kind of flow and balance that I haven't seen a lot of in other photographs.
Here are some of my favorites I've seen so far:


 I love how he caught these dancers in that exact moment when they look like they just got done swaying to one side and are about to step into the next move. Even though it's just a photograph I can totally imagine them doing so just from seeing this picture!

He also took alot of pictures of children and they are some of my favorite because they bring back memories of your own childhood!
  this one cracks me up!!


 Love this one!!


I think one of the reasons why I like his pictures so much is because they are in black and white. I think that helps the viewer focus more on the content than the color associations they are forming. I just like how real his work is!! Can't get over it. I will definitely be hanging up his work in my future home:)

Artists Errwhere

So I went to an outdoor conference this weekend and it was pretty stinking awesome! One cool aspect of it was the people that I met there who were artists! One guy named Larry Rainari is an elementary art teacher I had some pretty cool conversations with him about his passion for clay and painting. I got a business card from him and checked out his website.

I love this handmade mug:

It kinda makes me wish I had more pottery experience in high school to make stuff like this! Instead, I was making seal shaped piggy banks that exploded in the kiln and destroyed other people's animal piggy banks......Oops!!

installation blogging has been..

..kinda hard. I feel so lame talking about something that I have been working on for awhile even though I am loving what I am doing. People have been coming up and asking me about what I'm doing when they see me carrying materials back and forth from the studio to my room and vice versa and I want to tell them all about it and I try but I don't ever feel like my words ever fully capture the picture that is in my head that I'm trying to create. Ever get that feeling? My project sounds lame to my own ears when I describe it :(
  Anyways, working on the second installation piece right now and we are supposed to be wrapping it up but I'm not really at that point right now. I am making paper mache energy drink cans out of homework that I have collected from my peers to commemorate the milestone achievements that they have passed in their college lives. Can I just say that it has been frustrating just collecting the homework. People have been telling me that they will donate stuff but they never really do even though I remind them time and time again....Sigh. Anyways, I really wish I had more time to work on this project right now. Sometimes I just wish I could just go to art classes and nothing else all day, errday. More later.

Art redefined

While I was searching for pictures of mini pigs [pigs that will stay tiny forever thanks to their genetics] on Google, I found this adorable article about these mini pigs who paint. They accidentally got into some craft paint one day and the owners thought it was really cute so now they are given paint on purpose and they "make art" to sell for charity. 

Their art was said to be reminiscent of Jackson Pollack. It's an adorable concept but I still don't know what to think about this type of "art". Should it be considered art if it's not made with intention? Can pigs have intentions of making art? 

No wonder I always pick the red fruit punch....

I just read this article for my bio psych class and its soooo cool! who knew that color could have such an affect on our perceived taste of food? This food psychologist (how cool of a job would that be??) recommends using red food dye in food for a healthier alternative to large amounts of sugar because the color red is associated with sweetness in our brains. By using the color red it adds a 11% added perceived amount of sweetness to the food.
Cool or what?

here is the article to read for yourself: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/04/16/135415751/harnessing-the-senses-to-trick-the-palate-and-improve-health

Endless ideas?

OMG searching for installation ideas has been a blast. I found some super awesome installations that I love. Here are a bunch of websites that I have logged for you to check out!!!

 this is a piece by Robert Janson with plastic bags.

 This installation is in a park in NYC and is made up of plastic water bottles strung together. There's a video about the process on the linked picture!

 This piece is called Computer Sunset. And I just love the idea behind this piece. I'm not for sure who this is by.

And last, but not least, I found this hilarious blog post about huge installation art all over the world and it's called "If Giants Ruled the World" I really like the installations that have a meaningful concept behind them, or create awareness. Right now, we are working on our second project for class and I have a pretty good idea of what materials I want to use but I am struggling to find a meaningful concept behind it that isn't super cheesy. Hopefully, Spring Break will help!

Obsessed

So starting this 3D installation class has been super exciting. Right now we are working on a cut paper installation piece and I am kind of obsessed with it, hence the blog title. haha. My class of 7ish is installing our pieces in the small chapel and I am super excited. Of course since it is a religious building, we had to incorporate some spiritual content in our pieces. Mine is about spiritual unity and I can't really concentrate on this blog enough to talk about it in detail.
Anyways, I have tons of homework to do right now but I can't concentrate cause all I can think about is finishing this piece and it's about 10 feet long and my piece is pretty intricate. I thought I would hate cutting it out but I have been having a great time and I am trying to manage my time and get my other homework done as well but my attention span for it hasn't been as great.....which is a first......
screw it.
I just might go work on it right now....

Bounce That!

I stumbled upon this when I was typing my proposal for the paper cut installation piece. LOVE IT!



It's called Afro Girl by Nicholas Boxall.

Striking Gold

I am logging this website here for my records! I think I have a new obsession :D

the Decorologist

I like this more now that I don't have to do it

Herro! I am back! and this time on my own free will. I went through my high school portfolio over break when I was bored and I realize that some of my most favorite pieces now are the ones I didn't really want to make in class. I had a fun time picking out some of my artwork and hanging it on my walls. Some of my coolest artwork from high school though was my 3D work. I make a paper mache Nemo once which I think is still at school. The art teacher is new, so I am a bit scared to just go back in there and take it back. It is a little damaged because my little sister threw her suitcase on it. but whatever. It still looks cool. I am going to try to find some old pictures to post soon! Another one of my favorite pieces was my clay peacock mask. That got broken somehow when I was moving and I threw that away.......see what I mean about being back about keeping up with my artwork?

Something I have also done over break is redo my spring schedule....I wanted to fit in an art class so I will be taking 3D 02 which will involve installation art. I am excited!! :)